Book Review: Perfect for kids who love horses......

 

Quincy and Buck

Author: Camille Matthews

Illustrations: Michelle Black

ISBN: 978-0-9819240-4-5

Publisher: Pathfinder Equine Publications

2014

 

This is a fabulous book for young readers. The story is a heartwarming tale about Quincy, a beautiful horse who wants to ride trails in the desert but is afraid of what might happen or what animals he might encounter on the desert trails.

 

Buck is a fearless horse who bullies and is mean, making Quincy worried. The story weaves the real life emotions and details that young readers will be able to relate to because they are some of the same fears the reader may also experience in life... fear of the unknown, fear of being bullied, fear of failure.

 

The twist at the end of the story is a great way to  open the discussion with readers about why a bully is a bully and about how all of us have fears that we must face. Quincy and Buck is the third book in the series by Ms. Matthews and these treasures have become well loved books for children who love horses.

 

The life lessons in each of her stories is a plus for parents and for classroom teachers trying to teach character education for young readers in a fun and positive way. I give this 5 stars for reaching out to young readers with an entertaining and heartwarming book with beautiful illustrations. Children will want to read this over and over again.

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

Author Camille Matthews and Illustrator Michelle Black

Creators of the Quincy the Horse Books

Camille Matthews and Michelle Black met in Farmington, New Mexico where Camille was a clinical social worker providing psychotherapy and equine therapy and Michelle was a horse trainer and artist. Camille told Michelle about the Quincy the Horse children’s books she was creating about the real life of one of her horses.  Michelle offered to illustrate the series.  Both are equestrians who between them have done just about everything with horses but they agree that the creation of the Quincy the Horse Books for kids K-4th grade is their favorite project. They have just completed the third book of The Quincy the Horse series, QUINCY AND BUCK.

 

Camille was born in Lexington, KY, considered by many the horse capital of the world. She loved to read and treasured her horse books.  She was an only child and her favorite activity was visiting her grandfather’s farm where she learned to ride.  She wanted to become a writer but studied to be a psychotherapist. In 2002 she became certified in the new field of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and opened one of the first programs in New Mexico. Camille relocated back to the East coast in 2010 and now resides near Reading PA. She is an avid trail rider and lover of American quarter horses.

 Michelle was born in Yuma, AZ into a world of horses.  When she was 11 years old, her family moved to Australia. As she grew older, she did not have a clear plan for her future because training horses was not a respected career for a young woman in the 1970s. When she was 19, she left Australia and returned to the US to visit family. There she finally pursued her dream of becoming a horse trainer. Michelle trained horses for much of her life but now devotes most of her time to her art and her rescue dogs. In addition to painting, she is an avid woodworker. She lives in Farmington, NM.

The real Quincy whose early experiences inspired the Quincy the Horse series, is an American quarter horse who came to live with Camille when he was 7 years old.  He was an active trail horse until he contracted EPM. After several years of rehabilitation, he was able to return to light trail riding and became a mainstay therapy horse, providing equine assisted mental health services to teens and adults. Now 24 years old, he is still working as a member of the equine therapy team at Pathfinder Farm in Reading, PA.

Book Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqCWapSlSKo