The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
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| Like Cinderella, this book has been loved and cherished so much over the years that the cover is no longer in tact. |
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
Written and Illustrated by: Paul Goble
Genre: Traditional Literature
Major Awards: Caldecott Medal
Grade Level: 1-5
Summary: This is the story of a young Native American girl who loved to be with the horses that grazed in her village. She spent every day with them, until one day a terrible storm frightened them away. The girl, also frightened, jumped on one of the horse's backs as they ran far away until they were lost. In the morning, she met a beautiful stallion, the leader of all of the wild horses, in the hills far from her village. He allowed her to live with the wild horses, making her very happy. No one in her village could find the girl until a year later when two hunters found her. The stallion protected the girl from the hunters along with a colt, as if she were the horse's young too. Finally, the hunters brought the girl back to her village, but she soon became sad and ill because she was no longer where she belonged: with the wild horses. Her parents allowed her to go back to live with the horses, and in return she gave them a colt. She continued to visit and give them a colt each year until one day she disappeared. It is said that she had finally become a wild horse herself.
Evaluation: I would love to use this book in my classroom. The story is interesting, but easy to follow and it has beautiful illustrations that can help kids visualize Native American cultures and lifestyles.
This book can be enjoyed for a number of grades, depending on how the teacher decides to use it. I think it would be best for grades one through five, as it can be a book to read aloud and an independent reading. The writing is not too complicated, but it provides imagery and the illustrations aid the story, allowing inference and imagination to take over in the readers' minds. It can also be a source of interest for many students, both boys and girls (i.e. Animals and hunters may capture the boys' attention, whereas the girl and the horses may capture girls' attention).
I think this book would serve a purpose for many different units. For example, it can be an aid for teaching Texas history and Native American culture. It can also be used in language arts to teach about imagery and parts of a story. Personally, especially in a younger classroom, I would like to use it to ask my students questions about how the girl's decisions would differ from their own as well as using it to teach about inference from illustrations (e.g. Would you be happy if you left your parents? What do you think happened to the girl?).
Major Awards: Caldecott Medal
Grade Level: 1-5
Summary: This is the story of a young Native American girl who loved to be with the horses that grazed in her village. She spent every day with them, until one day a terrible storm frightened them away. The girl, also frightened, jumped on one of the horse's backs as they ran far away until they were lost. In the morning, she met a beautiful stallion, the leader of all of the wild horses, in the hills far from her village. He allowed her to live with the wild horses, making her very happy. No one in her village could find the girl until a year later when two hunters found her. The stallion protected the girl from the hunters along with a colt, as if she were the horse's young too. Finally, the hunters brought the girl back to her village, but she soon became sad and ill because she was no longer where she belonged: with the wild horses. Her parents allowed her to go back to live with the horses, and in return she gave them a colt. She continued to visit and give them a colt each year until one day she disappeared. It is said that she had finally become a wild horse herself.
Evaluation: I would love to use this book in my classroom. The story is interesting, but easy to follow and it has beautiful illustrations that can help kids visualize Native American cultures and lifestyles.
This book can be enjoyed for a number of grades, depending on how the teacher decides to use it. I think it would be best for grades one through five, as it can be a book to read aloud and an independent reading. The writing is not too complicated, but it provides imagery and the illustrations aid the story, allowing inference and imagination to take over in the readers' minds. It can also be a source of interest for many students, both boys and girls (i.e. Animals and hunters may capture the boys' attention, whereas the girl and the horses may capture girls' attention).
I think this book would serve a purpose for many different units. For example, it can be an aid for teaching Texas history and Native American culture. It can also be used in language arts to teach about imagery and parts of a story. Personally, especially in a younger classroom, I would like to use it to ask my students questions about how the girl's decisions would differ from their own as well as using it to teach about inference from illustrations (e.g. Would you be happy if you left your parents? What do you think happened to the girl?).
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