Post by garej on Jul 10, 2011 9:35:29 GMT 1
***SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK***
I cant find a way to review all of this without spoiling this book.
I was quite disappointed with this book. Yes, it is up to Judith Berrisford's usual standards, but essentially a retelling of Jackie and the Pony Rivals. The plot is virtually identical, girl and friend visit her Aunt's pony stud, there is an accident and poor old Aunt is (temporary) incapacitated. Main character and friend is left to run stud with expensive stallions, potential American buyers, local stud farm owner is a rival busybody. Oh and dont forget the runaway circus horse called Moonlight (both times the exact same name is used in both books) who happens to belong to a Mr Carl Fossey's Circus (again, both books). Other names have not been changed, with ponies named Cloud, Highland Lassie, Pixie, Cobweb & Tiptoes in both books.
Instead of Jackie, we meet Philippa, who is a little less wooden and seems to have less boy trouble than Jackie did (though it is not entirely missing either as at one point Philippa does put a foot in it). Instead of Babs, we have Joy, who turns out is not that horsey, and quite a novice, which is a dangerous thing with stallions about. But it seems ok and a normal pony book plotish thing to have a novice, though Joy does seem to be less of an annoyance and both characters are less annoying than both Jackie/Babs. Though in Jackie & the Pony Rivals, we do have Fiona, a school friend of Babs tagging along for that book, who is also no outstanding rider either.
Maybe I would appreciate it more if I had not read the Jackie book first. Yes, pony authors have been known to reuse plots. But to make things so dramatically different. The only changes (other than people names) is that Jackie and the Pony Rivals is set in a Scottish Stud, this one is set in a Welsh Pony Stud with an Anglo Arab stallion. I kept on making comparisons with the Jackie book and all the things that went wrong, I kept on thinking that Jackie or Babs did them instead of Joy/Philippa. There was no way I could get either of them out of my mind. Perhaps it is to do with the fact it is Judith Berrisford, her writing is so similar in both books, that I could not make so many comparisons, if it had been an different author.
This book, which has not been reprinted, is hard to find, and I would not say is worth the money. Unless like me, you found a cheap copy that is & are prepared for a rehashed plot. The illustrations are dire (first editions of Jackie and the Pony Rivals at least had Geoffrey Whittam's illustrations), and do the book no favours. Ironically enough, Jackie and the Pony Rivals is the rehashed plot: Five Foals was published originally in 1963 whereas Pony Rivals was published in 1983; twenty years later. I think this book shows what a somewhat weak writer Judith Berrisford was, and I have always held the view that perhaps her horsey books arent the best (her dog/cat ones are). This rehashing of a well worn plot proves it entirely. I said earlier on that I was disappointed, this is why and perhaps I was expecting more. This book (or perhaps the Jackie book) could have been changed so dramatically that comparisons were not strictly necessary.
I would give this an "Average" (2 Horseshoes) because of the rehashed plot, and if you have read Pony Rivals you will not get it out of your mind. That doesnt mean I would score Pony Rivals much higher, but at least you have the familiarity of Jackie and Babs (not to mention Geoffrey Whittam) so at least you kind of know what is expected. With this book, nope. Maybe I would have scored it higher had I not read Pony Rivals, but due to the fact this is hard to find, whereas Pony Rivals is so much easier, that it is inevitable that for many people they will read this in the same order i.e. Pony Rivals first.
I cant find a way to review all of this without spoiling this book.
I was quite disappointed with this book. Yes, it is up to Judith Berrisford's usual standards, but essentially a retelling of Jackie and the Pony Rivals. The plot is virtually identical, girl and friend visit her Aunt's pony stud, there is an accident and poor old Aunt is (temporary) incapacitated. Main character and friend is left to run stud with expensive stallions, potential American buyers, local stud farm owner is a rival busybody. Oh and dont forget the runaway circus horse called Moonlight (both times the exact same name is used in both books) who happens to belong to a Mr Carl Fossey's Circus (again, both books). Other names have not been changed, with ponies named Cloud, Highland Lassie, Pixie, Cobweb & Tiptoes in both books.
Instead of Jackie, we meet Philippa, who is a little less wooden and seems to have less boy trouble than Jackie did (though it is not entirely missing either as at one point Philippa does put a foot in it). Instead of Babs, we have Joy, who turns out is not that horsey, and quite a novice, which is a dangerous thing with stallions about. But it seems ok and a normal pony book plotish thing to have a novice, though Joy does seem to be less of an annoyance and both characters are less annoying than both Jackie/Babs. Though in Jackie & the Pony Rivals, we do have Fiona, a school friend of Babs tagging along for that book, who is also no outstanding rider either.
Maybe I would appreciate it more if I had not read the Jackie book first. Yes, pony authors have been known to reuse plots. But to make things so dramatically different. The only changes (other than people names) is that Jackie and the Pony Rivals is set in a Scottish Stud, this one is set in a Welsh Pony Stud with an Anglo Arab stallion. I kept on making comparisons with the Jackie book and all the things that went wrong, I kept on thinking that Jackie or Babs did them instead of Joy/Philippa. There was no way I could get either of them out of my mind. Perhaps it is to do with the fact it is Judith Berrisford, her writing is so similar in both books, that I could not make so many comparisons, if it had been an different author.
This book, which has not been reprinted, is hard to find, and I would not say is worth the money. Unless like me, you found a cheap copy that is & are prepared for a rehashed plot. The illustrations are dire (first editions of Jackie and the Pony Rivals at least had Geoffrey Whittam's illustrations), and do the book no favours. Ironically enough, Jackie and the Pony Rivals is the rehashed plot: Five Foals was published originally in 1963 whereas Pony Rivals was published in 1983; twenty years later. I think this book shows what a somewhat weak writer Judith Berrisford was, and I have always held the view that perhaps her horsey books arent the best (her dog/cat ones are). This rehashing of a well worn plot proves it entirely. I said earlier on that I was disappointed, this is why and perhaps I was expecting more. This book (or perhaps the Jackie book) could have been changed so dramatically that comparisons were not strictly necessary.
I would give this an "Average" (2 Horseshoes) because of the rehashed plot, and if you have read Pony Rivals you will not get it out of your mind. That doesnt mean I would score Pony Rivals much higher, but at least you have the familiarity of Jackie and Babs (not to mention Geoffrey Whittam) so at least you kind of know what is expected. With this book, nope. Maybe I would have scored it higher had I not read Pony Rivals, but due to the fact this is hard to find, whereas Pony Rivals is so much easier, that it is inevitable that for many people they will read this in the same order i.e. Pony Rivals first.