Aussie Lester crafts a believable wartime adventure loosely based on the World War II rescue of the Lipizzaner stallions of Vienna's Spanish Riding School. Ten-year-old Nina's father is stable master at an acclaimed royal academy in an unnamed city (clearly Vienna in the illustrations). When war closes the Academy, the horses are taken away by truck—but as Nina's father waits with the last of them the battle reaches the city, and they must flee on the horses themselves. Nina insists on bringing an elderly cart horse, Zelda, whose cleverness saves the party but whose strength begins to fail as they climb into the mountains. Both girl and horse feel fully credible and their escape surprisingly affecting. The illustrations, predominately black-and-white drawings layered between photographic and colored-pencil back- and foregrounds, make the historical contemporary; they ground the characters without tying them to a specific time. An author's note gives historical background and points out that this story is entirely fiction. The text of this adventure is on the long side, gearing it for an older elementary audience. Very well done indeed. (Picture book. 6-10)
