SuitabookHorses of the Dawn
Kathryn Lasky
- Reading
- An adult may wish to preview the opening and discuss the book alongside the reader, particularly if animal suffering or frightening imagery is a concern. Pause after intense scenes rather than assuming the impact will lessen.
- Themes
- Freedom and human control: The horses are captured, trained and abandoned by the two-legs, then seek a safe, free life. The human treatment of the horses is presented as harmful, while the horses’ viewpoint encourages readers to question human intentions.
- Leadership and belonging: After the leader is lost, Estrella must help a frightened group survive; the horses have different personalities and learn to become a family. Co-operation and developing leadership are treated warmly, especially through the herd’s growing relationships.
- Historical brutality: The adventure is loosely connected with the conquistadors and includes violence attributed to the period, including a horse’s beheading and human sacrifice. The book appears to include brutality rather than smoothing it away, while using an animal perspective to make the period’s power structures visible.
- Worth knowing
- Before sharing it, consider whether scenes involving animal deaths, bodies, predation, beheading, human sacrifice and battle violence may be upsetting. Reports differ in how strongly readers respond.