I’m trying to track down the title of a children’s/young adult book from the late 1970s/early1980s. I want to say it was a book sold via one of those “book club” orders that kids used to order books from in elementary school, where the teacher passes out the order forms with a list of book selections. I remember it was a thin book with a dark gray cover with a pen-and-ink drawing of a young girl standing at a fence with a horse on the other side of it in a field, and both the girl’s hair and the horse’s mane were colored yellow.
The most I can remember of the story is, at the beginning, the girl – I think her name MIGHT be Jane? – is going to spend the summer with her grandparents on their farm, but first she has to get through – I THINK – the last day of school and her class’s “field day.” I know that whatever the occasion, she sprains her ankle during a race and goes to her parents’ truck to nap until it’s over and they take her to her grandparents. I also remember that while she’s at her grandparents, there’s a flood for her birthday and her grandmother gives her homemade gifts including a hand-sewn dress using fabric from the kitchen curtains. And I know that there’s a horse involved – maybe a colt? Maybe called Lightning? I’m not sure. I believe she wants the horse to be hers, and I think her grandfather isn’t all too keen on the idea.
I’m sorry I can’t provide any more info – I hope this is helpful!
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
I think this is probably Whisper Goodbye by Dorothy Nafus Morrison. The cover to the 1987 edition looks as described. Here’s the description:
When Katie’s small Oregon town is to be flooded and turned into a lake, she learns she will not be able to take her beloved horse to her new home with her grandparents. Should she move with them or remain with the horse she loves more than anything else in the world?
“Blue Ribbons for Meg”?
I believe this is Summer of the Stallion by June Andrea Hanson. It also had a sequel, Winter of the Owl
That’s it!!!! I looked it up on Amazon, and that’s the cover! Off to buy a copy now! Thank you so much!!
Riddle solved – “Summer of the Stallion,” by June Andrea Hanson! Thank you so much to everyone who pitched in to help!
Found a description for Summer of the Stallion, this is definitely the book
Janey’s summer vacation was off to a terrible start. She was humiliated at the end-of-school picnic: She disgraced herself at softball, sprained her ankle in the races, and then the boys started making fun of her father. She couldn’t wait to escape to the ranch. The ranch is owned by her father but run by her grandfather, whom she idolizes, and Janey was looking forward to a whole summer there as Grandpa’s number one hand. But even the ranch is a disappointment. Then the stallion changes everything…
Cover art matches description too.