Macadoo: Horses of the Maury River Stables

by Gigi Amateau

Overview

A sequel to Chancey of the Maury River, this heart-tugging story focuses on Macadoo — the gentle giant of the Maury River Stables.

When Macadoo is just a colt, he challenges his father — a huge Belgian stallion — in order to protect his dam. From that moment on, Mac knows that his purpose in life is to help others. From surviving a kill auction to learning how to be a vaulting horse to giving therapeutic riding lessons, Mac is always patient and never loses hope in his mission to serve others — and he finds the courage to “walk on” through even the most difficult circumstances. Told with insight and compassion from Macadoo’s point of view, this is a story that all horse lovers will cherish.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763637668
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	08/06/2013
Series:	Horses of the Maury River , #2
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.38(h) x 0.78(d)
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gigi Amateau is the author of Chancey of the Maury River as well as Come August, Come Freedom; A Certain Strain of Peculiar; and Claiming Georgia Tate. She lives in Bon Air, Virginia.

Editorial Reviews

This slender novel follows the life of a Belgian draft horse from his yearling days in a pasture in Alberta through several owners until he finds his true calling as a therapeutic and vaulting horse at a riding center in Virginia. Depressed and certain that there is no place for draft horses in the world anymore, his sire bites the tip off one of his ears; the resulting defect (inexplicably) sends him to a "kill" auction instead of one for valuable purebreds. A man named John Macadoo saves him from slaughter and takes him to Virginia, where he becomes the companion of a lonely boy. Another forced sale several years later takes him to the Maury River Stables, where he meets a young girl named Claire and an old Appaloosa named Chancey, both characters from the companion book, Chancey of the Maury River (2008). As with the previous book, overly formal and at times overwrought language mars the readability. Several logical lapses strain credulity here as well--Why would the only two choices for selling the horse be by auction? Why would a physical blemish mean his purebred papers wouldn't travel with him?--and the beginning seems to promise a much grander future for the equine protagonist than the simple tale that unfolds. Macadoo's story will please very enthusiastic horse lovers--and only them. (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

Told from the horse’s point of view, this story gives readers the history of one of the minor characters in Amateau’s "Chancey of the Maury River". ... Macadoo’s response to his struggles will resonate with readers, and this volume will ... find a ready audience among lovers of horse stories.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher