Bea and the New Deal Horse

Gr 3-7–This fits snugly within the canon of plucky girls overcoming massive trials. Written in the vein of A Little Princess or Anne of Green Gables, this title sets the titular Beatrice in the depths of America’s Great Depression. Bea’s father abandons her and her younger sister Vivian on the farm of a distant and rather prickly acquaintance, Mrs. Scott. Although she’s hesitant about the two foundlings, Mrs. Scott soon finds a use for them on her floundering farm. Once Bea, who is white, reveals her innate horse training sense, there’s hope and great risk on the horizon as the women try to save the farm through taming a traumatized horse. Bea’s journey is gorgeously told through refined but accessible writing. The conflicts are heartbreaking without a heavy hand. The scenes of horse jumping are equally exhilarating and exhausting, enough to make any horse skeptic a full-on fan. With a dash of social issues through veterans, racism, and the Hoover/FDR presidential race, Elliott’s novel is as informative as it is entertaining.