The shadow brumby by Alison Lester

A series which has immediate appeal to girls in years 2 - 4, the Bonnie and Sam adventures will easily find a place on primary school library shelves. Alison Lester's stories are well known, and many of those reveal her love and knowledge of horses. She tells the stories with ease and invites participation by the readers of her books.

The shadow brumby tells of Bonnie and Sam who know and ride all the horses at their farm, Currawong Creek. One horse, Drover seems very unhappy as she paces the fence where she is yarded. One night a shadow brumby comes near, leading his stable of horses, one of which is the spitting image of Drover. Suddenly Drover is over the fence racing off with the stallion, and her double leaps into the yard. Bonnie and Sam are dumbfounded and quickly resolve to teach this new horse the rules of being a farm horse, before they tell their father.

A delightful read, the characters of the two children are well rounded, and will intrigue the readers as they outwit the parents finally having to tell their big secret.

Fran Knight