Review: Horses - an important part of mankind for thousands of years
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 19, 2014
Emma Child knows how to get her reader's attention as wells as any one writing educational books for children. Her previous books on SHARKS and SNAKES and DINOSAURS were big successes, so now she addresses HORSES. She faces the reader head on with facts, challenges the reader to see the whole picture, and ends up creating a fascination about her topic complete with diagrams and photographs. For example, on writing a book about an animal that seems so well known in the mind of most every one, she begins her book as follows: `From ancient times of war horses to the peaceful riding trails we have today, horses have remained a needed animal in our human lives'.In this excellent book, aided by superb photography, she delves into the anatomy of horses, explains why their legs are so strong, explains their feet are called hooves (one giant toe!), and how that toenail affects the gait of how a horse moves - walk, trot, gallop and run. She describes the quality and traits of their fur and mane, the particulars of horses' large eyes (excellent night vision and ability to see behind themselves), and their digestive system - they can eat only small meals at a time - grazing the grasslands provides all the nutrition a horse needs.She then takes us through a visual and verbal description of the various characteristics and social habits of horses - their mating habits, sleep habits (only 3 hours of sleep per day), etc - and then hares with us the types of horses from wild ones to domestic ones and the 400 different breeds of horses accompanied by excellent photographs of the major breeds such as Arabian horses, Draft horses (cold bloods), Shetland ponies, thoroughbred horses for racing, feral horses and the wild Prezewalski hoses of Mongolia.Child discusses the ways horse are used, and the correct care of horses, their habits  - just about everything we need to know to appreciate these grand animals. Emma Child brings all of this information to the table so that facts can mix with information and admiration and the manner in which she achieves this is that of a very, very fine teacher! Grady Harp, January 14