A new Under the Influence post today...

[seawasp]

... the classic children's book The Black Stallion, for horse lovers everywhere!

Comments

[kjn]

Huh. I think I remember reading it (or another book in the series) while I was ten or eleven or so, but your plot synopsis rings no bells at all. Might be because the books were mentioned all over the place during the early 80s, and I somehow formed the impression that I had read them.

Or it might have been some other horsey book.

[seawasp]

You may be confusing it with the other classic horse book, _Black Beauty_. Whose synopsis is indeed quite different.

[kjn]

No, it's not that one either.

[boogieshoes.livejournal.com]

*grins sheepishly* still re-read the entire series from time to time. of course, i still re-read "Robert the Rose Horse" periodically, too - and that little thing is a 4yo's picture book. :-D

-boogie

[pedanther]

I saw the movie when I was a kid. (Have you seen the movie? How does it compare to the book?) I was aware there were books too, but I never got around to trying any of them.

[seawasp]

The movie is a fairly accurate portrayal, as movies go, although the actor cast for Alec is younger than Alec is implied to be in the book . Some details are changed (most obviously that Alec's dad was on board the Drake and thus dies in the sinking).

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you wrote about this. The Black Stallion was probably the first real book I ever read. I loved it, and I distinctly remember telling a friend about it when I was in kindergarten. I tried to read more in the series, but there weren't very many at the library. I remember reading a couple that were definitely over my comprehension level, although I read the words just fine.

But I'm mostly glad to read this because it's reassuring. I loved it so much that I haven't re-read since my early teens; I've been afraid it wouldn't hold up.