A HORSE NAMED SKY

A HORSE NAMED SKY by Roseanne Parry

A Horse Named Sky is Rosanne Parry's third nature type middle grade reader showcasing a particular type of animal and told from the animal's perspective. In this case Sky is a mustang horse born into the Nevada Highlands.

The book opens with Sky's birth. As he ages we get an in depth picture of the workings of a herd and the different roles of the horses. For example, the book explains the role of the stallion and what happens when he is challenged, the struggle of finding food and water, what happens to colts as they age, etc. But we also deal with the interference of man.

Set in 1860 this story coincides with the Pony Express. While this could be a fun element to the story, man equals fear and the ending of how a horse is meant to live according to the tone of this book. Sky lives to escape from his owners and return home to his family, and that becomes the main focus.

With all this being said, the mustangs in history have had a difficult past. There was a time that they were rounded up and sold for pet food or shot to save water and grass for cattle. That is no longer the case. In 1971 an Act was passed to protect the mustangs that is still in effect today. To keep the herds to manageable levels, roundups are held and the horses sold.

HEADS UP - Where I struggle with books like this is the attitude that man's domestication of certain types of animals is bad. (This doesn't seem to apply to dogs and cats!) In my mind there will always be a line between caring for animals by giving them a good home and the idea that we are abusing animals by taking them out of their natural habitat. While it makes the story interesting being told from Sky's perspective, it can also be misleading for a child that horses think like this. They do not contain the ability to think logically the way a human can. So would I let my child read this book? The answer is yes, but it would be with a conversation.

There is a small amount of evolutionary content in the large amount of Author's Notes included at the end.

Update- I forgot to include the fact that the horses thank the earth such as the water after they drink.