The True Story of Sea Feather
Written by Lois Szymanski
As a new reviewer, I was hesitant to start out with a fourth grade level book. However, having read both Misty of Chincoteague, and Stormy, Misty’s Foal, I felt a connection to this book and decided to jump in with both feet. Although this is a chapter book, the chapters are short enough to make this a quick read aloud book.
Shannon and her family had visited Chincoteague Island every year for the annual Pony Penning. This year she had saved nearly four hundred dollars in hopes that she could finally buy a pony of her own. When her sister Ashley added her own money to Shannon’s they had almost five hundred and fifty dollars. Their hopes were dashed when they not only did not win the raffle pony, but when they were not able to buy that pony from the winner. At the auction, pony after pony was sold for more than what they could pay. What an incredible gift they were given when a lady they did not know wanted to help them buy a pony. Miss Carollynn was a cancer survivor and because her life had been given back to her, she wanted to give back to others. With Miss Carollynn’s help, they were able to buy the pony that the girls had decided was the perfect horse for them. Shannon and Ashley learned a valuable lesson and were quick to start looking for ways that they themselves could help make another child’s dream come true.
This precious story connects the history of Chincoteague Island portrayed in the previous Chincoteague horse stories to modern times. The glossary and horse information at the back of the book makes comprehension easier for the reader who has little knowledge of horses. It teaches about working hard and saving for the things you want as well as working together to achieve a goal. This would be a good book to kick off a class project where students must work together and pool resources.
More books about the Chincoteague ponies can be found at http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/search_results.php.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge website offers further information about http://www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco/ponies.html.
Title: The True Story of Sea Feather- Author: Lois Szymanski
- Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
- Reviewer: Sandi Waymire
- Paper back: 48 pages
- ISBN: 978-0-87033-595-2
- Genre: realistic fiction
