FIRE PONY

When forest fires threaten her family’s horses, a Montana girl puts her courage to the test in this middle-grade novel.

Although her room is overflowing with model horses, Cricket O’Conner finds training the real animals to be irritating, especially when it comes to an ornery blue roan named Gonna Be. But Cricket has to work on the family’s Montana ranch even today—her 12th birthday. With her gift money, she buys a china horse painted with flames; Fuego, as she calls him, sometimes seems more than just a figurine. He stars in her daydream adventures, but when fast-moving wildfires threaten the community, Cricket must put aside imaginary conflicts and pitch in. After helping rescue a neighbor’s many pets (including 30 cats), Cricket returns home to discover that two colts are missing. Her mother, frantically trying to protect the ranch before they must evacuate, says there’s no time to find them. But Fuego seems to tell her a different story: “It’s up to you and Gonna Be. You need to figure out a way to find the colts. They’re in trouble.” Slipping out with Gonna Be, Cricket embarks on an arduous search that will challenge the colt’s mettle and her own. In her novel, Sheila Ruble nicely dovetails the plot with Cricket’s growing maturity. The girl shines in the pet-rescue episode; unlike flustered adults, Cricket pays attention, comes up with a feasible plan, and implements it. And hunting for the lost colts allows Cricket to appreciate what she’s been teaching—and learning from—Gonna Be. Fuego’s supernatural intervention is perhaps unnecessary but works as a symbol of Cricket’s newfound inner direction. Debut illustrator Robert Ruble, the author’s husband, provides appealing images. Though digitally created, they feel like hand-drawn pencil work and enhance the text, including a picture of a grumpy marmalade cat who figures in the plot.

An exciting and involving rescue tale, especially for horse-loving readers.