IF YOU WANT TO RIDE A HORSE: Who Wouldn't?

NEAL PORTER BOOKS, 2024

IF YOU WANT TO RIDE A HORSE, written by Amy Novesky and illustrated by Gael Abary, is a most unusual nonfiction offering. This information-packed picture book calls on readers to use imagination and dreams to discover facts about horses and horseback riding. Beginning with an invitation to readers to close their eyes and imagine the horse they might ride, page after page reveals aspects of horse knowledge (horse breeds/types, sizes, body parts and variations, markings). The direct address, rhythmic text continues on to personalizing details, like names and animal care. Advice is offered about ways to respond to natural fear, to communicate calm to the animals, and all advice is informative and encouraging. Labels and drawings of care tools, chores, clothing, gaits, and more serve to introduce young dreamers to the realities (hard work and joys) of horse-riding. 

Back matter clarifies even further the many details introduced in the lyrical lines of the main text. Brief messages from the author and illustrator include a photo of each with their horses. 

As a kid who "wanted to ride a horse" but never got beyond the pony-picture stage, I would have loved this book as a child, and I love it now. For all those who are fans of "virtual reality", this is a superb example of the original virtual reality tools- imagination, curiosity, and a beautifully written and illustrated picture book.