4.5 Stars Out Of 5
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  1. J4Life5
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Great message for kids
    August 3, 2014
    J4Life5
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for #1: Horse Dreams: Backyard Horses.
    Im not sure why, but most children seem to love horse stories. I know I did when I was younger. I think many young readers can identify with a young girl spending time daydreaming about a horse of their very own. I think they can sympathize with a girl getting into trouble for daydreaming instead of focusing on schoolwork, or other things.

    Aside from the the horse story, this book offers readers lessons in life. For example, we can dream of and pray for a certain thing, but sometimes Gods answer is different from what we imagined. We can learn from Ellies story that although sometimes Gods answer isnt quite what we pictured, it is even better.

    I love the sign language at the beginning of each chapter and the way that Mackall pulls in other issues facing children into her books, for example a sibling with a hearing impairment. Readers in similar circumstances will enjoy reading about characters like themselves and readers who are not in similar circumstances can learn about what it might be like with a sibling with special needs.

    This is a great series for kids, filled with interesting story lines, characters they can identify with, and messages they can learn from. Parents can enjoy the fact their children are reading a book with a positive message and learning that even though Gods answer might be different from what we imagined, he always answers prayers.
  2. Alisha L
    Florida
    Age: 18-24
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Great book for girls
    July 20, 2014
    Alisha L
    Florida
    Age: 18-24
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for #1: Horse Dreams: Backyard Horses.
    Ellie James is a fourth-grader who loves horses and dreams about owning a horse of her own. She daydreams and prays about someday owning a black stallion. Ellie daydreams so much about horses (including in class) that when she tells her teacher that she sees a horse outside the school, no one believes her and they think she's just daydreaming again. But is she?

    "Horse Dreams" is a cute horse related story for pre-teen age girls. In the book, Ellie learns that prayers aren't always answered in the way we want them to be or the way we expect them to be answered. Another theme of the book is that we shouldn't judge people (or in this case, a horse) by how they look.

    Ellie's brother Ethan is deaf and communicates with Ellie, her parents, and her friend using sign language. The title of each chapter is spelled out in sign language along with the English title and the whole sign language alphabet is listed in the back of the book along with a glossary of horse related words and terms. I thought both made a nice addition to the book.

    I like the way Ellie's faith is portrayed throughout the book and how genuine it feels whenever Ellie is praying or thinking about God and her relationship with him. Bible verses are also quoted at the beginning and the end of the book (1 Samuel 16:7 and Ephesians 3:20).

    One thing to mention for parents is that in one part of the book Ellie leaves a horse show without telling anyone where she is going and walks alone to and from an animal farm a good distance away at night, which isn't a safe thing to do. Her parents never question her about this decision later in the book.

    This book was an enjoyable read and I think it is a great book for Christian girls, especially girls who like horses.
  3. raisingbookworms
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Great series for elementary and middle school readers
    August 21, 2014
    raisingbookworms
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for #1: Horse Dreams: Backyard Horses.
    by Dandi Daley Mackall

    horse

    Fourth-grader Ellie James has a great imagination. She spends a lot of time daydreaming of owning a black stallion show horse and winning trophies in the horse show. But when the answer to all her dreams and prayers gallops into her life, will Ellie be able to recognize it? Join Ellie and her quirky family in their exciting, horse-loving adventures.

    What makes this book so great is that Horse Dreams is written from the Child's point of view. 4th grader Ellie James is a likable character and sure to get your girls wanting to read the whole series.

    What little girl (me included) hasn't dreamed of having a horse all her own. My girls dreams are constant since their cousin has 2 horses of her own. So my girls could very well have been the character Ellie. Ellie begs, cries and prays for a horse all her own. She also understands that sometimes prayers can go unanswered till God feels the time is right and we are ready for the prayers to be answered.

    Overall this is a fun series for girls who love horses and I plan to be on the look out for more Horse Dreams books.
  4. jsrn18
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Prayers do come true!
    July 28, 2014
    jsrn18
    This review was written for #1: Horse Dreams: Backyard Horses.
    Great story to teach kids about going for your dreams and praying for those dreams. Although we may not always get the answer we want from our prayers it is important to pray that God will show the path to what we want or need. Wonderfully written story for children who love animals.
  5. HomeSchool Mom of 4
    The Hot Dry Desert
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Wonderful Christian Fiction for Young Horse Lovers
    August 1, 2012
    HomeSchool Mom of 4
    The Hot Dry Desert
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for #1: Horse Dreams: Backyard Horses.
    Backyard Horses was exactly the series I was looking for for my daughters, who love Jesus, love horses, and are in 2nd grade. Miss Mackall also wrote a series for older readers called "Winnie the Horse Gentler" and I tried that first but I'd recommend it for middle school students and up. Besides being harder to read, those books sometimes deal with harder issues that wouldn't be understandable by anyone younger than pre-teen. Backyard Horses, however, is a fairly new series and is written at around a 2nd/3rd grade reading level. Love, love, love this series!

    My daughters love Ellie, the heroine of the story! There are so far 4 books in the series and we started with book 1 in order to read them, well, in order. The heroine of the story, Ellie, is a sweet, oftentimes feisty, day-dreaming 4th grader. In the first book, she often day-dreamed about her own horse. She decides to do a "science" experiment... she'll "beg, cry, and pray" for a horse of her own and find out what way works best for getting horses. I don't think it's spoiling anything to say that God will answer her prayer... but in a different way than she imagined.

    I highly recommend this book to elementary school children. It's filled with a good story, important lessons, and a little girl who puts her hope in God. I also highly recommend Cowboy Colt, Chasing Dream, and Nightmare, the others in the series. By the way, you can earn this book for free by participating in Tyndale's Summer Reading Program through the end of August!
Displaying items 1-5 of 38
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