Finding Home

by Corinne Joy Brown, Ginny McDonald (Illustrator)

Overview

For every girl or boy who owns a horse, or wished they did, Finding Home brings all the drama and beauty of America's wild horses to the middle grade reader. A coming-of-age story and a tale about friendship, trust and understanding, both horse and owner have powerful lessons to learn. Together, young Jesse Nolan from Colorado and her wild mustang, Curly Girl, rounded up in Wyoming, discover what it means to rely on oneself, as well as those who love you most. A poignant reminder of our shared responsibility to save and protect one of the American West's most noble creatures - the mustang. Beautifully illustrated throughout.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780578469645
Publisher:	Corinne Joy Brown
Publication date:	11/23/2019
Pages:	138
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Corinne Joy Brown is a multi-published, award-winning Colorado author, magazine editor and freelance writer, focused on the American West and the question of identity. Finding Home is her eighth book. A former contributor to Young Rider and Working Ranch magazines, among others, she's been a horse owner most of her life. Corinne is committed to teaching the next generation about the power of horses to teach and heal.

Ginny McDonald is an award-winning, Colorado-based professional illustrator and a longtime advocate for wild horses. She is the adopter of an American Curly mare, and more recently, a second mustang. Ginny's skill in the use of Prismacolor pencils brings this story to life with rich detail and heartfelt emotion.

Table of Contents

Chap One Pahaska

Chap Two Capture

Chap Three To Own A Horse

Chap Four Adoption

Chap Five Be Careful What You Wish For

Chap Six A Tough Surprise

Chap Seven Rescue

Chap Eight Home On the Ranch

Chap Nine Becoming A Warrior

Chap Ten Waiting

Chap Eleven School Time

Chap Twelve Homecoming

ChapThirteen Breakout

Chap Fourteen On The Road Again

Chap Fifteen Is This Home?

Chap Sixteen Class Report

Chap Seventeen The Full Report

Chap Eighteen One Step At A Time

Chap Nineteen Changing Gears

Chap Twenty Working It Out

Chap Twenty-One Wanderlust

Chap Twenty-Two The Next Challenge

Chap Twenty-Three Closing In

Chap Twety-Four On The Run

Chap Twenty-Five Lost and Found

Chap Twenty-Six Guided By Instinct

Editorial Reviews

This beautifully written and illustrated book will appeal to any animal-loving young reader. Differences (equine and otherwise) are applauded, working through complicated human relationships. A philosophical, well-balanced approach to difficult issues (wild horse roundups) and positive animal training techniques are included in this riveting, educational new book.

Nancy Sachs, Platte Valley Pony Club

Englewood, Colorado

To see the world through the eyes of a newborn filly as she grows into adulthood, or an excited young girl in search of her first horse, is a treasure found in Corinne Joy Brown's novel Finding Home, a story of loss and recovery told in a brilliant way. The illustrations by Ginny McDonald help to refine the wonderful writing which places the reader squarely in the experience of Curly Girl and Jesse, her adopter. Finding Home is a wonderful story for our time, in consideration of the wild horses whose freedom is threatened across the West and the people who adopt the captured ones into loving homes.

James A. Holmes

CEO and Executive Director, Cherokee Ranch and Castle Foundation

Sedalia, Colorado

From the Publisher

2020-02-07
In Brown’s middle-grade novel, a wild horse and a teenage girl must overcome challenges to learn to trust others.

In rustic Wyoming, Jesse Nolan, a 13-year-old white girl, wants nothing more than a horse of her own. At a special auction of wild mustangs that were captured in a federal herd-thinning operation, she quickly has her heart set on a young “curly,” a rare breed with a curly-haired coat. Jesse has the winning bid on that horse, but she must leave the newly named Curly Girl with her horse-savvy Uncle Joe for training before she can safely ride her. Jesse prepares for Curly Girl’s arrival, knowing that she’ll be responsible for the animal’s upkeep at the boarding facility. When a panicked Curly Girl is evicted from the stable for causing damage, Jesse reluctantly accepts the only solution—for Curly Girl to live at Jesse’s estranged father’s nearby ranch. Brown’s novel is based on an original story by the author and debut illustrator McDonald, both of whom are advocates for wild horses. Jesse faces challenges with Curly Girl, but she also confronts her own resentment at her dad, due to his controlling nature and her parents’ separation. However, this is as much Curly Girl’s story as it is Jesse’s; the novel shifts between the teenager’s narrative, told from a third-person perspective, to Curly Girl’s first-person tale. Over the course of the novel, the horse offers poignant observations regarding her life before her capture and her fear and confusion afterward. The story also addresses Curly Girl’s overwhelming desire to return to her old home and herd. Brown, the author of Hidden Star (2016), deepens the content as Curly Girl and Jesse slowly progress toward a sense of acceptance. The author also presents an informative history of horses from prehistoric times in the guise of Jesse’s classroom project; she also shows her respect for her young readers by not sugarcoating the terror that the wild horses feel during the government’s culling process. McDonald effectively complements the text with expressive, informed colored-pencil illustrations of horses in human and natural environments.

A layered and thoughtful girl-meets-horse story with believable main characters.

Kirkus Reviews