The Night Horses by Anaka Jones, 12 year-old Author

About Book

12-year-old author Anaka Jones imagines the life of a herd of horses as they work, chow, play and turn a farm into their own three-ring circus in The Night Horses

ANN ARBOR, MI – In The Night Horses, Anaka Jones creates a playful children’s book that imagines the secret lives of barn horses who chatter, chow, play and work all while their owners are away. Though she is only in sixth grade, Jones has produced a lively book that mixes reality and fantasy to showcase the playful and humorous side of rural life. She invites readers to accompany her to a secret barn party where these animals will play as hard as they work.

The Night Horses follows the animals’ daily lives. Each morning, the horse herd takes their breakfast at the hay feeder. Mulling around, they exchange gossip and share their plans for the day. There’s May, an old mare whose giddy-up spirit fuels her energetic personality. She wants to challenge Cloud to a race even though she is three times his age. Frisco and Bella are an inseparable married couple, and plenty of young foals timidly hide behind their mothers’ legs amongst the group.

After a long day of work, the horses clean up, head to their stalls for dinner, and wait in the barn until their owners head back to the house. With humans out of the picture, the horses get busy creating their own rural night life, effectively turning the farm into their own little three-ring circus.

The whimsical nature of Jones’ children’s book allows young readers to tap into their imagination and picture what goes on inside the heads of the animals around them. A perfect story for children who love animals, The Night Horses depicts the world of love and companionship to be found among horses and humans.

ISBN: 978-1452882789
Publisher: CreateSpace
Date of publish: February 2013
Pages: 28
Where to buy: Amazon, Barnes&Noble

About Anaka Jones

Anaka Jones is a 12-year-old girl in the sixth grade who was born and raised in the rural area outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she lives with her parents, two older brothers, two dogs, a lizard and a frog. Riding, grooming and maintaining horses is one of her favorite pastimes.

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My Thoughts

A day in the life of horses.  They wake up ready to eat and afterwards the young and old like to run and play together.  The mothers and mothers-to-be visit each other.  Then there are those that have such a bond they do everything together.  As the day comes to an end they enjoy getting a shower and then head for their stalls.  

But when the humans have gone to bed the horses pull out their disco ball.  They will play cards, enjoy spa time polishing their hooves and braiding their manes and tails.  One horse in particular is a regular comedian causing his friends to roll on the floor laughing.  Sometimes the barn cat will turn on the radio and all of them will dance under the glittering disco ball.  When they tire of all the fun they will huddle up together and go to sleep so they can start fresh the next day.

Who would have thought horses had so much fun without us?  I would have liked to peeked in the barns window to watch horses dance.  

I am amazed that a twelve year old wrote this fun and entertaining story.  She gives us a realistic look in a day with the horses and then an imaginative look at the night life of horses.  The illustrations depicted the characters and their surrounding in warm colors.  I could almost smell the hay, leather and hear the music. 

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5

Disclosure:  
I received a free copy of this book from the Author/Bostick Communications/CreateSpace for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.

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