![]() ![]() ![]() Varied skin tones are depicted, though the riding gear and clothing are uniformly Eurocentric, an unfortunate missed opportunity considering that horse-riding traditions exist worldwide. The rolling hills and cobblestone paths call to mind the English countryside. Even “Sweet Little Penny,” who bucks off her young rider, does so in a gently gleeful way. ![]() The illustrations are gentle to the point of docility, anthropomorphizing the horses with sweet smiles and tender presences. She’s taller than a tree” makes wonderful use of perspective, showing a large horse towering over a child, providing shelter from massive raindrops. For example, the illustration accompanying the lines “Gentle Gwen is a giant. Up and down the mountainside, / a-riding we will go.” Some poems celebrate ordinary day-to-day life with a horse others are fueled by fantasy and imagination, augmented by Rhys’ watercolor-and–mixed-media art. ![]() Many poems deploy rhyming patterns recognizable to those familiar with Euro-American nursery rhymes: “A-riding we will go, / a-riding we will go. The title makes explicit what this book is about and who it is for, and it does not deviate from this expectation. Children, mostly female-presenting, fawn over ponies in brief poems and genteel illustrations. ![]()
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