Justin Morgan and the Big Horse Race
Ellen F. Feld
Willow Bend Publishing; First edition (2013)
Reviewed by Emilee Summers (age 12) for Reader Views Kids (4/14)
“Justin Morgan and the Big Horse Race” by Ellen F. Feld is a story about a horse named Justin Morgan and the history about how the horse got his name. The tale begins as the author describes Justin Morgan as a strong horse that helps his master in the fields and in the winter carried his master into town to buy supplies. The story then takes you to a pasture where Justin Morgan meets other horses that are strange to him and they tell him of how they are racing horses and have traveled a great distance to race against a fast horse that lived here. The horses were expecting a race track but were told there was only a dirt road they used for racing which to this day is known as the “Morgan Mile”. The story leads to a thrilling race where Justin Morgan competes with the other horses.
I really liked how the author included the dialog of the horses in the story, and the illustrations of the horses were beautiful. At the end of the story is a brief history of how Justin Morgan got his name as well as how his ancestry can be traced back to 1789.
I really liked “Justin Morgan and the Big Horse Race” by Ellen F. Feld, not only because I love horses but also because the story was interesting and the pictures were beautiful to look at. I would recommend “Justin Morgan and the Big Horse Race” to kids who love a wonderful story about horses.