The Wild Mustang

January 1, 2021

Gr 4-6-In a decidedly irreverent ride over the ups and downs of wild horses in the Old and New West, several Gumby-like rock drawings, both humanlike and equine, spring to life. Schooling the less than knowledgeable humans, the snarky horse trots through historical eras, from the introduction (actually, reintroduction) of horses to the New World by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493, to the juggling act Federal Bureau of Land Management performs today to keep wild populations humanely in check. The tour covers equine prehistory, anatomy, social behavior, and-in a tone that's a little too buoyant for the subject-how the animals' arrival in the American West transformed the Comanche and other Native American residents into dedicated horse thieves. As, over time, domesticated horses escaped to become huge wild herds, the work of mustangers like Johanna July in the late 1800s to capture wild horses one by one turned into systematic slaughter until the public campaigns of Velma "Wild Horse Annie" Johnston and other activists in the 1950s brought that part of the story to a (reasonably) happy ending. Along with playful details, Koch tucks proud, graceful horses aplenty, both wild and at work, into her mix of square and free-form sequential panels. VERDICT Corrals both the romantic and revolting sides of the story: Elementary and middle school readers who saddle up are in for a heady ride.-John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
An educational journey about horses that spans history from the Miocene to modern times. The largely forgotten history of the millions of mustangs that roamed the American West, as well as the activists who set out to save them in the 1970s, is explored in this graphic novel. It's told a bit like a classroom lecture, with an illustrated horse playing impromptu professor to two stylized figures that look like Keith Haring's free-figure drawings. The pop-culture pictographs argue in a comical way with the talking horse as it clarifies everything from the origins of horses to the culling that ensued in order to clear the open prairie for farming. With realistic, detailed illustrations of Spanish ships, conquistadors, Native people, bison, and the Pueblo Revolt set alongside the two questioning silhouettes, the comic book employs everything from maps to X-ray images of a horse's digestive system to get at the big picture of America's history even as it maintains its focus on horses. The story of early Natives, traders, horse thieves, and settlers gives way to the Wild Horse Act and the Bureau of Land Management horse-adoption program that exists in our country today. While the conquest of America is perhaps attributed too heavily to Hern�n Cort�s and his horses--excluding any talk of pandemics and lateral violence--the story encapsulated here is impressive for its scope. Sadly, though, the self-referential tendency of the classroom lecture uses too much space. A surprisingly comprehensive history of wild horses. (afterword, timeline, further reading, appendices) (Graphic nonfiction. 10-16)

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January 1, 2021
In this lighthearted yet informative offering, two cartoon characters learn from a petroglyph horse about North America mustangs, from prehistoric equids on other continents to the reintroduction of horses by Spanish conquistadors, the dramatic horse raids of the Comanche in the American West, and Velma Johnston's (aka Wild Horse Annie) modern-day efforts to protect wild herds. Dynamic comics-panel illustrations use self-referential techniques to move the humorous narrative forward, while "Mane Idea" asides explore topics like horse diet and digestion. A timeline, further reading (including movies and websites), and appendices covering famous mustangs and mustangers close out this highly accessible volume.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)