If I Had a Horse

By Jonathan London

Book Overview

A story which encourages the reader to take an imaginary horse ride through the jungle, down to the beach and up to the mountains. With full colour illustrations by Brooke Scudder.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811811123
• ISBN13: 9780811811125
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Chronicle Books Llc
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.5" x 11.0"
• Age Range: 2 to 6 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 1

Customer Reviews

wonderful book

I am so surprised to read the negative editorial review for this book that I feel compelled to comment. My daughter has loved this book since she was 6 months old (she's now 19 months) - we've read it so many times that it's falling apart so I came to this site looking for a replacement. It is one of her favorites, and one of the few books that her father and I NEVER tire of reading to her. "This rather affected text is not a description of a child's common dream of getting a horse..." - - thankfully, no it's not. The text is romantic and lyrical. "The heavy-handed watercolor illustrations are so dark that the text is often hard to read, and any real movement or detail is lost in the flat, murky paintings." I think the illustrations are rich and vibrant (as seen on the cover). They are rather "flat," but so is the work of Gauguin and Matisse! If you are looking for realism in either text or illustrations, this book is not for you. Rather, it inspires creativity and takes readers on a dreamy ride. I am looking forward to many more years of enjoying this book with my daughter

I would ride a horse of flowers . . .

My daughter and I love to read this poetic book over and over again! It has inspired us to write poetry and paint our own illustrations to go with the beautiful ones in this book. Because of this book, my 5 year old daughter knows what mangroves are. We have debates about what our favorite pages are (mine is the carnival, hers is the volcano) and Laura pretends to be an iguana hiding in the grass. Thank you Johnathan and Brooke.