SuitabookPony Tails
Bonnie Bryant
- Reading
- If the child is sensitive to spooky ideas, read the unusual-behaviour sections together and pause to discuss possible explanations. Afterwards, talk about clear communication and what responsible pony care involves.
- Themes
- Friendship and communication: The girls’ friendship is described as suffering when they do not communicate effectively. The situation presents communication as relevant to maintaining friendship, but does not establish a simple moral judgement about any one character.
- Animal care and responsibility: The book addresses animal care and responsibility; the detail of how it is developed remains unclear. The book presents this through fictional plot events involving pony training and the need not to neglect ponies.
- Unusual or spooky pony behaviour: A grey pony’s arrival is followed by another pony behaving more nervously than usual; characters wonder whether magic is involved. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Worth knowing
- Some material includes worry about a pony’s nervous or strange behaviour, with a possibility of spooky or magical explanations. Friendship strain and the need not to neglect animals are also present in the described stories.