Macadoo of the Maury River: Horses of the Maury River, Bk. 2

Gr 4–8—Macadoo, a Belgian yearling, and his mother, Mamare, spend their days playing in the sun and grazing in large lush pastures. For Macadoo, life is full of many joys in the field, such as prancing with other yearlings and foals and playing with monarch butterflies. Then Mamare, the yearling, and many others are herded onto a truck bound for the auction house. The horses will either be bought for work and leisure or bought for slaughter. The young horse finds himself alone in the kill line and tries frantically to catch a kind buyer's eye. What will be his destiny? Will he ever see his Mamare again? Will he be ground into chunks of meat? Listeners will be quickly drawn into this suspenseful story. Amateau's character development leaves listeners with a strong affection for the creatures in this story (Candlewick, 2013). She masterfully weaves information about many different creatures into the story as well, through encounters with the young horse. JD Jackson's voice does not change for the different characters, but his pace and emotion work well. This is a wonderful choice for schools with avid horse fans.—Katy Charles, Virgil Elementary School, Cortland, NY