What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses?

by Richard Van Camp, George Littlechild (Illustrator)

Overview

Author Richard Van Camp asks his friends and family, "What's the most beautiful thing you know about horses?"

Author Richard Van Camp has always been curious about horses. He is a member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation, a Native North American tribe that uses dogs instead of horses, because it's too cold for them up in Canada! One wintry day, he decides to do some investigating. Our friendly guide invites us to accompany him on his playful search for the most beautiful thing about horses. He asks his family, his friends, and even the artist, George Littlechild, what is the most beautiful thing they know about horses. The answers he gets range from zany to profound, and show him that even seemingly ordinary things can be seen in entirely new ways.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892393596
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	01/15/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	856,062
File size:	22 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 10 Years

About the Author

Richard Van Camp is a young writer and member of the Dogrib Nation from the Northwest Territories, Canada. He is a graduate of the University of Victoria and the En'owkin International School of Writing. He recently published his first novel and his stories have been featured in many collections.

George Littlechild is an internationally renowned artist from the Plains Cree Nation. His first book for Children's Book Press, This Land Is My Land (1993), was the winner of both the prestigious Jane Addams Picture Book Award, and the National Parenting Publications Gold Medal. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Richard Van Camp is a young writer and member of the Dogrib Nation from the Northwest Territories, Canada. He is a graduate of the University of Victoria and the En'owkin International School of Writing. He recently published his first novel and his stories have been featured in many collections.

Editorial Reviews

In this slim volume, Van Camp, a member of the Dogrib nation from Canada's Northwest Territories, asks the titular question of friends and family members to gain knowledge of horses. Addressing readers as "partners," the author explains that he is a stranger to horses, for in his often frosty homeland "All's we had up here were dogs." In a voice that moves awkwardly between that of cowboy and poet, the narrator imagines what he'd ask a horse: "Do horses think fireworks are strange flowers blooming in the sky?"; "When horses and dogs talk to each other, what do you think they say?" He then returns to the question posed in the book's title, and the answers he receives form a curious pastiche of impressions, ranging from his mother's comment that horses "must have secrets. When they run they seem to flow over the land" to a buddy's response that he doesn't like horses because "you feel great all day when you ride them but after that you feel bowlegged." Littlechild, who collaborated with Van Camp on A Man Called Raven, conveys a similarly capricious quality in his boldly hued paintings. An array of stylized images of equines and canines cavorting in living rooms and over rooftops as well as the more expected nature scenes incorporate stars and stripes, hearts and horseshoes. Despite the inviting, folksy tone, the book's strongly personal focus and frequently ambiguous meanderings make its potential audience difficult to determine. Ages 6-up. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

K-Gr 3-"It is so cold the ravens refuse to fly." When you live in Canada's Northwest territories, what do you do when it's this cold? This young narrator decides to ask his family and friends, "What's the most beautiful thing you know about horses?" It's a surprise question since dogs are more important to the people of this small Arctic community-horses don't survive here. It is evident that satellite TV viewing influences the responses to the concept of beauty in this southern beast. The author engages in a remarkable free flow of musings, questions, and answers. His startling narrative style, lively pace, offbeat sense of humor, and refreshing stance give readers a lot to think about. The result is a direct and highly amusing comparison of the value of dogs and horses. In Littlechild's vibrant, surrealistic illustrations, horses vibrate and prance off the pages, dogs bay or lounge at the center of attention, and distorted figures eye readers. Brash, bold hues enliven the special aspects of each figure, while narrow bands of color along one side contrast with the central image. Particularly effective are the images pitted against the pitch dark, wintry skies. The use of photos of family members introduces an unexpected sense of reality to the paintings. A stunning piece of work that's sure to spark discussion.-Ronald Jobe, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

School Library Journal

Van Camp (A Man Called Raven, 1997, etc.) explains to readers how, on the day it was "so cold the snow is holding its breath," he impishly posed a single question to friends and family: "What's the most beautiful thing you know about horses?" Their answers form the basis for a meandering text that reveals the secrets of horses, and of people as well. Horses, the narrator finds, have freckles and cool hair and soft breath. When they run, "they seem to flow over the land . to compete with the wind." They can run sideways, and, like dogs, always know their way home. Respect for all living things is a connecting thread that runs throughout. Littlechild, who was also asked about horses, rolls out all the colors in the paintbox in a happy mix of startling, wide-awake stripes on horses, dogs, and faces. All of it radiates innocence, with shapes and colors that imitate the expressive, uninhibited strokes of children's art. The starting point for Van Camp's investigation is outwardly arbitrary, but the result is personal and fun. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews