By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Ada Smith and her brother Jamie are evacuated from London at the start of World War 2. They are sent to a village far from the city, just like the Pevensie kids in Chronicles of Narnia. However, instead of a magical land in a wardrobe, Ada finds a pony in a field. The pony, Butter, helps her adapt to the English countryside and life with Susan, their new caretaker. Horse care and riding are the easy lessons. Ada must also overcome the wounds her abusive mother inflicted.
This beautiful book is a complicated story about horses and airplanes. War and farms. Poverty, abuse and hope. Ada finds love and friendship, and a pony.
I also loved the sequel, “The War I finally Won.”
- Cover art by Josie Portillo