Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
A Horse Named Seabiscuit
Illustrator: Mike Rowe
Nonfiction
For ages 7 to 9
Penguin, 2003 ISBN: 978-0448433424
Seabiscuit was not at all what anyone was expecting. He came from a great line of great race horses and yet Seabiscuit himself was "funny" looking. With short legs, a stubby tail, and running like a duck, Seabiscuit was a great disappointment. In two years the bad tempered difficult horse had raced thirty-five races and he hadn?t won a single one. No one wanted the horse until one very special day.
On this day a quiet man called Tom Smith who was a horse trainer saw Seabiscuit race. Somehow Tom knew that there was something special about the horse and he persuaded his boss, a racehorse owner, to buy Seabiscuit.
A lot had to be done to get Seabiscuit fit for racing. He was fat, lazy, and bad tempered but with love, attention, sensitivity, and hard work Tom Smith managed to get around all these problems. He and Seabiscuit then set about showing the world that Seabiscuit was not the hopeless racer that everyone took him for. Seabiscuit began to win races, people began to watch him and wonder at his speed and his determination. Best of all perhaps, Seabiscuit gave a country in the throes of the Depression something to think about, something to hope for.
This wonderful and inspiring story about one of the greatest race horses of all time is perfectly paced and written for the child who is just beginning to read by him or herself. It not only tells the story of Seabiscuit but it also shows the reader why Seabiscuit captured the love of a nation.
