Post by Claire on Nov 8, 2007 13:33:08 GMT 1
JACKIE WON A PONY by JUDITH M. BERRISFORD
SUMMARY
This summary is a plot spoiler but the review below is not.
First book in the series in which we are introduced to Jackie and Babs and find out how Jackie acquired her pony Misty.
At the start of the book Jackie finds out she has won the first prize of a pony in a pony magazine competition. Despite having the choice of a number of expensive well-schooled ponies she chooses Misty, a pony pulling a cart. However Misty is pretty, gentle and well-schooled and has only fallen on hard times because of a scar caused by a past injury.
Jackie’s parents are away in Greece and she is staying with her aunt and cousin Babs whilst her own home with its paddock is being rented by another family, so she cannot take Misty there. It is then arranged that Misty will stay at Jackie’s Aunt Monica’s farm for the summer and Jackie sets off on a 3 day trek to the farm with Misty. Staying at a friend’s house on the way she is awoken one night by the sound of hooves and finds to her astonishment Babs riding a horse! Her cousin has rescued the horse from slaughter and she wants to find somewhere to hide him. Jackie agrees to help and they set off. Unfortunately they get tangled up with a journalist who they think may sniff out the truth. They manage to throw him off the scent and end up hiding out in another set of friend’s house whilst the horse, Captain, recovers from an illness. They plan to take both Misty and Captain to their aunt’s farm as soon as Captain recovers.
The journalist however has not lost the scent and has ferreted out all about Jackie and Babs rescue of Captain. It is splashed across the headlines and what is worse for Jackie is that she is featured more prominently, for with being the recent winner of a pony she is more newsworthy. The girls Aunt Monica comes up trumps and says that she will buy Captain and use him on the farm. But unfortunately the happy ending for the girls is cut short. The owners of the magazine find out about Jackie and her antics and think she is not the responsible owner they thought she would be. They decide to take Misty away! Jackie is heartbroken at having to part with her beloved pony but then the journalist who wrote the story about her finds out what is going to happen. He is overcome with remorse and writes another story which solves the problem and allows Jackie to keep Misty!
REVIEW
In some ways this is more of a review of the entire Jackie series than of just this particular book. In the review I want to explore some of the criticisms which have been heaped upon the Jackie books and find out if they are well-deserved or not.
Although not in the top echelons of the ranks of pony books such as those by writers like Ruby Ferguson Patricia Leitch and the Pullein-Thompsons, the Jackie series of books are still an instituation in the pony book world and remain ever-popular. Personally I like the books, even whilst agreeing with the criticisms that they contain no real depth of character, originality or deep exploration of human nature. But does this actually make them bad novels? Conversely I think it is precisely this undemanding uncomplicated nature which makes them so popular. They are in every sense of the word comfort reading. Jackie is a straight-forward pony loving girl whom we can immediate identify with. Tensions arise along the way but there is nothing too unpleasant or heartrending and we know we will always be treated to a happy ending! When we want a book to cheer or soothe us (and in the case of we adult readers a book to take us back to the simple pleasures of our youth) we reach for a Jackie story. When we read these books we do not want to be challenged either emotionally or intellectually. We simply want a cheerful uncomplicated wholesome pony story.
This particular book, the first in the series, gives us all these things. The Jackie books in their favour are actually fairly tightly plotted, unlike many pony books which seem just to amble along aimlessly. However they do tend to follow a fairly similar storyline, this one being no exception. The books always start on a high note; the girls for instance will be setting off on holiday, invited to help at a stable, going pony trekking, etc. In this case the high is Jackie winning a pony and finding her dream mount, Misty. But then problems will arise due to the recurring theme of the two girls geting into trouble through their kind hearted but misguided intentions. Their meddling usually makes things worse, not better! In this book their kidnapping and hiding of Captain results in the fact that Jackie may have her pony taken away from her. As with all good stories tensions arise throughout the book, with the biggest one of all near the end – will Jackie lose Misty? Of course she doesn’t and in the end everything is right with the world! The happy ending is typical of the Jackie book (and indeed most pony books in general).
The later Jackie books also include two extra elements which are not seen in this one. There is often some sort of villain or unpleasant character to deal with such as Cedric and Mrs.Chivers in Jackie on Pony Island or Lenny’s father in Jackies Pony Patrol. (The journalist Robin is probably the nearest in this book to this particular character but as we learn later he was actually trying to help Jackie.) Another character which often crops up in the Jackie books is a person whom the girls want to please but invariably end up exasperating. For some reason its nearly always a male! Examples of this character can be seem in Paul Wayne in Jackies Pony Camp Summer, Derek in Jackie and the Pony Boys and John in Jackie and the Pony Trekkers. But of course Jackie usually wins him over in the end and they all become friends!
Although well-plotted the Jackie book plots aren’t that original and in this one the story of children rescuing a doomed horse (or other animal) has been seen many times before and after. However the sub-plot of the journalist and the newspaper story which threatens to lose Jackie her pony is actually a pretty good storyline probably one of the better ones in the series.
But the fact that these books have formulaic and usually not very original storylines does not make them bad novels. In fact some of the most popular novels in history share these characteristics. The Agatha Christie whodunnits for example are possibly the best-selling books in the entire world and they all follow a very similar plot. People tend to like formulaic plots because they know exactly what they are getting and will not be disappointed. To paraphrase a famous advert the Jackie books do “exactly what it says on the tin.”
Another criticism of the Jackie books are that the characters are not very well-developed and many are very stereotypical. This I have to say is true to some extent. However despite this we still find it very easy to identify with Jackie. This may be something to do with the fact that she is a very nice character, always trying to do -good but saved from being a goody two shoes by the fact that she is often misguided and does the wrong thing. Another thing that endears us to her is the fact that she is so openly fond of her pony (and in the later books we alsosee her love for her dog Scamp). In many pony books the pony seems almost superfluous to the story, simply a means of transport as children gallop from one adventure to the next but in this book there is a real sense that Jackie loves and cares for Misty. When Jackie thinks she is going to lose Misty and says “I don’t think I’ll ever love another pony as much as I love you Misty” and talks about how she will never forget their last ride together will bring a small lump into the throat of even the most jaded reader! And of course the first-person perspective in which the Jackie books are all written gives us an immediate identification with the character which is harder to achieve in third mperson narratives.
Another thing I like about this book is that, along with all the Jackie series, it is so easy to read. Although unfavourably compared to other pony book writers Judith Berrisford is in fact very very good at doing what she does. The books may not have a whole lot of depth but they are excellent examples of simple plain and entertaining writing for children. There seems to be a fashion nowadays for sneering at uncomplicated books which puport to be nothing but ‘entertainment’ but as I mentioned earlier sometimes this is just what the reader wants. The writing may be simplistic in style but it has an unobtrusive excellence. You can pick up a Jackie book any time and are instantly drawn into the story. If that is not good writing then what is?
One aspect of the Jackie books which I find rather overlooked is that they have a fairly strong moral message which is slightly off-beat. Goodness will always win through in these novels – but it is not so much good behaviour but goodness of the heart that is appreciated. In Jackie Won A Pony Jackie is punished for helping Babs kidnap the horse and hiding the fact from the adults by the fear that Misty will be taken from her. But in the end she is rewarded with a happy ending. The moral in the story is that although you shouldn’t do wrong, doing wrong for a good reason may be acceptable and will ultimately be rewarded.. There is usually an adult figure in the books telling the girls they have done wrong and often Jackie herself will admit that she has made mistakes. In this book she says “we’d done something which certainly wasn’t a pattern of behaviour for other pony-mad girls and boys.” However you almost feel that such passages have been added as a sop to the conventional morality of the time and that Ms. Berrisford hersef, though not fully condoning the girl’s behaviour, is still firmly on the side of heart over head. The adult characters in her books are never too harsh on Jackie and Babs’ escapades and there is often another adult figure like Aunt Monica in this book who almost supports their behaviour. She says that she isn’t ashamed to have two nieces with such spirit and as Babs says of her “I never knew grown ups could be so sensible!” I can almost imagine the author herself as an Aunt Monica (or in later books Aunt Di) figure with a sort of childish enthusiasm for life and an understanding of how rules are sometimes made to be broken. And I feel that being so in-touch with this childish side does show through in the books.
In summary I feel that this book along with all the Jackie series is an excellent example of an unpretentious undemanding but enjoyable pony book. It is not a book to be read for emotional insights, not a book which will haunt you and make you think. But it is in no way as two-dimensional as many critics would have you believe. I would compare a Jackie book to a comfy old dressing gown. It may be pushed to the back of the cupboard behind your designer jeans and party dresses, but when you want something to snuggle into on a cold night or when you’re feeling under the weather and need a bit of comfort nothing else will quite do. And of course you will never throw it away!
I would rate this book as 3 horseshoes (GOOD)
SUMMARY
This summary is a plot spoiler but the review below is not.
First book in the series in which we are introduced to Jackie and Babs and find out how Jackie acquired her pony Misty.
At the start of the book Jackie finds out she has won the first prize of a pony in a pony magazine competition. Despite having the choice of a number of expensive well-schooled ponies she chooses Misty, a pony pulling a cart. However Misty is pretty, gentle and well-schooled and has only fallen on hard times because of a scar caused by a past injury.
Jackie’s parents are away in Greece and she is staying with her aunt and cousin Babs whilst her own home with its paddock is being rented by another family, so she cannot take Misty there. It is then arranged that Misty will stay at Jackie’s Aunt Monica’s farm for the summer and Jackie sets off on a 3 day trek to the farm with Misty. Staying at a friend’s house on the way she is awoken one night by the sound of hooves and finds to her astonishment Babs riding a horse! Her cousin has rescued the horse from slaughter and she wants to find somewhere to hide him. Jackie agrees to help and they set off. Unfortunately they get tangled up with a journalist who they think may sniff out the truth. They manage to throw him off the scent and end up hiding out in another set of friend’s house whilst the horse, Captain, recovers from an illness. They plan to take both Misty and Captain to their aunt’s farm as soon as Captain recovers.
The journalist however has not lost the scent and has ferreted out all about Jackie and Babs rescue of Captain. It is splashed across the headlines and what is worse for Jackie is that she is featured more prominently, for with being the recent winner of a pony she is more newsworthy. The girls Aunt Monica comes up trumps and says that she will buy Captain and use him on the farm. But unfortunately the happy ending for the girls is cut short. The owners of the magazine find out about Jackie and her antics and think she is not the responsible owner they thought she would be. They decide to take Misty away! Jackie is heartbroken at having to part with her beloved pony but then the journalist who wrote the story about her finds out what is going to happen. He is overcome with remorse and writes another story which solves the problem and allows Jackie to keep Misty!
REVIEW
In some ways this is more of a review of the entire Jackie series than of just this particular book. In the review I want to explore some of the criticisms which have been heaped upon the Jackie books and find out if they are well-deserved or not.
Although not in the top echelons of the ranks of pony books such as those by writers like Ruby Ferguson Patricia Leitch and the Pullein-Thompsons, the Jackie series of books are still an instituation in the pony book world and remain ever-popular. Personally I like the books, even whilst agreeing with the criticisms that they contain no real depth of character, originality or deep exploration of human nature. But does this actually make them bad novels? Conversely I think it is precisely this undemanding uncomplicated nature which makes them so popular. They are in every sense of the word comfort reading. Jackie is a straight-forward pony loving girl whom we can immediate identify with. Tensions arise along the way but there is nothing too unpleasant or heartrending and we know we will always be treated to a happy ending! When we want a book to cheer or soothe us (and in the case of we adult readers a book to take us back to the simple pleasures of our youth) we reach for a Jackie story. When we read these books we do not want to be challenged either emotionally or intellectually. We simply want a cheerful uncomplicated wholesome pony story.
This particular book, the first in the series, gives us all these things. The Jackie books in their favour are actually fairly tightly plotted, unlike many pony books which seem just to amble along aimlessly. However they do tend to follow a fairly similar storyline, this one being no exception. The books always start on a high note; the girls for instance will be setting off on holiday, invited to help at a stable, going pony trekking, etc. In this case the high is Jackie winning a pony and finding her dream mount, Misty. But then problems will arise due to the recurring theme of the two girls geting into trouble through their kind hearted but misguided intentions. Their meddling usually makes things worse, not better! In this book their kidnapping and hiding of Captain results in the fact that Jackie may have her pony taken away from her. As with all good stories tensions arise throughout the book, with the biggest one of all near the end – will Jackie lose Misty? Of course she doesn’t and in the end everything is right with the world! The happy ending is typical of the Jackie book (and indeed most pony books in general).
The later Jackie books also include two extra elements which are not seen in this one. There is often some sort of villain or unpleasant character to deal with such as Cedric and Mrs.Chivers in Jackie on Pony Island or Lenny’s father in Jackies Pony Patrol. (The journalist Robin is probably the nearest in this book to this particular character but as we learn later he was actually trying to help Jackie.) Another character which often crops up in the Jackie books is a person whom the girls want to please but invariably end up exasperating. For some reason its nearly always a male! Examples of this character can be seem in Paul Wayne in Jackies Pony Camp Summer, Derek in Jackie and the Pony Boys and John in Jackie and the Pony Trekkers. But of course Jackie usually wins him over in the end and they all become friends!
Although well-plotted the Jackie book plots aren’t that original and in this one the story of children rescuing a doomed horse (or other animal) has been seen many times before and after. However the sub-plot of the journalist and the newspaper story which threatens to lose Jackie her pony is actually a pretty good storyline probably one of the better ones in the series.
But the fact that these books have formulaic and usually not very original storylines does not make them bad novels. In fact some of the most popular novels in history share these characteristics. The Agatha Christie whodunnits for example are possibly the best-selling books in the entire world and they all follow a very similar plot. People tend to like formulaic plots because they know exactly what they are getting and will not be disappointed. To paraphrase a famous advert the Jackie books do “exactly what it says on the tin.”
Another criticism of the Jackie books are that the characters are not very well-developed and many are very stereotypical. This I have to say is true to some extent. However despite this we still find it very easy to identify with Jackie. This may be something to do with the fact that she is a very nice character, always trying to do -good but saved from being a goody two shoes by the fact that she is often misguided and does the wrong thing. Another thing that endears us to her is the fact that she is so openly fond of her pony (and in the later books we alsosee her love for her dog Scamp). In many pony books the pony seems almost superfluous to the story, simply a means of transport as children gallop from one adventure to the next but in this book there is a real sense that Jackie loves and cares for Misty. When Jackie thinks she is going to lose Misty and says “I don’t think I’ll ever love another pony as much as I love you Misty” and talks about how she will never forget their last ride together will bring a small lump into the throat of even the most jaded reader! And of course the first-person perspective in which the Jackie books are all written gives us an immediate identification with the character which is harder to achieve in third mperson narratives.
Another thing I like about this book is that, along with all the Jackie series, it is so easy to read. Although unfavourably compared to other pony book writers Judith Berrisford is in fact very very good at doing what she does. The books may not have a whole lot of depth but they are excellent examples of simple plain and entertaining writing for children. There seems to be a fashion nowadays for sneering at uncomplicated books which puport to be nothing but ‘entertainment’ but as I mentioned earlier sometimes this is just what the reader wants. The writing may be simplistic in style but it has an unobtrusive excellence. You can pick up a Jackie book any time and are instantly drawn into the story. If that is not good writing then what is?
One aspect of the Jackie books which I find rather overlooked is that they have a fairly strong moral message which is slightly off-beat. Goodness will always win through in these novels – but it is not so much good behaviour but goodness of the heart that is appreciated. In Jackie Won A Pony Jackie is punished for helping Babs kidnap the horse and hiding the fact from the adults by the fear that Misty will be taken from her. But in the end she is rewarded with a happy ending. The moral in the story is that although you shouldn’t do wrong, doing wrong for a good reason may be acceptable and will ultimately be rewarded.. There is usually an adult figure in the books telling the girls they have done wrong and often Jackie herself will admit that she has made mistakes. In this book she says “we’d done something which certainly wasn’t a pattern of behaviour for other pony-mad girls and boys.” However you almost feel that such passages have been added as a sop to the conventional morality of the time and that Ms. Berrisford hersef, though not fully condoning the girl’s behaviour, is still firmly on the side of heart over head. The adult characters in her books are never too harsh on Jackie and Babs’ escapades and there is often another adult figure like Aunt Monica in this book who almost supports their behaviour. She says that she isn’t ashamed to have two nieces with such spirit and as Babs says of her “I never knew grown ups could be so sensible!” I can almost imagine the author herself as an Aunt Monica (or in later books Aunt Di) figure with a sort of childish enthusiasm for life and an understanding of how rules are sometimes made to be broken. And I feel that being so in-touch with this childish side does show through in the books.
In summary I feel that this book along with all the Jackie series is an excellent example of an unpretentious undemanding but enjoyable pony book. It is not a book to be read for emotional insights, not a book which will haunt you and make you think. But it is in no way as two-dimensional as many critics would have you believe. I would compare a Jackie book to a comfy old dressing gown. It may be pushed to the back of the cupboard behind your designer jeans and party dresses, but when you want something to snuggle into on a cold night or when you’re feeling under the weather and need a bit of comfort nothing else will quite do. And of course you will never throw it away!
I would rate this book as 3 horseshoes (GOOD)