The Island Horse

By Susan Hughes

In the wake of her mother’s death, a young girl bonds with a wild stallion on Sable Island. A moving chapter book that will especially appeal to horse lovers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kids Can Press
• Release date: Jun 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781554539949

Susan Hughes

Susan Hughes is a freelance editor with a wide range of experience.While her first love is working with indie authors, she has edited both fiction and nonfiction, poetry, corporate and education-related publications, and blog posts. Susan is a former editor for Addison Magazine and has performed pre-submission editing for a number of clients whose op-ed pieces appeared in The Huffington Post and Fox News Latino. Susan earned a BA in English Literature from the University of Houston at Clear Lake and spent 29 years as an educator.

Book preview

Text © 2012 Susan Hughes

Illustrations © 2012 Kids Can Press

ISBN 978-1-55453-994-9 (ePub)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of Kids Can Press Ltd. or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a license from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

This is a work of fiction and any resemblance of characters to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Kids Can Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Ontario, through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative; the Ontario Arts Council; the Canada Council for the Arts; and the Government of Canada, through the BPIDP, for our publishing activity.

Published in Canada by

Kids Can Press Ltd.

25 Dockside Drive

Toronto, ON M5A 0B5

Published in the U.S. by

Kids Can Press Ltd.

2250 Military Road

Tonawanda, NY 14150

www.kidscanpress.com

Edited by Tara Walker

Designed by Marie Bartholomew

Illustrations by Alicia Quist

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Hughes, Susan, 1960–

The island horse / by Susan Hughes ; illustrations by Alicia Quist.

ISBN 978-1-55453-592-7

I. Quist, Alicia II. Title.

PS8565.U42I75 2012        jC813’.54        C2011-904470-6

To Barb Williams, my fellow horse-crazy childhood pal and riding buddy; and to Sheilagh Hale, Jane Helleiner, Beth Hunt and Miff Lysaght, wonderful neighborhood pals who agreed to take part in so many of our horse-obsessed activities, including both pretending to ride horses and be horses.

Chapter One

It was a gentle spring afternoon, and, Ellie realized with a smile, it was special.

Ellie was walking home from the village school with her best friend, Lizzie. She held her books, pencil box and slate in one arm. With her other hand, she swung her blue bonnet by its straps.

The day was special because it seemed so regular, so ordinary. The day was special because for the first time in many months, Ellie felt … happy!

The road was in front. The sea was beside. And everywhere above was the sky.

They reached Lizzie’s little house. The girls were saying their good-byes when Lizzie’s mother came hurrying out with a smile and a warm loaf of bread. For you and your pa, she told Ellie.

Thank you, Mrs. McQuarrie.

Ellie turned up the path that led to her small cottage. It was halfway up the hill from the village on the coast of Nova Scotia.

Ellie had always lived here, and she always would. It was what Ellie and her mother used to say.

This is our lovely home. That would be Ellie’s mother. She’d smile and spread her arms wide in the sunshine.

For always, Ellie would reply.

When Ellie reached the cottage, she called, Hello, Pa! But this afternoon, he wasn’t there. So Ellie quickly did her chores. She pumped a bucketful of water. She counted the chickens in the yard and checked for eggs in the coop. Then she cut a slice of the fresh bread and ate it while she did her schoolwork at the kitchen table.

Now, finally, she was finished her tasks. She ran to her room and got her special wooden box. She brought it back to the table. The box was full of drawings. Drawings of horses that she had done and saved. Ellie looked at her favorites. One was a horse galloping. One was a horse rearing. One was a horse stamping its foot.

Ellie loved horses, but especially horses that were wild and free. Her family had never had a horse of any kind, and neither had Lizzie’s. There were a few ponies in the village, of course. But most were for pulling carts or dragging the boats up from the shore in winter. Only a few were for riding.

Ellie had never seen a wild horse. She probably never would. But she could make up stories about them, and draw them, and these were the things she liked to do most.

Ellie began drawing a horse with a long flowing mane, standing majestically at the top of a hill. She drew on her slate, although it wasn’t as nice as drawing on paper. But there wasn’t much paper to spare in her home anymore. Not since her mother had gotten sick and died. Not since her father had given up his job on the docks.

Thinking of her father, Ellie looked up, and through the window she saw him. He was walking up the road in the sunshine. She could see the blue sky stretching above him. She could see the blue of the sea, the Atlantic Ocean, stretching behind him.

Hello, my sweetpea, he said as he came in the door. But he didn’t move to take off his boots. He took off his hat and held it in his hand. He stood inside the door, squeezing his hat in his fist.

In his other hand, between his fingertips, he held a single envelope. White, tissue-paper thin.

Hello, Pa. What’s that? asked Ellie.

A job offer, I think.

Ellie’s mother had been sick for a long time, but last summer her illness had become worse. And so last summer Ellie’s father had left his job. He had said, We will spend these months together.

And they had. All the long summer, Ellie and her mother and father had stayed close. Ellie had drawn pictures for her mother and told her exciting, made-up stories about adventures with horses. When Ellie’s father had cooked simple meals or hung the wash on the line, Ma sat nearby. Ma would ask to go to the top of the hill, and of course they would go. The three of them, Pa carrying Ma. They picnicked there and watched whales. They looked for orchids in the fields and made dandelion chains. They had stayed close, in their small world.

In the fall, Ellie’s mother died. They buried her at the top of the hill, not far from home.

Ellie missed her mother every day. She did not want to go to school, but her father told her, You must. And so she did, walking back and forth with Lizzie every day. And when she came home, every day, her father was there.

The long fall had passed in this way, and the winter passed just as slowly. Her father had been trying to find

Reviews for The Island Horse

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good historical fiction and an appealing story that horse lovers will especially appreciate.

[arlenadean · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Author: Susan HughesPublished by: Kids Can PressAge Recommended: 7-10 yearsReviewed By: Arlena DeanBook Blog For: GMTARating: 5Review:"The Island Horse" by Susan Hughes was a wonderful Children's book about horses and historical fiction. This novel will be dealing with tough decisions, moving pass loss and grief...along with tought hardships and friendships. We find that Ellie has lost her mother and her father is now having to leave Scota to find a more stable job on the Sable Island. Now, Ellie will have to leave her mom's resting place along with her friends. After arriving in Stable Ellie awakens to find she is looking at a wild stallion and she befriends it only to find out later it could be taken from it's home, its herd and Ellie. What will come of this? Will Ellie loose the island horse she has named Orchid too? "The Island Horse" is about the "about loss, love, friendship and findling strength through it all." Also, there will be some history of Sable Island and its struggles of living on a very dangerous place. Will Ellie be able to make friends? Now, this is when I say you must pick up "The Island Horse" to find out what the author has for the reader. In your read the scenery, characters come together of so well making you seem like you are there. The book cover is beautiful display only adding to what is between the covers.If you love horses or historical fiction...then I would recommend "The Island Horse" for you.

[skstiles612 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is definitely a book for anyone who loves horses, or historical fiction. There are so many themes here; moving on when things get tough, moving past loss and grief, facing hardships, and most importantly, friendship. Ellie was a very believable character. You could see and understand her feelings. I don’t think I would have wanted to leave the only home I’d ever known, especially if my mother had been buried there. I enjoyed learning about Sable Island. I had never heard of it and so learning some history is always a good thing for me. I look forward to passing this on to students who will really enjoy this book.