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Post by Claire on Nov 25, 2009 12:19:09 GMT 1
Our next reading circle book will be Dream Pony by Elinore Havers We will start the discussion in approximately 10 days time, to give everyone who wants to take part time to get their hands on a copy and read it. If anyone needs to borrow a copy post here, I think there are one or two spare ones floating around!
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Post by tinuviel on Nov 26, 2009 22:57:42 GMT 1
Cool,i will start re-reading tonight (though I'm sure it's only a few months since i read it lol).
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Post by Claire on Nov 27, 2009 0:52:54 GMT 1
Well if you have read it twice in a few months tinuviel you will be able to give a really in-depth analysis of it! ;D I've got a few others to get thru before I start this one but its a while since I read it and looking forward to re-visiting it
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Post by Claire on Dec 4, 2009 21:21:40 GMT 1
Finally got round to reading it! I'm almost finished Don't forget to post here if you need to borrow a copy.
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Post by sarah on Dec 5, 2009 19:10:23 GMT 1
Yes please - thought I had a copy but can't seem to find it anywhere.
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Post by kunuma on Dec 6, 2009 22:34:58 GMT 1
Oh dear, this book is going to start me on a " why are today's children incapable of the same level of responsibility that the children of the past were", and it isn't rose coloured spectacles - I have been trying to find one capable of looking after two guinea pigs ( never mind a riding stable!) no chance!! I liked the book!
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Post by Claire on Dec 6, 2009 22:40:48 GMT 1
Just what I was thinking when I was reading it kunuma! Anyway nowadays parents would't let their kids do it, in fact they barely let them out of the door by themselves nowadays it seems. Anyway more on the book later...
Sarah I will send the book to you shortly. I just realized I still have a few of yours which i borrowed from you ages ago so I will send them back too!
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Post by sarah on Dec 7, 2009 23:14:36 GMT 1
Thanks Claire - hope you enjoyed the other books.
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Post by susanb on Dec 8, 2009 0:19:32 GMT 1
Finished Dream Pony yesterday, so I'm ready to go whenever!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2009 8:28:58 GMT 1
My copy is on its way (thanks Zoe ) so I've yet to read it but I can join in later if everyone wants to start now
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Post by Claire on Dec 8, 2009 13:14:02 GMT 1
I like this book. It is definitely comfort reading and a traditional pony story, although with a couple of twists which raise it slightly above the ordinary 'dream pony' plot which the title would suggest. The first and biggest twist is of course that the dream pony turns out to be anything but. There are lots of stories in which children get bargain ponies in sales, etc, who turn out to be winners but Blue Smoke is, sadly for the girls, not such a pony. He does not turn out to be a jewel in the rough. I am sure that the author was intentionally contrasting this to the run of the mill dream pony plot. For instance she teases us and the girls by allowing us to think that Smoky may be an excellent gymkhana pony when we find out he is very good at bending and neck-reining. But this hope is soon dashed when Miss Slater tells them he is too old for such work. The girls try as best they can to recreate their dream pony in the form of Smoky by giving him a posh name and saying that blue roan is almost like grey (Carol's dream pony colour) but they soon realise that he is just a nice but old pony. The actual 'dream pony' does not even appear until the end of the book and even then just very briefly. But in some ways Smoky has been ideal for Carol. Not only has she saved a nice old pony from a nasty fate, through looking after him she has proved to her mother that she is not a dreamer and has the responsibility to look after a pony. And as she learns that she enjoys the looking after element as much as the riding, you know she will get more enjoyment out of her new pony and appreciate him more. I also like the bit with the gypsies in which Elinore Havers is again having a little dig I think at the tired old gypsy plot where ponies are stolen by gypsies. In this case the missing horse turns up in a farmer's stable! The end I think is a little more trite and is more in the traditional plot mould than the rest of the book, but it is quite heart-warming and probably fits the comfort read type plot.
All in all I think this is an under-rated story (and the author too is under-rated). Altho its certainly not one of the greats and doesn't have much in the way of psychological depth, it at least attempts to present a traditional pony story in a more interesting way and from a different angle.
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Post by exmoorfan on Dec 8, 2009 17:54:40 GMT 1
Claire you are far too intelligent for me.? I have to agree with everything you wrote. I loved this book , If I can read a book and not get bored it is great to me.?
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Post by Claire on Dec 8, 2009 21:53:50 GMT 1
exmoorfan, its not intelligence, just years of analysing books at uni I know what you mean about the not getting bored bit. I think simple straight-forward 'readability' is sadly undervalued as a factor in what makes a good book. I always find Elinore Havers readable even some of her books that arent as good. Whereas other books which may be considered far more 'deep' I just can't get into at all. EDIT - have just added a poll
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Post by exmoorfan on Dec 9, 2009 18:44:01 GMT 1
Claire Thanks.. In my old age I see books differently.lol
I would of loved this one as a child as it is a positive book,. So full of hope and a good ending.? I still enjoy a feel good book.? lol
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2009 19:06:03 GMT 1
I agree wholeheartedly with everything said so far. I must admit I liked the end chapter the most because it reminded me of certain things from my childhood...unfortunately I didn't get the dream pony though! When the gypsies came on the scene I thought, oh no not that again! But as Claire says it had a different twist to it thank goodness. And there were no bogs to fall in either! Or smugglers Very much a comfort read with a satisfying end
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Post by kunuma on Dec 9, 2009 19:50:08 GMT 1
Did anyone notice if an actual age was given for the heroine? I thought she was prob meant to be about 14 or so, but don't remember if it said or not.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2009 12:51:31 GMT 1
I've only just read the thing and I can't remember either But I've just realised we never did find out the ghastly middle name of Kim, which began with with M!
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Post by Claire on Dec 10, 2009 13:12:26 GMT 1
Does it mention the age? I thought she was a bit younger than 14, but then would they have been left in charge of the stables if they were younger?
Yep Rosie, I remember thinking that about the name first time I read it many moons ago. I wonder if the author just forgot about it, as normally that would have been revealed.
Maybe there was a sequel planned as Kim seems to disappear rather abruptly and there is talk of her coming back for the rest of the hols. Mind you Elinore Havers only seemed to write stand-alones so maybe not. A sequel would have been nice tho as we could have found out more about the new dream pony and also Kim's middle name! ;D
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Post by susanb on Dec 10, 2009 19:20:02 GMT 1
Claire....you've put your finger on what I've been trying to find words for....abrupt. The book does feel abbreviated....it could definitely gone on for a few more chapters at least, though a sequel would have been even better.
For all that, it did have charm....I liked that it was a book that dealt with the care a pony needs...that it's day in and day out, regardless of weather, personal crisis, illness, other commitments or general laziness, and not so much on the glory of the show ring. There's nothing wrong with liking to compete mind you, I loved it, but too many books completely neglect the responsibility aspect to concentrate entirly on cups and ribbons!
I particularly liked that Carol really liked caring for the ponies...the mark of a real horsewoman, not just a rider!
Re names....the thing that had struck me was how odd Carol thought "Kim" was for a girl's name....in the U.S., Kim is ALWAYS a girl's name...short for Kimberly. (Robin is another of those names....always a girl's name in the US, always a boy's in the UK).
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Post by Claire on Dec 10, 2009 19:26:53 GMT 1
We do have girl Kim's here too, more than boys, so it actually struck me as slightly odd too.
I wonder if the book suffered at the dreaded editorial hand. As said before Elinore H doesnt write sequels, but her books are usually tied up well with no loose ends, so the other alternative is it was chopped.
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Post by zoe on Dec 11, 2009 14:59:00 GMT 1
This is one of my favorite books, probably because of the pony care and because Smoky isn't your typical pony in pony books. Tbh I think the main reason I love it is because it is such a comfort read but I would have loved more detail and/or a sequel
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Post by kunuma on Dec 11, 2009 20:05:00 GMT 1
I agree - the books almost seem like a Reader's Digest version of themselves - there just isn't enough detail. Does anyone know more of Elinore Havers' background - she seems to come up with different and interesting story lines, but doesn't really 'fill in' the stories enough.
Was she writing to a set length/number of words for the publishers?
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Post by Claire on Dec 11, 2009 20:55:36 GMT 1
There's precious little biographical info on her, which I found out when I was writing her web page. If you do a google search most of what comes up is from my own website! She wrote 2 pony books for different publishers then wrote all the others for the Crown Pony series, in fact she was I think their most prolific author. So its possible that she was writing the stories to a specific remit re. no. of words, content, etc. The Crown Ponies do tend to be slightly shorter than the average pony books and the stories are usually fairly light weight, altho some of them pretty good. I havent read her two non-crown ponies books - Pony Hunt and Three Day Adventure - it would be interesting to compare them to her other books.
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Post by susanb on Dec 11, 2009 21:12:58 GMT 1
Claire...don't forget The Surprise Riding Club, which was for Collins (first in it's Seagull Library, then in it's Pony Library). It was actually a few pages shorter than Dream Pony, but I don't remember it feeling like it was cut down to size.
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Post by darkhorse on Dec 13, 2009 14:46:44 GMT 1
I think this was maybe the first ever pony book I read as a child so it has fond memories for me. I agree with the people who said it was nice to have an element of pony care in it rather than just gymkhanas and things. I also like the 2 characters Kim and Carol and how they are very different but both likeable and go well together. I have never really felt it was cut down to size, although I agree it would have been a nice book for a sequel. I like the fact that it is old fashioned and has old fashioned values like hard work and responsibility is good for children. I also like the fact that Kim and Carol dont ever think about getting rid Blue Smoke when they find out he can't be ridden much. In a way its quite moralistic but not in a preachy way.
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Post by Lou on Oct 19, 2011 19:53:24 GMT 1
My Granny wrote these books, she would be so pleased to see they are still being enjoyed. A few years before she died I told her that you could get her books on the internet, she was amazed! Enjoy!
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Post by Claire on Oct 19, 2011 21:52:59 GMT 1
Hi Lou thanks for letting us know, that's really interesting. I did enjoy her books as a child and still do. Do you have any other information about your granny. I'd love to know more about her, whether she was horsy, how she got into writing etc.
If you can give me more info it would be great if you could email me at ponymadbooklovers@yahoo.co.uk
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Post by garej on Jul 9, 2014 22:39:47 GMT 1
Bump because I am thinking of reading this!
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Post by tintin on Jul 21, 2015 12:47:14 GMT 1
I agree mainly with the other readers. I have read three Elinore Havers so far, "Only One Pony" and "Surprise Riding Club" were the others, and they were competent and enjoyable, but this is a cut above.
If you look at the quote I always have at the bottom of my posts the relationship of the heroine and Smoky epitomises this. Even though he can't do much he is her long faced pal and she loves him and seeks the best for him, almost instinctively.
I particularly liked the ending in that the way she got her reward was very dignified and she was doing something for someone as well as having something done for her. I also liked the way the Colonel was a kindred spirit.
"Cigarette" was the slightly racy heroine of a novel about the Foreign Legion and I would imagine that is whom his horse was named for. Could you have a horse called that in a book today?
I do think the author did have to write to a template and I think that's a shame because it is such a warm and sympathetic book I would have liked more of it.
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Post by Claire on Jul 21, 2015 17:14:04 GMT 1
Great to hear you liked this one Tintin. I think you are right, its defo her best book and for me it embodies all a pony book written for children should be.
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