The Sea Pony. (Piper Green and the Fairy Tree, Bk. 3). Ellen Potter. Illustrated by Qin Leng. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers (Distributed in Canada by Penguin Random House Canada), 2016. 114 pp., trade pbk., hc., GLB, & Ebook, $7.99 (pbk.), $19.99 (hc.), $23.99 (GLB). ISBN 978-0-553-49934-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-553-49931-5 (hc.), ISBN 978-0-553-49932-2 (GLB), ISBN 978-0-553-49933-9 (Ebook). Subject Headings: Horses-Juvenile fiction. Islands-Juvenile fiction. Grades 2-5 / Ages 7-10. Review by Janet Beauchamp. **** /4 Reviewed from Advance Reading Copy.

excerpt:

The chain on my whistle slipped right off my neck and into the water. “Oh! OH NO!” I cried. But before I could grab it back, Scoot poked his nose through the chain. The next thing I knew, the sea pony was wearing my whistle around his neck. I leaned farther over the rail and stretched out my hand, but I couldn’t reach him. “Scoot! Come here, boy!” I said in an encouraging voice. Scoot stayed right where he was, staring at me with his big round eyes. “Scoot, you bring me my whistle!” I ordered. But I guess Scoot wasn’t great at following orders, because that’s when he decided it would be fun to swim in the other direction. “Follow Him, boss!” I shrieked at Dad.

Writing stuff down is basically homework, but here goes…

I really enjoyed this cute little novel. It is set on a unique island where the children have to take a lobster boat to school and the high school students have to go to the mainland for school. The characters are friendly locals who set the stage for an engaging story focussed on the main character, seven-year-old Piper Green. In this installment of the series, Piper receives a whistle from the Fairy Tree in her front yard which gives her “things that you need not things that you want”. Piper ends up spending the day helping out her dad on his lobster boat when her uncle and her brother are both feeling under the weather. The whistle comes in very handy on her high sea adventure.

     The Sea Pony is the third book in the series, and I want to rush out and buy the first two. The story is very fast-paced, and both my seven-year-old and my eight-year-old daughters enjoyed it. Even my 12-year-old could enjoy this little story. It has a lot of whimsy and a little bit of magic. Or is the neighbour lady the one who hides surprises in the Fairy Tree? Either way, The Sea Pony is a well-told story of a delightful character which I highly recommend for little girls.

Highly Recommended.

Janet Beauchamp, the mother of three girls and a high school teacher and teacher-librarian, lives in L’Amable, ON.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

Next Review | Table of Contents For This Issue - January 27, 2017
CM Home | Back Issues | Search | CM Archive | Profiles Archive