Horses storytime

The Thunderherd by Kathi Appelt; illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles.
New York: Morrow Junior Books, c1996.
As a thunderstorm rushes down from the mountains, a lone mustang shows the strength and speed of its ancestors as it races across the grassy prairie.

Goodnight horsey by Frank Asch.
New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, [1988 or 1989], c1981.
A request for a bedtime glass of water results in a fantastic horsey ride with a surprise ending.

Seneca by Karen Lee Baker.
New York: Greenwillow Books, c1997.
After choosing a horse for her own, a young girl takes care of it, goes for rides, and visits it each day.

Fritz and the beautiful horses written and illustrated by Jan Brett.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981.
Fritz, a pony excluded from the group of beautiful horses within the walled city, becomes a hero when he rescues the children of the city.

A is for Amos by Deborah Chandra; pictures by Keiko Narahashi.
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, c1999.
A rider on Amos goes around the farm and back home to the barn finding all the letters of the alphabet.

Snowy by Berlie Doherty; pictures by Keith Bowen.
New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1993.
When the other children bring their pets to school, Rachel feels left out because she can't bring in the horse that pulls the barge on which she lives.

No foal yet by Jessie Haas; pictures by Jos. A. Smith.
New York: Greenwillow Books, c1995.
Nora and her grandparents wait for their horse Bonnie to have her foal.

Going to a horse farm by Shirley Kerby James; illustrated by Laura Jacques.
Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, c1992.
A group of children visit a horse farm to see a new foal and they learn about feeding, caring for, and riding the horses.

If I had a horse by Jonathan London; illustrated by Brooke Scudder.
San Francisco: Chronicle Books, c1997.
A child imagines riding a horse through the jungle, down the beach, among clouds and volcanoes, and up the sky to the moon.

Up and down on the merry-go-round by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault; illustrated by Ted Rand.
New York: H. Holt, c1988.
In this rhyming story, children describe the sights and sounds of riding on the merry-go-round.

Gletta the foal written and photo-illustrated by Bruce McMillan.
New York: Marshall Cavendish, c1998.
An Icelandic foal searches for the source of something that she can hear but not see.

One horse waiting for me by Patricia Mullins.
New York : Simon & Schuster Book for Young Readers, 1998.
Rhyming text and torn paper illustrations pay tribute to the many kinds of horses in the world, from tame to wild, rocking, to carousel, and more.

Moonhorse by Mary Pope Osborne; illustrated by S.M. Saelig.
New York: Knopf, c1991.
A winged horse takes a child on a wonderful night journey into outer space.

Rocking horse Christmas by Mary Pope Osborne; paintings by Ned Bittinger.
New York: Scholastic Press, 1997.
A boy gets a rocking horse for Christmas that takes him to faraway places.

Poetry:
Top

Riding the Range

Valiant steed, trusted friend,
We ride together to the end
Blazing trails, seeking thrills,
Fording rivers, climbing hills
Galloping across the plain
With thundering hoofs and flowing mane,
Till Mama calls to end our play:
"Put up you stick horse for today."
~Cathy J. McDavid~

Flannelboard:
Top

Make five ponies, and adapt the fingerplay for the flannelboard.

Five little pones all dapple gray	Hold up five fingers
Down in the meadow not far away	Gesture with hand
The first one said, "Come on, let's run!	Wiggle thumb
The second one said, "Oh, that's no fun."	Wiggle pointer finger
The third one said, "I'm going to neigh."	Wiggle middle finger
The fourth one said, "I'd like some hay."	Wiggle ring finger
The fifth one said, "Here comes a Jeep."	Wiggle pinky
So the five little ponies away did leap!	Jump all five fingers behind back

Ten little ponies in a meadow green	Hold up ten fingers
Friskiest ponies I've ever seen.	Wiggle fingers
They go for a gallop, they go for a trot,	Gallop fingers then trot them
They come to a halt in the big feed lot.	Stop finger movements
Ten little ponies fat and well fed,	Bring fingertips of hands together
Curl up together in a soft straw bed.	Close fingers and bring fists together

Trot, trot, my little horse,
Trot, trot, on the course	Trot fingers
Canter, canter, nice and slow
Canter, canter off we go	Canter fingers
Gallop, gallop, speed along,
Gallop, gallop, all day long	Gallop fingers

Clippity, clippity, clop,
The horses go clip, clop.
They gallop and gallop,
They start and they stop.
Clippity, clippity, clop.
~Sue Brown~

I like to ride	Close fists, thumbs upward. Make large semi-circles with both hands
On a gallopy horse.
Gillopy, gallopy,
Trot -- trot -- trot.	Make up and down motions with hands.
Over the hilltop,
Down through the land,
Leaping the fence	Large motion of jumping fence.
To the barnyard lot.
Oh, it's rillicking -- rollicking
Fun -- is it not,
To ride gillipy, gallopy	Galloping motion with hands.
Trot -- trot -- trot	Short up and down motion
To ride gillipy, gallopy
Trot -- trot -- trot.

Ten galloping horses came through the town	Hold up ten fingers and pretend to gallop
Five were white and five were brown	Hold up five and five
They galloped up and galloped down	Gallop fingers up and down
Ten galloping horses came through town.

I'm looking for more ideas to fill out this page. If you have an idea for a simple craft suitable for preschool age, poetry, fingerplays or flannelboards, please contact me!