Call the Horse Lucky presents the issue of horse neglect in simple, straightforward language and compelling illustrations that enable young readers to identify with the girl, Mel, and the horse, Lucky. When visiting her grandmother, Mel discovers a neglected horse. Moved by the sight of his sad, glazed eyes and protruding ribs, Mel initiates a rescue; the horse is transported to a rescue ranch, where Mel learns about horse care. She comes to realize that since she lives in town and her family can’t afford the expense of a horse, she can’t adopt Lucky. When Lucky recovers and moves to a horse therapy ranch, Mel is thrilled that she can volunteer there and continue to bond with the horse she helped save.
Call the Horse Lucky is for children from ages five through their teens. The reader learns that though he or she may not be able to own a horse, he or she can interact with horses in other ways, including volunteering at rescue or therapy facilities. The final page offers factual, accurate, comprehensive information about saving and caring for horses.
Juanita Havill is the author of over thirty children’s books—picture books, early readers, poetry, and novels. Her novel in verse Grow won the 2009 Carol D. Reiser Children’s Book Award.
Award-winning artist Nancy Lane has illustrated more than twenty children’s books, including A Home for Dakota (The Gryphon Press, 2008), which won the Humane Society of the United States KIND Best Picture Book of the Year Award.