SECRET S.T.E.A.M. SOCIETY

Mueller and Mayorga offer a middle-grade graphic novel in which students travel back in time to learn about horses and their history.

At the London Academy of Ideas and Ingenuity, students Thea, George, and Toot, who’s an alien from the planet Cancri, are about to take a field trip to the Academy Stables for the first time. George loves horses and has one of his own housed at the stables, but Thea is nervous around the gentle giants. Their teacher, Mr. Winters, begins a lesson by noting that “Hippology is the study of horses” and pointing out that the prefix hippo, in this case, has nothing to with hippopotamuses. The lesson gets sidetracked when Toot uses some of his planet’s technology to send himself, George, and Thea back 55 million years to see Hyracotherium, the horse’s first ancestor. They move forward in time to see Mesohippus, Merychippus, and Pliohippus, and come to understand the evolutionary chain that led to the modern horse. The students learn how horses became integral to human life in travel, farming, the military, and sports. Along the way, they also find out how horses’ brains and digestive systems work, and about the different markings and colorings they can have. George and Toot make learning fun and engaging, and as Thea’s knowledge grows, she becomes more confident around horses—and she may even be willing to learn to ride them. Over the course of this graphic novel, Mueller blends plenty of animal facts into a clear and straightforward narrative, which will keep young readers engaged as they learn; a glossary is included as well. The book also doesn’t shy away from difficult truths, such as the fact that horses are used for meat, both in the past and present. Mayorga’s use of a broad color palette results in illustrations that are eye-catching and diagrams that are easy to grasp.

An entertaining and educational work for young horse lovers.