Review: CHRISTINE - A Day To Go Hunting

A Day To Go Hunting is this week's book. Although about hunting, it is not connected to the Chill Valley Hunt series. It was first published in 1956.

The blurb (taken from the first image) reads:-

A DAY TO GO HUNTING is no ordinary pony story but an exciting and absorbing novel for girls and boys. It all takes place in one day - the day of the meet. Most of the local riders are there: John, a farmer's son; Angela, Tony, eleven-year-old Mark; the Trumans and their parents; Lucy, Graham, Adam; the proprietress of the riding school and Jan, her working pupil. Hounds find almost at once and run across the Vale. A fog descends, things begin to go wrong and suddenly catastrophe looms up. Through the course of this eventful day everyone is affected by what takes - ambitions are realised, new friends made, jobs are lost and found; above all, several learn more about themselves in the crisis which calls forth their latent qualities. The story ends as they return home - all of them wiser, happier and more than a day older than at the start.


The blurb, taken from the paperback edition (second image) reads:-

Excitement ran high all around the county, even though the morning was cold and wet, for it was a day to go hunting. There was havoc at the riding school and Midnight had thrown a shoe. Poor Mark had been looking forward to the hunt for so long, but Merrylegs had disappeared from her paddock!

Just as the hounds were moving off, the sun broke through the clouds. It was going to be a perfect day. But Jane was nervous of the hard and slippery ground, and with good reason. Her young thoroughbred, Trooper, rides too fast at a fence and goes down. Then the hounds pick up a false scent and get into a park full of deer. Everyone knows the park is out of bounds. And worse still, a thick, swirling mist comes down. What a day to go hunting!

The first edition is illustrated by Sheila Rose. The second (paperback) edition is not illustrated. 

It begins with the setting of the scene, and we are introduced to several of the characters. In the first edition there is a handy list of characters at the beginning of the book so the reader is not too confused.  

Then there's the actual hunt which takes place with several disasters around. A fog distends, people get lost and animals injured. The story is long winded with one disaster to the next. It is too drawn out and is not one of Christine's finest. I personally feel it would have been better off as a short story or novella. It didnt grab it as it was too much of a ramble with lots of padding.  The sheer amount of incidents are unbelievable .

It is unlikely to be republished due to the fact there is a lot of hunting content. That is a good thing, as aside from the hunting content it is generally a weak story. If you dont like reading about hunting then this isnt for you as there is not enough to be going on to make it worthwhile. 

Review: CHRISTINE - Bedtime Pony Stories

Bedtime Pony Stories is this week's book.  It was first published in 1997 and is illustrated by Mark Smallman. 

The blurb reads:-

F I VE ORIGINAL STORIES BY Christine Pullein-Thompson 

ROSIE GOES TO TOWN 

'Rosie wanted to see her friends again, to drink from the clear pool there and to gallop and buck with the soft grass between her hoofs. The longing grew inside Rosie until she could bear it no longer. Her field felt empty now, the grass all eaten and there was not a single bramble growing on the high rail fence. It did not take Rosie long to escape,  first she leant against the gate, then the slip rails; neither moved a centimetre. Next she went from rail to rail along the high fence, until she found one which moved, and now with one gigantic push from Rosie's chest, it came apart and lay on the ground in splinters. Rosie jumped the lower rail and then she was on the road outside...'

'Rosie Goes To Town' is just one of five original stories in this book written by famous author of pony books, Christine Pullein-Thompson. 

Each story is just the right length for reading at bedtime and captures an enchanting world of ponies and the children that love them.

As the blurb suggests, the book contains short stories. They are complete stories, unlike their Pullein-Thompson Treasury (to be covered later) which contains some excerpts. 

The first story: A Strange Pony in the Garden is essentially a rehash of Little Black Pony, a book written much earlier, albeit with a few things changed. Little Black Pony has been already covered in this blog, so I shall not spoil the story. It stands up on its  own and is a good all round story. 

The second story: Clever Kelpie is the story of Jamie and Morag who live in the Highlands of Scotland. They have a pony called Kelpie. Without wishing to give too much away, it is the story of how Kelpie saved the day. 

The third story, Honey's Day Out is the story of Ollie and his sister Katy plus their non horsey family's day out at a show. 

The fourth story, Rosie Goes To Town is pretty much covered by the blurb. Basically it's the exploits of a pony who lives in Wales who escapes her field. Without giving too much away, it's a story of how things change.

The fifth and final story, Pantomime Ponies is the story of four ponies and their donkey friend. The ponies are rather demeaning to their donkey friend as they usually appear, as the title suggests, in a pantomime every Christmas. But when their owner, Mr Hatter, wants the donkey instead of them, things change and in the end, without giving too much away, the donkey gets accepted.  

If you're wanting uncomplicated,  light reads, then this book is a good read. Yes it doesnt go into depth as it's meant for younger readers, but the stories stand out on their own and are decent enough. It can sometimes be tricky to find but worth it. 

Review: JOSEPHINE - Race Horse Holiday

Race Horse Holiday is this week's book. It was first published in 1971.

As you can see there are two blurbs, and the first one reads:-

"We waited. The night was full of a thick velvety quite that was not silence. There was just the occasional stamp and scrape from the stable as horses got up or lay down. Time passed very slowly and I began to imagine hunched figures creeping down the shadow by the loose boxes....I had begun to believe in the horse doper again. I watched and my brain grew numb, groaning for sleep. Suddenly the noise began! We grabbed our mallets and ran across the yard..."

The other edition (one with the photographic cover) uses the same blurb, although it has this additional paragraph:-

An exciting mystery develops when Vivien and Jon spend their holidays at a local racing stables.

The story starts with Vivien and Jon being packed off on holiday to a friend of their parents who owns a racing stables. The mother is going to Russia; in older pony books this would be India. Mr Alex Grant, plus his daughters Angela and Katie racing yard is the setting for this book. They arrive at the yard and are given some horses to ride, though they arent racehorses. They are told of a dispute between 2 apprentices. When several horses dont go well there is allegations of a doping plot. 

The dispute continues until there is a kidnapping and a mystery. Without giving too much away, it is solved. 

Although it lacks the schooling techniques of Josephine's earlier books,  there is some racing information woven into the story and you are given a lesson. If you like adventure stories you cant go much wrong with this. I enjoyed it.