Peter Clover: The Sheltie Books
Sheltie Leads the Way
Penguin (not in print but easily available on Amazon)
and
Sheltie Finds a Friend
Penguin (not in print but easily available on Amazon)
Peter Clover's website
There is very little out there for the very young pony fan starting to read for themselves. The Sheltie books are then a very rare animal: not only are they aimed at the younger reader; there’s more than one. Quite a lot more than one in fact: the series now numbers 24 (though not all by any means are still in print).
The series fulfils one of the key requirements for a young reader: it is set in a constant and easily understandable framework. Emma owns Sheltie, a Shetland pony. She lives with her younger brother Joshua, and her Mum and Dad. And they have adventures. And that is pretty much it: but Peter Clover has created a good and believable world. Unlike the Lauren Brooke ponies in Chestnut Hill, Sheltie is created with the right amount of credible detail. In the opening of Sheltie Finds a Friend , he and Emma are described as playing frisbee. Bearing in mind this was the first Sheltie I’d read, my initial reaction was “WAAA! Where did reality go?” However, Sheltie is not tossing the frisbee backwards and forwards: “Sheltie bent his head and picked up the frisbee between his teeth. Then, with a sudden flick, he tossed the plastic saucer in the air.” Which I can entirely see a pony doing.
I do have a quibble with Sheltie’s portrayal: he is always described as fat, which instantly made me think “LAMINITIS!” but this is never mentioned. [For my non equine readers: Laminitis is a particularly nasty equine affliction affecting the feet. As hooves are solid, there is nowhere for the swelling to go. The pain is excruciating, and avoiding the condition is an important part of equine management. The overweight are far more likely to suffer.] In an ideal world, although being described as fat presumably makes Sheltie appealing (and most Shetlands do tend to be rotund), his size wouldn’t be mentioned. I don’t think the youngest reader necessarily needs to have the horrors of a laminitic pony paraded in front of them, but parents whose ponies tend to be laminitic might feel the need to do a little explaining.
Emma, Sheltie’s owner, is a brave and resourceful child who has proper adventures. In Sheltie Leads the Way, Emma and Sheltie and her friends manage to get a pony part way out of a bog. In both the books I read, adult help is needed at the end to resolve the plot, but this isn’t intrusive, or hard to believe. A child can quite easily believe he could do the things that Emma does, but there is always the comfort of an adult presence, not too far away.
These are cosy, comfortable books (not, as the publisher says, the first such series aimed at the younger reader: the American C W Anderson’s Billy and Blaze predates it by quite a long way.) They have the predictability the young reader needs, but have enough to them not to make you run screaming if you have to do one as a bedtime story. Unless, of course, it is the 90th time you have read it, in which case pretty much anything would be enough.
Penguin (not in print but easily available on Amazon)
and
Sheltie Finds a Friend
Penguin (not in print but easily available on Amazon)
Peter Clover's website
There is very little out there for the very young pony fan starting to read for themselves. The Sheltie books are then a very rare animal: not only are they aimed at the younger reader; there’s more than one. Quite a lot more than one in fact: the series now numbers 24 (though not all by any means are still in print).
The series fulfils one of the key requirements for a young reader: it is set in a constant and easily understandable framework. Emma owns Sheltie, a Shetland pony. She lives with her younger brother Joshua, and her Mum and Dad. And they have adventures. And that is pretty much it: but Peter Clover has created a good and believable world. Unlike the Lauren Brooke ponies in Chestnut Hill, Sheltie is created with the right amount of credible detail. In the opening of Sheltie Finds a Friend , he and Emma are described as playing frisbee. Bearing in mind this was the first Sheltie I’d read, my initial reaction was “WAAA! Where did reality go?” However, Sheltie is not tossing the frisbee backwards and forwards: “Sheltie bent his head and picked up the frisbee between his teeth. Then, with a sudden flick, he tossed the plastic saucer in the air.” Which I can entirely see a pony doing.
I do have a quibble with Sheltie’s portrayal: he is always described as fat, which instantly made me think “LAMINITIS!” but this is never mentioned. [For my non equine readers: Laminitis is a particularly nasty equine affliction affecting the feet. As hooves are solid, there is nowhere for the swelling to go. The pain is excruciating, and avoiding the condition is an important part of equine management. The overweight are far more likely to suffer.] In an ideal world, although being described as fat presumably makes Sheltie appealing (and most Shetlands do tend to be rotund), his size wouldn’t be mentioned. I don’t think the youngest reader necessarily needs to have the horrors of a laminitic pony paraded in front of them, but parents whose ponies tend to be laminitic might feel the need to do a little explaining.
Emma, Sheltie’s owner, is a brave and resourceful child who has proper adventures. In Sheltie Leads the Way, Emma and Sheltie and her friends manage to get a pony part way out of a bog. In both the books I read, adult help is needed at the end to resolve the plot, but this isn’t intrusive, or hard to believe. A child can quite easily believe he could do the things that Emma does, but there is always the comfort of an adult presence, not too far away.
These are cosy, comfortable books (not, as the publisher says, the first such series aimed at the younger reader: the American C W Anderson’s Billy and Blaze predates it by quite a long way.) They have the predictability the young reader needs, but have enough to them not to make you run screaming if you have to do one as a bedtime story. Unless, of course, it is the 90th time you have read it, in which case pretty much anything would be enough.
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