Kids into books: Shadrach Girl

Author: Joy Cowley

Illustrator: Dexter Fry

Publisher: Puffin Books $15.95

Age Group: 9-12 years


'Mrs McCone bought the cup,' Hannah said to Sky.

'What?'

'My mum,' said Andrea. 'The committee approved the cross-country race for farmhorses, and Mum is donating a silver cup. It's going to be a ten-kilometre course from Hopai to Crail Bay and back.'

Hannah said, 'Gladly is eligible. She's a farmhorse.'

'Oh sure,' said Sky. 'Some great farmhorse!'

Hannah explained to Andrea, 'Sky doesn't like Gladly. She bites him on the seat. It's part of the feeding chain, you see. sky chews the top off a pen. Gladly chews the bottom off Sky.'

He ignored that, too. 'Who will ride her in the race?' he said. 'You or Eden?'

He saw something like a shadow flicker over her eyes. With Hannah away at boarding school most of the year, Gladly had become Eden's horse. It was their adopted brother Eden who rode Gladly every day, groomed her, gave her horse-nuts and hay in winter, put on her cover when the weather was cold. Hannah always told people that Gladly was her horse, but Gladly didn't seem to know that.

'I'll be riding her,' said Hannah. 'Eden doesn't have the experience.' She passed by the back of his chair and then stopped to pull his hand away from the writing page. 'Hey! I really like that, Chief Crazy Brother. It's cool. But you know it's not family history.'

Her praise pleased him. He turned over the page and put the pen in his mouth. 'I know. I know. What can I write that will fill three pages?'

'You've got heaps of stuff,' said Hannah.