Dear reader, I have officially reached the age where toys and music from my childhood are considered vintage. In fact, just yesterday, the radio station I was listening to in my car declared they were going to play a throwback song. I was thinking 80’s or 90’s, right? Dear reader, the song was from 2006! Yes, I realize that was almost 20 years ago, but seriously, to me 2006 doesn’t feel that long ago. Where does the time go?

Today I will be taking you on a nostalgic book trip, sounds exciting right? We’ll be going back to the late 90’s and early 2000’s to when I was a horse crazy child and teen. You see, during this time American Girl was in full swing, the My Little Pony toys were super popular, and there was no end to the animal-themed series a kid could read! I will be highlighting three of those in this blog post.

A Horse Called Wonder by Joanna Campbell

Ashleigh Griffen swore she’d never give her heart to another horse — not after a terrible disease wiped out her family’s breeding farm, along with Ashleigh’s favorite mare, Stardust.

Now the Griffens are starting over as breeding managers at Townsend Acres, and Ashleigh’s sure she is going to hate living there.

Then a small, sickly foal is born — a beautiful copper filly that looks like Stardust. No one thinks the foal will live or that it’s worth trying to save. No one but Ashleigh.

Can one girl’s love alone work miracles?

First of all, there is no link to the catalog for this particular book because it isn’t in the catalog at all. However, various other books in the series are in the catalog, so you’re in luck!

This series ran from 1991 to 2005, with the original series running from books 1-23 and then 23-72 completing the series with the focus shifting to a different girl and the subject matter of eventing, rather than racing. I remember just devouring these books, and since they came out in the 90’s there a good possibility I started reading them in elementary school. One of my core memories is reading that pivotal book number 23 and becoming so incensed at the drastic changes that I threw the book across the room! Dear reader, that may well have been my first rage over a book. I remember it distinctly to this day!

To hear my mom tell it, my horse crazy self was kickstarted when I got a kid’s meal at Hardee’s in, you guessed it, the 90’s, and I received a white plastic horse toy. I still have that toy in one of my dresser drawers. I also had a plush horse stuffed animal that I slept with at night. His name was Clip Clop, named for the little noisebox in his stomach that made sounds like horse hooves walking. I slept with him so much the stuffing had to be replaced in his stomach! I still have him as well.

I Want a Pony by Jeanne Betancourt

Lulu wants a pony. If only she had a pony, then staying with her grandmother while her father is away would not be so bad. If she had a pony, she could ride with Pam and Anna. And then they could be friends – Pony Pals!
When Lulu finds a pony in danger, she wants to help the wounded animal. Will she be able to save the beautiful pony?

Pony Pals was a series of 44 books that ran from 1995-2003. They chronicle the adventures of three young girls and their ponies. I remember the covers of these books more than I remember reading them, if that makes sense. Looking at them again for this blog post, the plot reminds me of the Animal Ark series, another set of beloved books from my childhood. My cousin and I were just reminiscing about them not too long ago! It was also quite hard to find out any information plot-wise about these books, I’m not sure why. They seemed quite popular when I was growing up! But then again, I keep forgetting how old all these series are, so that could very well be the problem.

Dear reader, when I first started learning to ride my bike I had major balance issues, so someone suggested to my parents that I try therapeutic riding through the REINS program, which could help with muscle strength and endurance. I started attending classes in 1998 and continued for a few years, and by the time I was done with the program I could effortlessly ride my bike! I remember enjoying my time riding the horses, and afterword we got to groom them and lead them to and from the barn as well. Most of the horses were very mild-mannered, but there were a few that had a feisty spirit! In fact, I remember one in particular who got a talking to in his stall by one of the leaders. She was so mad she was yelling at him in German!

And last but not least, my favorite series of the three!

Coming Home by Lauren Brooke

The daughter of a respected horse healer, 14 year-old Amy has a powerful connection with horses. With her mother’s help, she is developing her skills as a horse whisperer while tending to the animals at Heartland, a refuge for horses that have been emotionally or physically traumatized. But when her mother is killed in a tragic trailer accident, Amy realizes she will never see her world the same way again.

Dear reader, have you ever created a world for the characters in the book you’re reading? It could just be a single room, a city street, a favorite cafe, etc., but I still remember the white farmhouse I imagined Amy living in, as well as the entire layout of the farm she worked on. I remember all the details about the outside and inside as if I lived there myself, as if it actually existed! On the back of each cover there is in fact a picture of a beautiful farm shrouded in fog, and that definitely helped to jumpstart my imagination.

I also still remember the exact location of where the Heartland series was in the library at my middle school. I know I mentioned this in my last blog post too. This was one of those series where the mean girl, Ashley, is still vivid in my mind. Reading about her mistreating Amy and others was perhaps my second case of book-fueled rage!

Dear reader, I hope that, if you don’t go and reread these series yourselves, that you at least suggest them to a young person in your life. Maybe you’re now nostalgic about books series you read and loved when you were a kid, as well! Whatever the case, as always, happy reading.