Kidlit :: Pepper Creek Ponies: A New Friend :: Jess Black & Serena Geddes

When Abby moves from the city to the country, she misses her old life. Despite her fear of horses, she visits Pepper Creek Pony Club in the hope of making friends. But Abby quickly learns that being a horse-girl is harder than she thought. Will Abby ever make a new friend?

Ok, so we all know I have a soft spot for pony books, and this one – Pepper Creek Ponies: A New Friend – was a really sweet read!
It is a fairly short chapter book, perfect for building the confidence of newly independent readers, especially as the cute illustrations scattered throughout also help bring the story to life. I actually think this would also be a good one for readers who are a bit older and have struggled to get into reading – the story line is suitable for youngish readers but I think also interesting/mature enough for readers a bit older than junior fiction is typically aimed at (I hope that makes sense – there are actual words to describe this but they escape me just now!).

I understand that this will be the first in a series of Pepper Creek Ponies books, and I feel like it gives us the perfect origin story of a lovely friendship that I imagine will go on to be at the heart of the next book/s. I have a bit of a habit of crying over pony club books, and I’m pleased to report this was no exception – I thought I was going to make it all the way through and then right near the end there was a very lovely passage about friendship that had me tearing up.

Overall I thought this one had some lovely human/horse moments and some lovely human/human moments, and set the scene for a new series really well – I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here!

xo Bron

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Pepper Creek Ponies: A New Friend by Jess Black & Serena Geddes
Out now from Scholastic Books Australia
Source: Sent to me by the publisher (thank you!). All views are my own.
Format: Paperback, 141 pages

Find Jess Black online here.
Find Serena Geddes online here.