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Post by Claire on Sept 3, 2009 20:16:19 GMT 1
Latest reading circle book is: PANTOMIME PONIES by GILLIAN BAXTER As per usual discussion starts in a couple of weeks.
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Post by darkhorse on Sept 6, 2009 15:57:42 GMT 1
I've just started it......
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2009 14:49:56 GMT 1
I've just finished it
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Post by Claire on Sept 9, 2009 10:35:22 GMT 1
Going to start my copy over the weekend. Some more information on the book: It is first of a series of 5 books about the characters. The last one in the series Ponies to the Rescue is very hard to find and is usually expensive but the others are all easy to get hold of and cheap. For more info please check out the gillian baxter page on my website: gillianbaxter.ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/If anyone still needs a copy I have found another one which I can send out. Please pm me!
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Post by Buster on Sept 9, 2009 17:19:18 GMT 1
Looked at the link, and the book I have/had (?) is the omnibus 'My Book of Pony Stories' yet I only remember the first story... and its unlike me to leave a book unfinished. Hmm strange...! xx
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Post by susanb on Sept 11, 2009 16:14:29 GMT 1
My copy has arrived (yea!).....do we have an estimated start date? I'm in the middle of another book, but I can stop and read Pantomime Ponies now if we're starting soon.
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Post by zoe on Sept 11, 2009 19:34:44 GMT 1
I haven't got my copy yet susan so you're not behind!
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Post by Claire on Sept 12, 2009 20:21:48 GMT 1
Susan, we usually have about 2 weeks from posting the thread to the start of discussion so there's another week or so to go. The book however is pretty short so shouldnt take a seasoned reader very long to tackle. Also the discussions sometimes go on a for quite a while so people can keep adding their two-pennorth-worth when they feel like it. We're not very strict here!
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Post by Claire on Sept 26, 2009 21:27:27 GMT 1
Hi all, well I may as well start the ball rolling...
Before I go on I will just say I went on to read the second and third books in the series too and unfortunately it has to be said that Pantomime Ponies is the weakest one of the three. (Going to move onto book 4 soon) I suppose it sets up the characters etc for the rest of the series but IMHO it doesnt quite have the depth of the next ones in the series. For instance book 2 (Save the Ponies) not only has the tension of the ponies losing their home and perhaps having to be sold, it also goes into the relationship between Ian and Angela, and how Ian feels left out of the family as he is not as good with the ponies as Angela. In the next book (Ponies by the Sea) it is Angela who feels left out as Ian starts to make friends outside the family unit, something that happens to all close siblings.
In all the books the author handles the characters well, and the children in particular are very believable. I feel that the author was just building up her scenario in the first book, rather than exploring anything of any depth. Of course it has to be remembered that these books are set at a much younger reading age than the other ones we have been discussing, so they are bound to be more simplistic, but I still feel that Gillian B could have made the first book in the series with a little more tension and depth that we see in the other ones.
All of them are very well written and easy to read, including Pantomine. The scenario of performing ponies is different to the run of the mill pony story (tho this may put some traditionalists off). Gillian did seem very interested in the stage and performing. Some of her other book also featured performing horses (such as Tan and Tarmac and The Stables at Hampton). The slightly different backdrop adds an extra element to the pretty simplistic plot. I also think that the part where Ian shows off and makes Magic do his tricks (thus causing him to be injured) is very realistic and its just what a kid who was trying to fit in would do. Also I think that part of the book where he feels guilty and thinks he has spoilt his chances of a new home by injuring Magic is the best bit.
I think Gillian Baxter does do characters who don't fit in very well. She has lots of them in her other books too. And this is seen more in the later books in this series.
To sum up Pantomime is well written and a nice easy read, certainly better than some of her 'duds' (Tan and Tarmac springs to mind!) but it lacks a certain depth. However taking the series as a whole, the books get better and its a very good and interesting series which is excellent at portraying the brother and sister/family relationship. What I like about the series is that book 1 ends on a sort of fairytale note, Angela and Ian having got the home of their dreams with Unlce Arthur, Grace and the ponies, but in the following books it shows that life still has problems even after having your dreams come true! I would recommend you reading the other books in the series if you have them.
I dont think the series suffers from being on a lower age level than her other stuff.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2009 11:44:28 GMT 1
I've not read any Gillian Baxter books so this was a first for me. I thought I wouldn't like it as its aimed for younger readers. I was pleasently surprised however, as it wasn't the usual pony plot of "girl hasn't a pony then wins one in a competition or gets given one and then goes to gymkhanas and wins lots of cups" etc. So it kept me interested all the way through and I do like a fairy tale ending I found it an enjoyable comfort read and is well written. I'm now looking forward to reading more of her books.
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Post by darkhorse on Sept 27, 2009 16:18:54 GMT 1
I agree with Rosie. I had not read these before becuase they were for younger readers but I read this and then also Ponies by the Sea which I also found I had! I like them both. I do not really think that the books were written so much as pony books but more like general children's books. There was less of the normal stuff like grooming & riding but more of the children's problems. But this didn't make them any worse than the normal type book. Like Rosie said, it keeps the interest going because it is different to the norm. Ponies by the Sea, like Claire said, does go into more depth with the characters of Ian and Angela. I now want to read the other ones
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Post by susanb on Sept 27, 2009 22:33:31 GMT 1
I've read only the first so far, but I also have Save the Ponies and Ponies in Harness (it's the Pony Stories omnibus).
I'm afraid I don't have a lot to contribute to the discussion....because I agree with what has already been said! It was a charming short book, though as Claire said it does feel like the first part of a book, the set up, rather than the whole, which is fine as I plan on going on to read the others too.
I concur too, in that the fact that it targets younger readers isn't a problem at all...the story is charming, the characters appealing and the story pulls you right along. Rosie is definitely right in saying it's more a general children's book than a pony book....you could really substitute trained dogs or seals and have the plot remain the same (though of course ponies are better!).
Gillian Baxter certainly must have had some experience with, or at least a strong interest in, the stage, not just because of the stage setting of this book...her book The Knightsgate Players is about theatre students on the road with their play.....recommended, by the way, I enjoyed it very much, though Baxter had some very odd views on jazz music/musicians, (but maybe the British scene was totally different from the American original).
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Post by trixiepony on Sept 28, 2009 2:03:52 GMT 1
I like the book I have the 3 in 1 book with Pantomime Ponies, Save the Ponies and Ponies in Harness, I think there sweet books.
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Post by kunuma on Sept 29, 2009 20:45:30 GMT 1
Oh dear - I am scared to come on and add any comments, I'm reading it again to try and find something I like!
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Post by trixiepony on Sept 30, 2009 3:32:17 GMT 1
Go for it kunuma, we haven't had a good tar and feathering for a wile, joke yes really it was a joke.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2009 7:04:52 GMT 1
lol trixiepony....yes come on Kunuma. I'm not offended if you don't like it, go for it!!
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Post by exmoorfan on Sept 30, 2009 9:35:20 GMT 1
I will be brave then.lol I voted good because as a child I probably would have liked it more. it was readable compared to some. But I couldn't wait to finish it as I was a bit bored. Mind you I had just read Blind Beauty so probaly didn't help. ;D
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Post by Claire on Sept 30, 2009 11:44:08 GMT 1
C'mn kunuma, it would be interesting to know what you can find to dislike about it. I agree with exmoorfan that some people may be slightly bored by it, as it is the least exciting one in the series.
Talking of the series, have just read no. 4 now (Ponies in Harness) and I think its the best one of the lot. Its probably the most horsy one of them all and it seems to blend in a slightly more traditional pony story with the ongoing theme of the sibling relationship between Ian and Angie. It manages to still be a bit different as tho it has a competition plot culminating in HOYS it focuses on harness comps rather than jumping, gymkhanas, showing, etc. Also tho I am not normally a fan of competition stories, i thought this one was actually quite gripping, possibly cos of the lack of a pot-hunter element and the focus more on the way the competition affected the children. Anyway apologies for going off on a tangent with the other books in the series. I hope those of you have some of them will read them and comment. It would be interesting to know if others thought the series improved as it went along.
Susan, I have that omnibus edition too. Strangely it has books 1, 2 and 4 in the series and misses out 3 (Ponies by the sea). Glad you like the first one and am sure you will enjoy the other two even more.
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Post by trixiepony on Sept 30, 2009 12:08:43 GMT 1
I have the omnibus one as well and am reading number 2 right now, and have read the book threw there good Like you say Claire they do get better further trow the series you get.
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Post by kunuma on Sept 30, 2009 21:52:44 GMT 1
OK then - here goes. I read it for the first time a very long time ago, and it was relegated to the stack titled not to read again, rather like the Ponies in the Forest type books. However, you have made me - so I unearthed it and read it again, and then again! I have tried to work out why I took such a violent dislike to it the first time, and still don't like it now. I think it is because it presses some of my buttons on things I am not happy about in RL, such as horses being kept in inner cities and only seeing grass on the local football pitch, animals being used in entertainment like circuses, and animals getting hurt due to negligence. Now I know that is perhaps being a tad unfair, as the animals in the actual book are well cared for for the most part (if you ignore the poor budgie in a cage, and the comment about how his dog had barked all night long!) so I think some of it is the slight panic when I start reading a pony book in a town setting, that something horrible is bound to happen to the ponies - I lay the blame for that squarely at the door of the PT's ( do I need to mention Secret Dog here!!). So I think I have to read the next books in the series - (if anyone is still speaking to me now and can lend/sell them to me!!)
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Post by Claire on Oct 1, 2009 13:07:28 GMT 1
I understand your points kunuma and I do sympathise with them. I think the fact that Magic got hurt due to Ian's stupidity was quite indicative of life really though. Surely we have all made mistakes where someone gets hurt or could have been hurt due to our carelessness (animal or human). I think it was rescued from being too nasty (a la Riding with the Lyntons) due to the fact that you didnt feel that Magic was in any real danger. But maybe thats cos I am an adult - perhaps when I had read it as a child it would have been more painful.
I hate birds in cages also and am not that keen on performing animals either. But coming from a large city myself where many horses had to be stabled and grazing was often just a piece of scrubby grass at the side of the road, I am slightly ambivalent about that aspect. It is always going to be a case of where do we draw the line with animals. For instance when we keep cats indoors as pets this is not natural...but is it better than starving feral cats in their 'natural' environment? Should people only be allowed to keep animals if they have access to acres of land? If so, my childhood would have been a boring non-pony wilderness!
Same with the performance aspect. This is always going to be a bone of contention with animal lovers and again there is the question of where we draw the line. Why is eventing or racing OK and ponies performing on a stage not, when the horse is more likely to be hurt or even killed in the former? Like Ken says in the Jinny books its all a form of subjugation. Myself, I go through times when I think that horses would be better off if we didnt do anything with them at all, but then again when you see wild horses starving... And also I love riding! It is not easy.
Ooh maybe I'm getting a tad philosophical here and in danger of disappearing up my own backside! But thanks for the comments kunuma as it has made me look into the book more deeply.
PS - secret dog - I am with you on that one ughh!!!
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Post by kunuma on Oct 1, 2009 19:44:25 GMT 1
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Post by kunuma on Oct 1, 2009 19:48:42 GMT 1
Hmmm - works in emails but not when you try to do it in a post! I don't think I am ever going to get the hang of this computer stuff!
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Post by haffyfan on Oct 1, 2009 20:10:02 GMT 1
I get where your coming from Kunuma but it's not real Not read them since I was kid but they were enjoyable enough, nothing too taxing, and from what I remember much better written than some of her early stuff like tan and Tarmac and Bobby and Shelta etc. In harness was my favourite too as like Claire has pointed out it has the most 'horsy' content. I guess they were general childrens stories rather than pony stories in the true sense, and this is probably why they have been published far more times rthan any of her other work...intrestingly enough her works i like best only seem to have made it into print once (Stables At Hampton, Team From Low Moor, Horses And Heather, Bargain horses) Not quite sure what that says about me
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Post by Claire on Oct 1, 2009 20:27:24 GMT 1
Kunuma, sorry if I have upset you over your feral puss. Didnt mean to I was just trying to look at it from all angles. Believe me I know how you feel as I worry about my cats all the time and the stray ones that used to live at my old place. Its always going to be hard decision for animal lovers about what to do with them. Horses kept in gardens...wasn't that Fly by Night? ;D Haffy, for once we agree my favs are Team From Low Moor, Stables From Hampton and also Sweet Rock, all not reprinted. I guess its something to do with the fact they had rather controversial characters/plots for the time, they certainly weren't comfort blanket reads!
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Post by kunuma on Oct 1, 2009 21:37:29 GMT 1
I get where your coming from Kunuma but it's not real Haffy, you are talking to someone who just paid out a small fortune in equus to have a collection of pixels rescued from the auctions and nursed back to health! Yes, Claire, don't mention cats, laminitis, or digital cameras! ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by trixiepony on Oct 2, 2009 2:57:55 GMT 1
Yes it is a hard line to draw when it comes to animals and how to keep them, I have two budgies in a cage they have two good free fly times in the lounge room, I hate the though off any animal not having time to just be a animal and play and run.
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