Review: An Educational Horse Book for Children
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 26, 2014
I recently read the book titled, "Horses: Beautiful Pictures and Fun Horse Facts for Kids," written by M.C. Vethencourt with my six-year-old daughter. We are working through a horse unit study lapbook so this book complemented her study quite well.The well-organized and informative 21-page book covered topics related to horses including their diet, life span, teeth, family horse names, relatives in the equine family, domestication of horses, how horses are used, horse power, how to measure their height, horse breeds, famous horses, and interesting horses facts. Did you know that the horses's ears tell you a lot about how they feel? Did you know that the horses's eye is the largest mammal eye? Do you know how or why horses have the ability to sleep standing up? Did you know that horses can see in colors, but see them differently from us? Even if you knew all of these facts, there's a good chance that your child or student may not know this information and may find the information appealing.My daughter learned that you can tell the age of a horse by looking at their teeth or having a vet examine their bones. She found out that horses lived for 25-30 years. She also learned new vocabulary with regards to the horse family names. She learned that their names are based on their gender and age. The book discussed the relatives of horses from the equine family. This section of the book included a short blurb about the following animals: Zebras, Mules, and Donkeys enabling the child to differentiate between the animals (if they didn't already know the differences). We both learned about famous horses such as Secretariat, Jim Key, Bucephalus, and Affirmed. A few of these names were new to me. This was a great opportunity to enrich a study and do even more research.There is mention of the first ancestor to the horse "millions of years ago" called the Eohippus. I found the information to be new and fascinating, but creationists may want to skip this nugget of information or explain their beliefs further when discussing this section of the book allowing the child to be more aware of both sides of the debate.The joke at the end of the book was a cute addition. Although I do feel more jokes could be added. It was the perfect way to end the book. I also believe that the title could be shorter or changed a bit. I truly appreciated the beautiful horse photographs included in the text. They will capture the attention of both adults and children. The photograph of the horses's teeth was the best! He looked like he was laughing.I would recommend this educational book for both home educators and classroom teachers. The book may be suitable for children ages 6-12 depending on how it will be used. It will help children research basic horse information for a research paper, project, poem, craftivity, or unit study. Furthermore, children who love and adore horses will enjoy reading the book independently or as a read aloud.I received a free copy of this ebook through Story Cartel's book review program in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."I hope you enjoyed my review!