Suitabook

Blaze and the Dark Rider

Stacy Gregg

Reading: If your child is keen on ponies or mysteries, read alongside them or check in after the sabotage and injury are introduced. Pause to ask what they think happened without assuming the outcome.
Themes: Competition and achievement: Issie and her friends represent their pony club at the Interclub Gold Shield and train for what is described as the year’s biggest competition. The competition is central to the situation, but it is not possible to tell whether achievement, winning or participation is ultimately valued.
Trust and responsibility: When equipment is sabotaged, Issie and her friends try to discover who is responsible while a rider has been injured. The premise invites questions about trust and accountability, but it does not establish whether the investigation is careful, fair or successful.
Human–animal partnership: Issie’s old pony Mystic is described as helping her and is also called a pony guardian in the adventure premise. The story gives a pony an important role in the mystery, but the nature of Mystic’s guardianship and the boundaries of that relationship are unclear.
Worth knowing: Before reading, consider whether a story involving deliberately damaged equipment and an injured rider is comfortable for your child. The injury’s severity, detail and consequences are not established.