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Post by Claire on Dec 21, 2008 15:06:38 GMT 1
I dont think we have ever asked this question on the forum before but was wondering what everyone's take was on the current situation of the pony book, mainly in the UK (altho I would be interested to hear what our US and Aussie members have to say about the state of the pony book in their respective nations).
Perhaps I should actually say why the traditional pony book is out of fashion as there still seems to be a market for some types of pony book: the fantasy pony story and the 'pink' pony story and the 'teen angst' pony book like Heartland. These nearly all seem to be series too, as Konstanze commented on in one of her posts (or perhaps it was in an email?!) the stand-alone traditional pony book seems to have died a death.
As we all know most of the traditional pony book writers no longer publish. (OK I know some of them are dead!) Really KM Peyton is the only one still getting fairly traditional pony books published and I think it is just due to the fact she is a mega popular all round author and not a pony book specialist. The J A Allen books a few years back seemed the last attempt to revive the genre and they obviously didnt do the job even tho there were some great books.
The fantasy pony books are no doubt part of the huge wave of fantasy novels which have followed on the success of Harry Potter. If you look at teenage book sections in shops and libraries they are almost filled with fantasy books. So it is unsurprising that authors have had to add a fantasy element into their pony books to get published. Sometimes it works well, as with KM Peyton's Stealaway, other times no so well as with Stacey Gregg's books.
But perhaps it is the 'pink' pony book which sums up why traditional pony books dont cut it now. Pony girls used to be obsessed with horses to the exclusion of all else, ponies were companions and best friends. Now they seem to be almost a fashion accessory. I think it may be caught up in the fact too that children from an early age are made to be aware of their looks and fashion. I was a tomboy. I cared more that my pony's tackwas fitting well or if he jumped well than what I looked like. But now its different. We have Jordan telling little girls of 7 that they can ride ponies and be 'glam' and other writers conjuring up images of fluffy or magical ponies which bear no resemblance to the often stubborn and irritating real thing (just how many naughty ponies were there in the PT books?)
Nor can we have a pony book for teenagers without romance and boys. What happened to the relationship between girl (or boy) and pony? Is it considered too boring for todays teenagers? I'm not saying there wasnt romance in the older pony books (Gillian Baxter in particular normally had a romance in her books) but the ponies were all important.
Anyway I have waffled on enough. Can anyone come up with their take on the downfall of the traditional pony book and does anyone think it will ever come back in fashion?
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Post by Buster on Dec 21, 2008 15:34:26 GMT 1
I dont like the newer ones... I grew up with the old books, all my mums and her siblings that my gran had kept. I was always a tomboy too! I pretty much lived in jeans and jods (unless I was forced out of them!) Now I do love getting dressed up to be fair and ill admit to having matching pink rugs, headcollars, lead ropes, tail bandgaes, boots etc etc (poor pony) but I dont buy all this stuff expecting it to last, its pretty much caked in mud after 2 mins of being washed these days :/ The thing is with Jordans books is that I cant see people with horses, or people who actually know about horses reading them. I expect its just little girls with no clue who then see riding as something fashionable, then they are influenced to take a few lessons, which to be fair is only a tiny part of the whole having a horse thing, and one of the better parts may I add! And if the horses arnt perfect, they are perfectly deranged, only to be magicaly healed by a beautiful heroine. Maybe the older books are a little too realistic, going back to what Claire said about fantasy books being in fashion atm.
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Post by fizz on Dec 21, 2008 18:41:03 GMT 1
Don't you think it might be to do with horse activities having an overall "bad press" due to inverted snobbery and the association that anyone who likes horses and/or the countryside kills pretty fluffy foxy-woxies? I was talking to a stall holder at a Farmers Market in Greater Manchester yesterday & she felt that the council was not supporting the market as well as it did the Continental ones due to this issue.
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Post by kunuma on Dec 21, 2008 18:58:07 GMT 1
I wonder if some of the reason is the money - class thing? When I was a kid (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth! ) it was much more possible to buy a pony for peanuts, and find some weird corner to keep it in (and mine have lived in some very odd places!) I rode then, (as I would now!!) in jeans and wellies, for the pure joy of being out with my pony - I didn't want to ride with anyone all the time, I wanted to be on my own with my pony - that is how we really get to know each other. But nowadays it seems to be fairly essential to have money to have horses, and to be seen to have both!! Both owner and horse should have all the right gear - dare I remember times when rugs were tatty jute things with a blanket off my bed underneath! The roads are lethal to ride on here now, as we have a different type of people driving on them to whom the horse is merely an anachronism that is in the way - so this means needing somewhere to ride safely. Hence you either need to afford an indoor school or a house near the moors! There does seem to be a more 'wannabe upper class' element attached to horse owning now, I have found that out in my house hunting, estate agents definitely think that owning horses makes one a desirable tenant - whereas dog owning is more 'working class''' Dare I suggest that pony books have been dumbed down in order that children's aspirations can be dumbed down too! The people in pony books were, and still are, my friends, and I have discovered thanks to this site, that there are others who feel the same, and who interestingly, I quite like to have as real life, if rather long distance friends too! I didn't mind the people in the books having more money, better horses etc than me, but that does seem to matter to today's kids! Perhaps in the strange way that today's kids seem incapabale of living life unless they are in permanent contact with myriad other kids, they don't want or need either imaginary friends or ponies. Perhaps this immediate contact with people enabled by the internet, mobile phones crowds out our need for, and use of, imagination - (she says - typing on the internet!!) An 11 year old recently told me people who read books were sad - I think that those who don't are the truly sad ones
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Post by Claire on Dec 21, 2008 21:18:16 GMT 1
I think mysteryarab has hit the nail on the head when she says that its not really horsy people buying the Jordan books, or indeed the pink/fantasy ones in general but rather kids who see ponies as a fashion accessory/fashionable past-time or something akin to a barbie horse that you can put away when you have had enough of it. I dont think they are about the relationship you get with your horse or pony at all or the real nuts and bolts of riding and caring for your pony. Also kunuma it is interesting what you say about ponies being more acessible to all. I also think as well as it being a snobby thing it has something to do with all the rules and regulations/health and safety/nanny state stuff that goes on nowadays. Back in the jurassic age along with kunuma, there were lots of us with or looking after ponies without money/stables/proper equipment. There were ponies on bits of grass all over the place. None of us had loads of tack, I remember making my own lungeing equipment when I was breaking in a horse! Lots of small stables were run by horsy eccentrics with little regards to rules and on a shoestring so lessons were more affordable. Now all that has changed. Some stable owners have had to pack in and set up abroad cos they cant afford all the liablity insurance here! Perhaps now there is too much of a gap between people who can afford horses and riding lessons and those who cant. Obviously tho there are still young people like msyteryarab out there who enjoy a traditional horsy story, but alas I fear a lot of children are like that 11 year old who thinks reading is 'sad' and need constant stimulation and excitement. The only books they seem to read are the harry potter type unrealistic stories, hence even ponies have become boring unless they turn into unicorns or sprout wings or such-like Strange cos I used to think that you couldnt get more exciting than ponies!
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Post by trixiepony on Dec 22, 2008 7:08:22 GMT 1
it's so sad all those kids not growing up with the old pony books .
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Post by zoe on Dec 22, 2008 10:09:11 GMT 1
An 11 year old recently told me people who read books were sad - I think that those who don't are the truly sad ones I totally agree kunuma. I think that kids are different these days, when I compare my 10 yr old daughter to myself at her age there is quite a difference. She seems to expect more to be done for her and thinks she knows everything. (help I've created a monster) whereas I was happy to bumble around just enjoying my pony not always riding but grooming for hours or sitting in the field. I learnt a lot from pony books as we couldn't afford lessons. She is starting to read my pony books now but she has struggled with her reading so finds them hard but she enjoys them and I hope that she will learn from them too. I just hope that "proper" pony books will come back into fashion.
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Post by zoe on Dec 22, 2008 13:38:17 GMT 1
After saying that, I've just been at the ponies waiting for the farrier and my daughter mucked out the whole barn without being asked!
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Post by darkhorse on Dec 22, 2008 17:45:07 GMT 1
I agree that girls are much more conscious of their appearance and fashion now from an early age. I know both mine already are.....they are only 4 and 6!!! so this could be the reason for the Jordan type books rather than the warts 'n' all old fashiioned pony books. I hope mine will read the old favourites when they are old enough. What about your kids zoe do you think your daughter is more interested in the way she looks than you were at her age? I don' think as many people ride now as used to in the 1950s to 1970s eras either.
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happy
Pony Trekker
Posts: 50
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Post by happy on Dec 22, 2008 18:47:51 GMT 1
I think this is a great question... Def. had me thinking about the answer.
I agree it is definitly an indication of the times. I was pony mad from a young age but no one in my family was horsey so I had to rely on helping out at stables and reading books. Back in our days I guess we didnt have computer games, internet and all the other technology that children have today so we had to rely on books to stretch our imagination especially in subjects we were interested in. If you cant be around the things you love 24/7 why not escape to it in a book.
I wonder if its not just pony books that are suffering?
I tend to now only come accross children who are into horses because their parents are and dont need the escapism of a book because they have the real thing.
Do children read as much as we did when we were younger now they have so many other distractions?
xxxxx
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Post by Claire on Dec 22, 2008 21:30:16 GMT 1
Oh I SO want to reply at length but am languishing in bed with a bad dose of flu and am struggling a bit so will have to be a shortened version. As you know Konstamze I share your views of the way the British society is going downhill and I would like to escape too. When you think about it pony books were often about traditional values, improving yourself and your horse, working to get what you wanted (as in children saving up for ponies) and learning to get along with both animals and people. The rich girl who had everything and was a pothunter was always the villain: June Cresswell, Susan Pyke, etc. Now in our avaricious posession mad society they would possibly be role models! I dont think children aspire to the same things as they used to. Girls have different ambitions. My friend told me a while back that a survey asking young girls what they most wanted to be when they grew up had a page 3 girl and footballers wife as top answers! How can the traditional pony book survive in a society like that? Happy asked if books other than pony books are suffering. I somehow suspect that other traditional books such as the Swallows and Amazon type 'holiday adventures' have also gone out of fashion for a similar reason that they are not exciting enough for todays kids. Interestingly the Famous Five books are still being published - these are the unrealistic sensational side of children's books which still seems to appeal! Also to pursue this discussion please everyone check out konstanze's post on the adult books thread where she talks about the German pony book and how it still survives there. Very interesting link to this topic. OMG will have to finish now as exhausted!
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Post by susanb on Dec 22, 2008 21:33:11 GMT 1
Jumping in late on this....lots of good posts already! Re the traditional pony book.....I think happy has a thought there...there are a LOT of books going downhill fast...I'll never forget picking up one of the "new" Nancy Drews and discovering that Nancy's major preoccupation these days is how her behind looks in her new jeans. Arrggh!!! It's odd too....I think that in the past we speak of (40s, 50, 60s), adults in general actually did dress more stylishly than today, but that wasn't the main focus of being....talent, brains, character, hard work, kindness, etc, were more important in life, which was reflected in books. That said, there are still parents out there raising sane, decent kids (thank goodness!) and there are still a few books around for those kids. (on the mystery front, while Nancy may have hit the skids, Wendelin van Draanan's Sammy Keyes is a terrific heronine for her time!) In the U.S., the Pony Club hardcovers have attracted a few English writers who (presumably) were having difficulty in getting published in the UK...including a couple of contributors to the Allen Equestrian series: Ann Wigley and Pamela Kavanagh (the other English author I know of who has written for the Pony Club is Jenny Hughes). For independant, non-series, pony books, things are not great, but there are a few still producing quality work: Kim Ablon Whitney's The Perfect Distance: www.amazon.com/Perfect-Distance-Kim-Ablon-Whitney/dp/0375832432/ref=sr_oe_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229976978&sr=1-1Diane Lee Wilson's work, which is historic as well as horse oriented: I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade www.amazon.com/Rode-Horse-Milk-White-Jade/dp/006440773X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229977227&sr=1-1Firehorse www.amazon.com/Firehorse-Diane-Lee-Wilson/dp/1416915516/ref=pd_sim_b_1Black Storm Comin' www.amazon.com/Black-Storm-Comin-Diane-Wilson/dp/0689871384/ref=pd_sim_b_2two of Jean Slaughter Doty's books have found their way back into print: www.amazon.com/Summer-Pony-Stepping-Stone-Book/dp/037584709X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229977302&sr=1-1and Winter Pony www.amazon.com/Winter-Pony-Stepping-Stone-Book/dp/0375847103/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229977328&sr=1-3as has Barbara Morgenroth's Impossible Charlie www.amazon.com/Impossible-Charlie-Barbara-Morgenroth/dp/0981644007/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229977465&sr=1-1And, while I find it very disappointing that Jessie Haas hasn't continued her middle grade and teen level books (A Horse Like Barney, Keeping Barney, Working Trot), her picture books are worth checking out, even for adults...I couldn't resist buying Runaway Radish, who reminded me of every good "bad" pony who ever taught me! www.amazon.com/Runaway-Radish-Jessie-Haas/dp/0688166881/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229977847&sr=1-4
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Post by cally on Dec 22, 2008 22:09:27 GMT 1
This is a fascinating question and I'd like to think about it a bit before I contribute- I have to take one of my ducks into the vet this morning for surgery to have a tumour removed & do Xmas shopping- but I will say that I took a punt on a modern book by Samantha Alexander and nearly threw it across the room in revulsion before Id finished the 2nd page.
A 15 year old with a 19 year old boyfriend? YECCH! I'm pretty open minded but that's ridiculous and barely legal!!! Modern life is pants, and the kids are the ones losing out and they don't even know it. Will there be a backlash followed by a revival of interest in ideas of greater value eventually? I fervently hope so.
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Post by Claire on Dec 22, 2008 22:33:31 GMT 1
Thanks konstanze I am trying to drum up some sympathy! ;D
I actually quite like the samantha alexander books altho I could do without the teen romance element. Saying that when I was at school there were 15 and 16 year old girls going out with 18 and 19 year old boys so perhaps not so weird after all.
Yep the Pony Club/Stabenfeldt seem to be one of the few publishers with traditional or semi traditional pony books. I have read a few and they were quite good. But they dont publish in the UK and as you so rightly say susanb some of our brit authors are having to be published over there by them. Love the nancy drew does my bum look big in this thing BTW susan! ;D
Be interested to hear the australian take on things cally - is your society getting the same way as ours?
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Post by Claire on Dec 23, 2008 13:02:50 GMT 1
They weren't having SEX in the Sam Alexander books were they?!!! If so I missed that bit! But it isnt illegal to have a girlfriend of less than 16 as long as they are not having sex. But hey how on earth did we get to this subject? Anyway I do agree it was a needless inclusion into the books. Thanks again for the kind thoughts & prayers konstanze but I have a feeling I will be spending Christmas in bed this year
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Post by kunuma on Dec 24, 2008 15:16:11 GMT 1
As one of the 'poor people' who is finding it pretty tricky to live here nowadays, but who has absolutely no experience of any other country, I am intrigued by the thought that it might be better elsewhere. This country seems to have changed beyond recognition in the past 10 years, even though I am lucky enough to live in one of the parts that has possibly changed more slowly. Not only would I not want to bring up children here now, but I no longer want to bring puppies and foals into the world, not just because there are FAR too many already, but also because less and less it seems a caring enough place for them to live their lives as I should like them to. Is it really better elsewhere?? Do some European countries really still have the values that Britain has lost somewhere in it's fog of political correctness. If so, where?? and how have they managed it?? (Sounds like I am looking for pony book land I know, but it would be nice to think it is still out there, somewhere)
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Post by Claire on Dec 24, 2008 17:31:38 GMT 1
I have travelled to quite a lot to other European countries (mainly southern european) and I find most are more pleasant than England now. They are all more family orientated, less capitalist-minded, with less stupid rules and a more relaxed atmosphere. (and most have better weather too!) The only downside is some societies are not as caring for animals as we are...but then again that is changing too here. When I visited Austria I was surprised at how clean it was, there was not a tiny bit of rubbish to be seen and the people were so friendly. In Spain and Italy they are also very friendly. They do have a different culture to us. People go out more with their families. There is little in the way of binge drinking as people go out on a night for a meal with a few glasses of wine rather than to a pub crawl in order to pour as much alcohol down their necks as humanly possible. If you do hear drunken louts it is usually Brits What gets me about Britain is that it is a weird mixture of ridiculous rules/bearocracy gone mad and a complete lack of caring for the real issues that face us such as crime/binge drinking/youth behaviour. We live in a society where mums can't give their kids cakes to take to the school party in case they give someone a stomach upset but where people have been beaten to death by teenagers for looking at them the wrong way. Madness! Oh I know we are straying off the point here, but I must admit it is a pet peeve if mine (and konstanze's too by the look of things!) I now also live in a very nice old fashioned village, but for most of my life lived in a big city and saw things getting worse and worse all the time. I was shocked when I came here and kids said hello to me and even opened doors for me! But I cant help but wonder how long it will be before the rot will set in in these small villages too.
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Post by garej on Dec 24, 2008 19:27:35 GMT 1
What gets me about Britain is that it is a weird mixture of ridiculous rules/bearocracy gone mad and a complete lack of caring for the real issues that face us such as crime/binge drinking/youth behaviour. We live in a society where mums can't give their kids cakes to take to the school party in case they give someone a stomach upset but where people have been beaten to death by teenagers for looking at them the wrong way. Madness! On the bus once this mum was phoned by a school teacher. They were having a cookery lesson, and the parents had to give permission to say that it was ok. The reasoning behind this? The mum explained to the son that the teacher had to ask, in case the child (or any other child in the class) had a nut allergy, otherwise they were not allowed to taste the stuff, or participate in any way. Last year, a school banned home made mince pies. They cited health and safety as the reason. Anyway, I think a lot of it is that the lack of coverage of equestrian sports in general, especially over the past 10 years. I remember a time when the BBC used to show Badminton's cross country for about 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon, and again 2 hours on a Sunday (showjumping phase). Over the past few years, we're lucky if we get 2 hours on a Sunday afternoon, and that includes cross country and dressage highlights. Meaning that really you only get an hour's showjumping. Burghley had about 2 hours coverage in total, and the same goes for Hickstead. The same goes with Olympia, you used to get 2 hours every single night it was on, this year, we had an hour and half on Saturday (that was shared with the racing) and 2 hours on a Sunday. So really, unless you are luckily enough to have digital tv with the sports channels, there is really no way to see any horsey sports (with the exception of racing), and no way for some kids to go "one day I want to compete at Badminton/Olympia/etc". Also, in the 1970s/1980s there was a lot more horsey programmes on the TV (and to a certain extent, the early 1990s). If kids are not exposed to horses, then they are not going to go riding, and not going to read horsey books. No horsey books selling means that publishers are not going to bother casting new ones, and those that do go (with the exception of K M Peyton) ones with books that have watery thin plots. Whereas 20 years ago, the kind that there are around would have been most likely shown the door and told to come back when they have written something better. If the BBC (or even ITV) would show more horsey programmes, then I think more people would become interested, and therefore pony books would pick up.
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Post by cally on Dec 26, 2008 1:17:39 GMT 1
Part of the charm of the earlier post war pbs is that they were-in some ways more than others- realistic because they dealt with the everyday; think how often food is described in detail, probably as a response to the deprivations of rationing that many forget went well beyond 1945. They mention washing the dishes, cleaning tack and bedrooms and sleeping- all things that are safe and even boring but reinforce the return to normality with bombs not falling from the skies and parents safe under the same roof as their children. And riding as a past time boomed as cars and tractors took the horses' traditional role, and for the 1st time, women and girls were given an outlet to express their love of adrenaline boosting activities- riding- and physical pursuits- grooming, mucking out and getting out of the home and into the outdoors. As a tomboy (still) these books echoed how I felt (and still do!). These new teen books in fact hark back to the older female preoccupations when we were supposed to assess our worth based on the opinions of men.
STUFF THAT FOR A LAUGH!
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Post by cally on Dec 26, 2008 1:28:11 GMT 1
Oh, and another thing- in the Sam Alexander book, where are her parents? My mum shat herself when I introduced my 1st boyfriend to her at 17- he was 23 and very sweet- so that shows how much influence Alexander feels the family has on children!
People stand up to rogue kids here a lot more- less of a 'look the other way society', we tend to speak our minds when we feel like it, assuming it's relatively safe- I wouldn't do it to a drunk group of males at night, but then again I wouldn't encounter many 'cos I'm not into going out drinking, except with mature friends down at the staff end of the university.
You do have to teach your children respect for others from a young age, and of course they all stuff up at some point, but that's life.
It's illegal for shops to sell any sort of knife to under 18s (or 16s- can't recall). What's the status over there? It certainly isn't a huge problem here (yet), though some cultural groups and the internet are challenging that.
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Post by garej on Dec 26, 2008 13:31:25 GMT 1
It's illegal for shops to sell any sort of knife to under 18s (or 16s- can't recall). What's the status over there? To buy a knife you have to be over 18. As well as plain old domestic kitchen knives, this includes things like swiss army knives. Also, to buy a razor (or a razor blade) you have to be over 18 too. Same goes for tobacco (or other smoking related products) you have to be over 18, though legally (and bizarrely) there is no actual age where it is illegal to smoke, just buy it. So for example it is perfectly legal for a 11 year old to smoke, yet illegal for them to buy it from a shop. Alcohol, it is illegal to purchase from a store unless you are 18 (though some stores ban under 21's) but to drink it is more complicated.
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Post by cally on Dec 28, 2008 12:48:25 GMT 1
I have to disagree with you konstanze about binge drinking only occuring in the UK- it is a very widespread phenomenon. It is more noticeable in a relatively small, wealthy mainly urban-centred democracy with an active press, and when readers get sick of seeing this over their breakfast and profits reflect this, then the press will pick up on something else.
Substance abuse is a problem in most areas of the world- different substances, different groups of people- but when it starts to effect the dominating section of society, spilling onto the high street as it were, then it becomes an issue and eventually a preoccupation. I view it as an "I can't believe this is happening to us" perspective: when it is just aborigines, or gypsies or the Irish then the attitude is 'well what do you expect?' but when it's our daughter or your nephew or that nice young lass that lives down the road then it starts to concern you and it's then easier to focus on the symptom than face the underlying cause of peoples' actions and bad decisions.
SORRY! I know this isn't book related as such, but don't believe the hype folks! Binge drinking and/or anti social behaviour is endemic and widespread so don't give up on your green and pleasant land too quickly, or your young people xoxoxoxo.
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Post by Claire on Dec 28, 2008 13:28:25 GMT 1
kunuma said something to me last night that i think is true and that is people like us are more nostalgic for the 'good old days' and old fashioned values. (apologies for name dropping you kunuma) If this is true then the longing for the traditional pony book and the traditional way of life are all wrapped up together so perhaps not so odd that we should be discussing them both together on this thread. Re the binge drinking I think it is widespread in UK, USA and to a lesser extent Australia and some northern European cities. I have never seen it in Italy, Greece, Spain or Austria (apart from the non-locals) not to say it may not go on there but belive me Cally it is THE WORST in Britain. I come from the North East which is traditionally one of the hardest drinking areas in the country and you would not belive what the cities are like on an evening. There are just hundreds of drunken people staggering around (of all ages) with people fighitng, vomiting and some just lying unconscious in the gutter, women shouting abuse at men, police getting all mixed up in it. Like a flippin war zone. And altho I am fairly well travelled I have never seen anything like it anywhere else but in Britain. It is not just the drinking I think our youth criminal behaviour is probably one of the worst too. There are countless times where poeple have been beaten to death by teenagers just for saying the worng thing or even looking at them in the wrong way. If you walk in the streets of Sunderland (my home town) you will be verbally abused by teenagers just about every time you leave the house and possibly physically abused too. I actually had to move house a few years ago because the abuse by neighbourhood kids got too much. Because I had actually dared complain once about them breaking my fence I suffered a campaign of abuse which went on for years. The thing is nothing is ever done to these little darlings and their parents seem to think it is quite funny instead of discliplining them. Once again I have not seen anything to this extent overseas, altho to be fair it doesnt seem to happen in lots of the smaller villages in Britain too. I'm not saying that we should have an unrealistic rose-coloured view of elsewhere but anyone who shares our life values can only be appalled as to what has happened to our beautiful country
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Post by cally on Dec 29, 2008 1:20:36 GMT 1
Yes, we don't have the knife/violence problem here yet, but binge drinking is pretty bad here. I live in what supposdly is the most highly educated, highest income etc city in Oz but I wouldn't go into town or to certain suburbs at night. We do have random attacks, women vomiting and lying in gutters etc, and we seem to have a gang bombing letterboxes and phone boxes- not just fire cracker stunts but proper explosive devices.
I don't get what's happening over there with kids randomly knifing innocent people. It's just unfathomable.
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Post by susanb on Dec 29, 2008 5:52:39 GMT 1
Bad news, good news, on children's book front in the US....there's currently a debate raging in the children's book community (librarians, booksellers, parents, etc), over the way the Newbery Awards have been trending....towards very dark, semi-adult, often dreary books that children absolutely HATE. And, because these are often the books that fill the required reading lists, it's turning children off reading altogether. Well, that's the down side...the upside I came across while checking out another award that's getting some mention....the Children's Choice Awards..voted on by actual kids (which sounds a bit like your Smarties?). Anyway, in browsing through the lists I was heartened to note two things: one was that a number of the books I've given friend's kids are on it (yea!) and the other is that horse books are on it....several non-fiction, a few picture books, and two of the Morgan books by Ellen Feld, which I've never read to be honest....they're still in print, and I'll definitely be ordering the first in the next month or so to check them out. Below are links to the book lists and to the publisher of Feld's books, which has pics of the books, which, gasp, are actually illustrated, as in days of old, by (brace yourselves) Jeanne Mellin, who illustrated Nancy Caffrey's books way back when (Mig o'the Moor, Somebody's Pony). www.willowbendpublishing.com/www.reading.org/resources/tools/choices_childrens.html
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Post by Claire on Dec 29, 2008 20:55:05 GMT 1
I have read the first book in the Morgan series and it is reasonably good. Not outstanding but fairly traditional, but once again there is a slight (very slight) supernatural element which seems almost compulsory nowadays. Yes, I couldnt believe the illustrator. Took a while for it to sink in then I thought wow Jeanne Mellin! They are lovely drawings.
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Post by Claire on Jan 13, 2009 21:10:12 GMT 1
I have some copies of the first one in series in my stock, they have a list of all the books inside front cover so will check for you. The first one I read and it was quite good altho not in the league of Marguerite Henry and Nancy Caffrey!
Susan are the books self-published do you know? Seems all traditional pony books are now. Was just thinking about the Katy's Exmoor series over here which is self-published and is totally traditional. Not a unicorn or fairy in sight!
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Post by Claire on Jan 14, 2009 12:15:18 GMT 1
Nancy Caffrey is another USA writer. Kontanze dont even go down that route unless you take out another mortgage on your house! They are almost all hideously expensive! Not to mention hard to find.
Have checked in one of my Blackjack copies but it doesnt show as many books as on the website so I guess that must be the most up-to-date list. ie:
BLACKJACK FROSTY RUSTY ROBIN SHADOW ANNIE
I think they are all paperbacks but are largish substantial ones and have lovely illustrations.
I am a bit like you altho I don't have to have all of an author's books I MUST have the whole series if a book is part of one, and I MUST read them in series order!
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Post by susanb on Jan 14, 2009 15:48:51 GMT 1
Konstanze...sorry to take so long getting back to you! It sounds like Claire has it pretty much sorted out already!
I haven't read any of the books, so Claire is ahead of me on that...based on her review, I'm thinking I'll dip a toe in the water with one paperback and see how it goes. There are "library editions" listed as available on Amazon.com in the US, for about $18, which is three times what the paperbacks cost, but I'm not sure if the library editions are hardcovers or not, as there is no other description either on Amazon or on the publishers site.
Claire...I think they are self - published...looking at the site, Willow Bend Publishing appears to be a farm/stables...and all the horses in the books are real...how fun is that? One new entry in the series is listed as due out this year "Rimfire: the Barrell Racing Morgan Horse", and it looks like they're going to reprint Jeanne Mellin's only work of fiction, "Pidgie's Suprise". Mellin wrote several non-fiction books on the Morgan breed, and of course illustrated many, but this was her only fiction effort.
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Post by susanb on Jan 14, 2009 16:04:46 GMT 1
Konstanze...we posted at the same time! See my notes above on the Ellen Feld Morgan books.
If you wanted to dip a toe in the Morgan water, there's A Morgan for Melinda and it's sequel A Filly for Melinda by Doris Gates, both came out in hardcover. The first was published in the UK as A Horse for Melinda, but I'm not sure if it was printed in hardcover or only in paperback.
Hm...I'm sure there are others too...will have to put on the thinking cap.
One other note....which you probably won't care for at all as it might lead to temptation! ;D .... is that there is an annotated bibliography of Horse Books (primarily American) that's very worth while for anyone collecting. It doesn't do much with books of any other nation, unless those books had American printings (i.e. all the books Primrose Cumming wrote that had American printings are listed, but the books with only UK printings aren't listed). It's called "Horse Stories: an Annotated Bibliography of Books for All Ages" by Terri Wear
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