Post by Claire on Dec 31, 2008 18:04:26 GMT 1
PONIES IN THE ATTIC by IRENE MAKIN
EDITION REVIEWED: PB ED 1978
MAIN CHARACTERS:
DEBBIE – A lonely young girl whose mother has died and who lives with her Aunt and brothers whilst her father is away working
DAN - The mysterious boy Debbie meets in the woods
BLINKA – The wild New Forest pony mare
ROGER & GEOFF – Debbie’s twin brothers
EVANS & EX – the children’s two ponies
AUNT JO – Debbie’s rather unsympathetic Aunt.
PLOT SUMMARY:
Debbie’s father is well off and has bought a large house in the New Forest for his three children to live with their Aunt Jo while he is away working. But despite living in such a beautiful place and with two ponies available for the children to ride, Debbie is unhappy. Her overbearing brothers never allow her to ride the ponies or join in their games and Aunt Jo thinks she is a nuisance, despite giving her lots of jobs to do around the house. She misses her mother who has recently died and her father who is always away working, and she feels like she doesn’t fit in with anyone or anywhere.
One day she discovers someone has drawn some lovely pony pictures on the wall of the attic and she enjoys looking at them. She also discovers a real pony visitor to the house when a little pony mare peers at her through the bushes when she is in the garden. She feels that the pictures and the pony are somehow connected and she somehow feels compelled to try and track down the little mare. Not being country-wise however she soon gets lost and finds herself at a ford where she meets an interesting looking boy. He tells her his name is Dan and at first is quite friendly but when she begins to tell him about where she lives and about the ponies in the attic he turns abrupt and cold and gives her brisk directions to get back home. As she is leaving, Debbie looks back to see that the pony she has been searching for has appeared at the ford and is greeting Dan.
Debbie feels that she would love to have both Dan and the pony for friends but sadly realises that neither one wants or needs her, and she feels more alone than ever. Then one day she gets caught in a storm and sprains her ankle. She manages to stumble to a cottage in the woods where Dan and his family live. There she is treated kindly but distantly by Dan’s mother. But when Aunt Jo arrives to collect her she has caught a chill and is allowed to stay longer. After meeting the unsympathetic Aunt Jo both Dan and hid mum seem to warm to Debbie, feeling sorry for her, and soon she and Dan have become friends. He even tells her about Blinka, the pony mare and how he befriended her, and then takes her with him to meet her in the forest. It is a magical moment but Debbie still thinks there is something distant in Dan.
Then she finds out the truth about him and how her father has bought his old house where his family had lived for a thousand years. The ponies in the attic were drawn by Dan when he lived there. Although Dan likes Debbie, he thinks that he can never get over the resentment he feels that her family are living in his beloved house. Debbie is distraught. She wants the friendship of Dan more than anything. Can she somehow make things right between them, or will it take their shared love of Blinka to bring them together?
The book also has a sequel called Ponies in Peril in which Debbie and Dan share a new adventure together.
REVIEW:
This is a gentle and old-fashioned story of the type which is rarely seen today. There were many stories like this around when I was a child, well-written, insightful and concerned with the feelings and emotions of children: all wrapped up in a neat and interesting plot. Perhaps the book would even be thought slightly boring to a young modern reader. There are certainly no huge excitements in the book, no great triumphs or tragedies. Instead we have the smaller ups and downs which make up real life and which can be just as compelling for the reader if the author is as skilful as Ms. Makin.
The horse element of the book is fairly slight but still central to the story. This is not a book about riding and gynkhanas, but about a wild pony and its place in the hearts of two children. As with many pony stories it is the pony itself which brings about a change in the lives of the children. At the beginning of the book there are two very different children who are both lonely and unhappy. Debbie feels friendless and without purpose. Dan feels bitter and angry about the way he has been ousted from his family home by rich ‘townies.’ It is the little wild mare Blinka who brings them together. First of all in a mere physical sense in that Debbie, searching for the pony she has glimpsed from her garden gets lost and stumbles upon Dan. Unfortunately these two children who are so suited to become friends, have their budding friendship destroyed when Dan finds out that Debbie is in fact one of the family of rich folk who have bought his house! Eventually however their shared love and interest in the wild ponies of the forest, especially Blinka, overcomes their enmity. This culminates in Dan finally managing to return to his old house in the guise of a visitor, and while they are both there Blinka appears as if to say she is glad they are finally together.
There is a magical quality to the book and we are not talking Harry Potter/horses turning into unicorns etc type of magic. The magic in this book is that very subtle kind: a suggestion that there is more to life than the mundane, that there is something spiritual to be found in the wild places and wild animals of our land. In a way Blinka is almost like some sort of fairy spirit flitting through the trees to bring the children together. But if such a term in not a contradiction this is a realistic magic, the kind you will feel coming across a rare wild creature in its own element. As Debbie explains when she sees a stag in the wild and compares it to the deer she has seen in Richmond Park.
”I mean it was a real real one…it belonged. It wasn’t just put there for people to say ‘Oh look at that stag.’”
But this sense of magic and wonder which fills the book does not mean it degenerates into some sort of esoteric nature worship. The book is given a contrasting down to earth quality by the crisp writing style, the realistic dialogue and the well drawn characters. In this way the author has managed to perfectly the convey the mystical quality which does occasionally touch us through the thick blanket of normality which usually shrouds us.
There is also a deep sense of the bond between place and identity in the book. Again this is something lacking in modern life, although we see a precursor to the now prevalent issue of rich outsiders buying up homes and land which have been in families for generations. Dan is part of the forest as much as is Blinka. But the author is also telling us that we can gain an emotional bond with a place even if we do not originate there. Debbie’s growing affinity with the ponies and the forest show us that there is also a spiritual bond, which can be just as strong as a physical one. It is this which enables both Blinka and Dan to become close to her, and, which ultimately overcomes Dan’s hostility. Despite the fact that at the beginning of the book she cannot tell an oak tree from an elm and she keeps getting lost, he realises she is not a mere soulless ‘townie’ but someone who will eventually love and understand the forest as much as him.
I do like the main characters in the book. From the start we immediately empathise with Debbie who is treated badly by the rest of her family. Despite the family having two ponies she cannot ride, as her two awful brothers won’t let her. Her aunt is a martinet. And even her father can’t bring himself to have a close relationship with her, as she reminds him too painfully of her dead mother. She is in real need of a friend. It is very sad that she even feels that the ponies on the wall are more friendly than her own family.
Dan is a more complex character, but he too is also wholly sympathetic when we find that he has lost his ancestral home. Perhaps this is even more Dan’s story than Debbie’s. As the story progresses he is seen to struggle against conflicting emotions and come to terms with what has happened in his life. The ending of the book is very well done. A lesser writer would have arranged in some way for Dan to get his house back. But if this were to happen it would not give Dan a chance to overcome his bitterness. The fact that he must accept the fact that Debbie is living in his old house and overcome his anger enough to forgive her family and stay friends with her, shows his development as a character, and makes him a much more interesting personality. As he says himself:
“I didn’t need you to send that letter to your father Debbie, because I mean to get the house back myself.” (page 106)
All in all an excellent read for someone who enjoys subtlety over excitement and is interested in a story with a little more emotional depth than the average pony book.
I would rate this book as 4 horseshoes
EDITION REVIEWED: PB ED 1978
MAIN CHARACTERS:
DEBBIE – A lonely young girl whose mother has died and who lives with her Aunt and brothers whilst her father is away working
DAN - The mysterious boy Debbie meets in the woods
BLINKA – The wild New Forest pony mare
ROGER & GEOFF – Debbie’s twin brothers
EVANS & EX – the children’s two ponies
AUNT JO – Debbie’s rather unsympathetic Aunt.
PLOT SUMMARY:
Debbie’s father is well off and has bought a large house in the New Forest for his three children to live with their Aunt Jo while he is away working. But despite living in such a beautiful place and with two ponies available for the children to ride, Debbie is unhappy. Her overbearing brothers never allow her to ride the ponies or join in their games and Aunt Jo thinks she is a nuisance, despite giving her lots of jobs to do around the house. She misses her mother who has recently died and her father who is always away working, and she feels like she doesn’t fit in with anyone or anywhere.
One day she discovers someone has drawn some lovely pony pictures on the wall of the attic and she enjoys looking at them. She also discovers a real pony visitor to the house when a little pony mare peers at her through the bushes when she is in the garden. She feels that the pictures and the pony are somehow connected and she somehow feels compelled to try and track down the little mare. Not being country-wise however she soon gets lost and finds herself at a ford where she meets an interesting looking boy. He tells her his name is Dan and at first is quite friendly but when she begins to tell him about where she lives and about the ponies in the attic he turns abrupt and cold and gives her brisk directions to get back home. As she is leaving, Debbie looks back to see that the pony she has been searching for has appeared at the ford and is greeting Dan.
Debbie feels that she would love to have both Dan and the pony for friends but sadly realises that neither one wants or needs her, and she feels more alone than ever. Then one day she gets caught in a storm and sprains her ankle. She manages to stumble to a cottage in the woods where Dan and his family live. There she is treated kindly but distantly by Dan’s mother. But when Aunt Jo arrives to collect her she has caught a chill and is allowed to stay longer. After meeting the unsympathetic Aunt Jo both Dan and hid mum seem to warm to Debbie, feeling sorry for her, and soon she and Dan have become friends. He even tells her about Blinka, the pony mare and how he befriended her, and then takes her with him to meet her in the forest. It is a magical moment but Debbie still thinks there is something distant in Dan.
Then she finds out the truth about him and how her father has bought his old house where his family had lived for a thousand years. The ponies in the attic were drawn by Dan when he lived there. Although Dan likes Debbie, he thinks that he can never get over the resentment he feels that her family are living in his beloved house. Debbie is distraught. She wants the friendship of Dan more than anything. Can she somehow make things right between them, or will it take their shared love of Blinka to bring them together?
The book also has a sequel called Ponies in Peril in which Debbie and Dan share a new adventure together.
REVIEW:
This is a gentle and old-fashioned story of the type which is rarely seen today. There were many stories like this around when I was a child, well-written, insightful and concerned with the feelings and emotions of children: all wrapped up in a neat and interesting plot. Perhaps the book would even be thought slightly boring to a young modern reader. There are certainly no huge excitements in the book, no great triumphs or tragedies. Instead we have the smaller ups and downs which make up real life and which can be just as compelling for the reader if the author is as skilful as Ms. Makin.
The horse element of the book is fairly slight but still central to the story. This is not a book about riding and gynkhanas, but about a wild pony and its place in the hearts of two children. As with many pony stories it is the pony itself which brings about a change in the lives of the children. At the beginning of the book there are two very different children who are both lonely and unhappy. Debbie feels friendless and without purpose. Dan feels bitter and angry about the way he has been ousted from his family home by rich ‘townies.’ It is the little wild mare Blinka who brings them together. First of all in a mere physical sense in that Debbie, searching for the pony she has glimpsed from her garden gets lost and stumbles upon Dan. Unfortunately these two children who are so suited to become friends, have their budding friendship destroyed when Dan finds out that Debbie is in fact one of the family of rich folk who have bought his house! Eventually however their shared love and interest in the wild ponies of the forest, especially Blinka, overcomes their enmity. This culminates in Dan finally managing to return to his old house in the guise of a visitor, and while they are both there Blinka appears as if to say she is glad they are finally together.
There is a magical quality to the book and we are not talking Harry Potter/horses turning into unicorns etc type of magic. The magic in this book is that very subtle kind: a suggestion that there is more to life than the mundane, that there is something spiritual to be found in the wild places and wild animals of our land. In a way Blinka is almost like some sort of fairy spirit flitting through the trees to bring the children together. But if such a term in not a contradiction this is a realistic magic, the kind you will feel coming across a rare wild creature in its own element. As Debbie explains when she sees a stag in the wild and compares it to the deer she has seen in Richmond Park.
”I mean it was a real real one…it belonged. It wasn’t just put there for people to say ‘Oh look at that stag.’”
But this sense of magic and wonder which fills the book does not mean it degenerates into some sort of esoteric nature worship. The book is given a contrasting down to earth quality by the crisp writing style, the realistic dialogue and the well drawn characters. In this way the author has managed to perfectly the convey the mystical quality which does occasionally touch us through the thick blanket of normality which usually shrouds us.
There is also a deep sense of the bond between place and identity in the book. Again this is something lacking in modern life, although we see a precursor to the now prevalent issue of rich outsiders buying up homes and land which have been in families for generations. Dan is part of the forest as much as is Blinka. But the author is also telling us that we can gain an emotional bond with a place even if we do not originate there. Debbie’s growing affinity with the ponies and the forest show us that there is also a spiritual bond, which can be just as strong as a physical one. It is this which enables both Blinka and Dan to become close to her, and, which ultimately overcomes Dan’s hostility. Despite the fact that at the beginning of the book she cannot tell an oak tree from an elm and she keeps getting lost, he realises she is not a mere soulless ‘townie’ but someone who will eventually love and understand the forest as much as him.
I do like the main characters in the book. From the start we immediately empathise with Debbie who is treated badly by the rest of her family. Despite the family having two ponies she cannot ride, as her two awful brothers won’t let her. Her aunt is a martinet. And even her father can’t bring himself to have a close relationship with her, as she reminds him too painfully of her dead mother. She is in real need of a friend. It is very sad that she even feels that the ponies on the wall are more friendly than her own family.
Dan is a more complex character, but he too is also wholly sympathetic when we find that he has lost his ancestral home. Perhaps this is even more Dan’s story than Debbie’s. As the story progresses he is seen to struggle against conflicting emotions and come to terms with what has happened in his life. The ending of the book is very well done. A lesser writer would have arranged in some way for Dan to get his house back. But if this were to happen it would not give Dan a chance to overcome his bitterness. The fact that he must accept the fact that Debbie is living in his old house and overcome his anger enough to forgive her family and stay friends with her, shows his development as a character, and makes him a much more interesting personality. As he says himself:
“I didn’t need you to send that letter to your father Debbie, because I mean to get the house back myself.” (page 106)
All in all an excellent read for someone who enjoys subtlety over excitement and is interested in a story with a little more emotional depth than the average pony book.
I would rate this book as 4 horseshoes
