We’re on the tail end of November and that means that Christmas may appear for many, as just around the corner! As a horse book author myself, I am pleased to be able to share with you a horse book Christmas gift guide!

If you have a middle grade horse lover in your life, then I encourage you to check out the Horse Books Holiday Gift Giving Guide for 2023.

Horse book author Rae Rankin has kindly put this together and I’m pleased to have two books featured in it! Other authors include:

• Rae Rankin
• Kathy Simmers
• K.J. Clark
• Laurie Salisbury
• Ellen F. Feld
• Maria Langella Sorgie and many more.

In this 28 page gift guide, you can review many books across varying authors. They are mainly aimed at middle grade readers, but you will find some for the younger reader and some for the older reader!

Whether Kindle or paperback, there are a number of options to choose from. You can also learn a little about some of the featured authors. You can check it out online here: https://raerankin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023GiftGuide4-1.pdf

Enjoy! And why not get all your (horse) Christmas shopping sorted over the next week or two with this guide? 🙂

My daughter brought home the Fire Stallion from her school library recently. As soon as I realised what she’d borrowed, I just had to start reading! Whilst I’ve seen Stacy Gregg’s stories online and at the library, I hadn’t actually read any before. And now I’m keen to read many more!

The Fire Stallion is an amazing story that provides some interesting historical fiction, looking at an Icelandic princess, Brunhilda. It also features the incredible Icelandic Horse and their unique gait, the tölt. I just loved this novel!

It tells the story of twelve-year-old Hilly, who is amazingly caught up in the filming of Brunhilda, based on an Icelandic princess. As she gets to assist with the horses and learn about the amazing Icelandic Horse, Hilly goes on an incredible journey as she learns the truth about the famed Brunhilda.

The reader is able to see the world through Hilly’s eyes, and through Brunhilda’s as it jumps between the two characters, but all from Hilly’s point of view. The Fire Stallion is an incredible read that features horses heavily.

It also highlights Iceland, the Icelandic Horse, the long summer days with no night and many Norse Gods and mythology. It was an interesting read in which I learned a lot! The horse aspects also rang true and I learned a little more about the Icelandic Horse and their fifth gait – the tölt! Very highly recommended.

Author – Stacy Gregg
Fiction – teens
In my library – no, it was borrowed from a local library

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If you’d like to check out other horse fiction and non fiction that I’ve reviewed, visit Horse Book Reviews.



Sundance by Laura Holt-Haslam, is a great book for young horse fans that love reading. I recently had the opportunity to read this story and really, really enjoyed it.

Malachi Adams is the main character in this novel. Mal has recently lost his best friend – Sunny – a golden retriever. Sunny was sick and needed to be put down. Whilst Mal understood that this was necessary, he is obviously distressed at the way the situation played out.

When his mother shares the news, the twelve-year-old runs outside, angry and hurt as he considers that he wasn’t there when his best friend passed away. In his eagerness to get out of the house, Mal soon finds himself lost. He ends up stumbling across a property that he hasn’t been to before. 

Sundance by Laura Holt-Haslam

At this property is a beautiful golden horse – the same colour as his retriever, Sunny. Mal instantly feels drawn to the horse, although he knows very little about horses. He can see that she is heavily pregnant and her behaviour seems frantic to him. Where is the owner? What is going on?

Mal soon discovers she is without water and works quickly to rectify that situation. After a little more investigating, he is keen to give her some hay, too. The barn where the hay is stored is run down and smelly. Something doesn’t seem right with this picture. Still, Mal does what he can for the horse and leaves, knowing his mother will be getting worried.

In time Mal shares about his ‘secret horse’ with someone at school – a girl named Amelia. This appears to be a big thing for him, as he doesn’t have any close friends at school. Mostly he is picked on because of his stutter. It is something he is very self-conscious about, but finds that animals don’t care about at all. That endeared Sunny to him even more, and even this new found horse that he has named in honour of his beloved retriever.

Amelia works with Malachi to help care for the mare. As she has horse riding lessons, Amelia is able to teach him a thing or two about the mare – a palomino Quarter Horse – how to put a head collar on and lead her. The two work hard to look after the horse, but tending to a pregnant mare’s needs is hard to keep a secret.

Sundance was an absolutely delightful read. It looked at how unlikely friendships can be created, focused on horses and their care and wove together a beautiful story. Highly recommended.

Author – Laura Holt-Haslam
Fiction – children
In my library – that it is, as an electronic copy.

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If you’d like to check out other horse fiction and non fiction that I’ve reviewed, visit Horse Book Reviews.