The Fire Pony

by Rodman Philbrick

Overview

From the author of Freak the Mighty, a stirring tale of an orphan boy with a frightening secret...

Joe Dilly has a secret way with horses--and with fire. His kid brother, Roy, knows about both secrets, but he's not telling. Not when he and Joe hire on at the Bar None, a ranch that has a few secrets of its own. At the ranch Roy, finds a wild pony that can run like the desert wind--and if he can break that pony, he can keep her. In a thrilling scene, Roy's dream comes true when he races the pony of his dreams. (copy continues)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545348522
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	05/28/2013
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Lexile:	1010L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Newbery Honor author Rodman Philbrick has written more than a dozen novels for young readers. In 1993, he published his first children's book, Freak the Mighty, which became an instant classic, and was made into a feature film. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg was a 2010 Newbery Honor Book. Philbrick's other acclaimed novels include Max the Mighty, The Young Man and the Sea, The Last Book in the Universe, Zane and the Hurricane, and Wildfire. Philbrick divides his time between Maine and the Florida Keys. You can learn more about him on his website: rodmanphilbrick.com.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-7Young orphaned Roy and his arsonist adult brother, Joe Dilly, are heading West, fleeing an earlier arson scene and looking for work on a horse ranch. At the Bar None, they find a place where they can avoid the law and earn their keep. Roy can also earn a pony, if he can break her. Lady is a beautiful, wild palomino that has already stolen his heart, but even if she lets him ride her, he worries that Joe Dilly's uncontrollable emotions and fascination with fire will destroy all of his hopes and force them to move on yet again. Philbrick discloses just the right amount of detail about Joe Dilly's fires to create concern for young Roy and draw readers into the story. Roy's first-person description blends smoothly into authentic dialogue with a Western accent. The characters are fully developed, showing both strengths and weaknesses. However, the "horse whisperer" effect Joe Dilly has on totally unmanageable horses is a bit far-fetched. Some of the horses' behaviors are equally unrealistic, as when Joe Dilly rides a crazy stallion bareback through the side of a burning barn. But the story on the whole has plenty of action and suspense and is a good choice for encouraging reluctant readers.Christina Linz, Alachua County Library District, Gainesville, FL

School Library Journal

There's no doubt that trouble lies ahead; 11-year-old Roy warns readers on the first page that he's "still pretty worried about the bad stuff catching up." Readers will know it's just a matter of time before everything blows up, but in the meantime, they'll be pulled quickly into a satisfying story about a boy who finds peace for a time on a horse ranch. Roy idolizes his older half-brother, Joe, who rescued him from a foster home. Although Joe is a skilled blacksmith, his temper sometimes gets the best of him, and they have to move on. When Joe finds work at the Bar None Ranch, Roy hopes they will be able to stay for a while. Joe gets along well with the owner, who has taken a shine to Roy and has given him a pony to train. Philbrick offers lots of interesting details about ranch life and training and racing horses, but it's the tension that will hook readers till the dramatic conclusion. Although less emotionally wrenching than Philbrick's "Freak the Mighty" (1993), this story may be more accessible for younger readers.

Chris Sherman

True to its name, the Bar None ranch offers a haven to a pair of drifters: an 11-year-old orphan, Roy, "rescued" from a foster home, and his loyal, hot-headed half-brother, Joe Dilly. Joe has an intuitive gift for handling horses, but his hair-trigger temper has already led to a barn-burning that Roy knows wasn't an accident. Roy, a born rider, is given a quartermile runner, Lady Luck, to train for a race. With an old-fashioned fever remedy, Joe saves Lady Luck's life after a cougar attack, but Joe can't cure his own fever. Triggered by mischief against Roy, Joe's vengeful nature is unleashed, with tragic consequences. Crisply eventful, pungent in its descriptions, crackling with action, Philbrick (Freak the Mighty, 1993) has created a real dilly of a novel.

Kirkus Reviews