Central Kansas Library System

After settling in Ashland, Ohio, Winnie Willis discovers a beautiful but mistreated Arabian mare who is known as Wild Thing because nobody has been able to train her, and trusts in her Christian faith to find a way to help.

Twelve-year-old Winnie faces three big problems--an orphan foal who won't eat, the miniature horse she has trouble training, and a classmate who seems to be an unreliable friend.

I haven't done anything with my life. . . . I need to do something . . . like Mom and Dad and Hank do all the time. And I need to do it now. Meet 12-year-old Kat-short for Katharine. She thinks she has two weeks to do something worthy of being adopted by her wonderful foster family. But cancer, medicine, and the older kids at Starlight Animal Rescue make it difficult for Kat to really help out around the farm. On top of that, she's just started junior...

Wes is a young boy who is carrying around a lot of anger, much of it due to the separation of his family, particularly from his drug-using mother. Through the loving care of his foster family, Wes learns to channel his anger and receive the loving grace of God.

Winnie Willis, a twelve-year-old girl with a gift for handling horses, finds an old mare in the pasture behind her house and struggles to keep the animal alive, reassure her father, and protect her heart from getting hurt if the horse should die or its owner appear.

Horse-crazy fourth-grader Ellie James constantly dreams about having a horse of her own, and God finally seems to have answered her prayers, but not with the gleaming black stallion she has been longing for.

"Dakota doesn't want to warm up to her new foster family; in fact, she plans to run away as soon as she gets the opportunity. Just as her plans to escape unfold, she falls in love with a horse that others have just about given up on. She accepts the love of her new family as well as the love of God through a series of events"--Publisher's website.

Using the writing techniques she has learned in school, fourth-grader Laney relates how an obese girl new to the class changes the lives of those around her, despite being bullied by her peers.

Feisty fourth-grader Ellie feels the need to prove to the world that her Backyard Horse (Dream) is worthy of attention. Ellie arranges a race to show off her dream. But her world is shaken when her horse gets sick and she is forced to realize that she could very well lose her Dream.

Even though she has spent the week doing selfish things, nine-year-old Ellie asks God for help when her beloved horse becomes sick.