A Pony for Quarantine by Clare O'Beara Book Review

A Pony for Quarantine by Clare O'Beara Book Review

Title A Pony For Quarantine
Author Clare O’Beara
Publisher Nielsen
Publisher Website Address http://www.clareobeara.ie/
Publisher Email Address author@clareobeara.ie
ISBN-10: 1910544116 

ISBN-13: 978-1910544112

ASIN: B08B1KYKBN

Price $6.99 paperback, $2.99 Kindle
Page Count 198 pages
Formats (PB, Kindle)

Carolyn Wilhelm
Reviewer

Setting: Ireland, March 2020

Life was changing fast. Thirteen-year-old Moya didn’t understand at first when her parents were worried the supermarkets would close. Shops were only letting a certain number of people inside at a time. Her parents might not be able to buy exactly what they wanted, but they would be able to get food. Moya started helping by watching her six-year-old autistic brother, Michael, who was missing school and his usual routine.

Scared, Moya wondered about the symptoms of Covid-19. The World Health Organization had just declared a Pandemic. Biking to visit and care for her pony, Celidh, she began talking as she arrived so her pony would know where she was. Luckily, she didn’t live far away. Now she had to decide about grass livery or DIY stabling. Several ponies were already in the field with the donkeys. She brushed the pony who still had winter hair on its tummy, pondering the situation.

So begins the story of Moya, who is a lovely big sister to Michael. The book details how the family deals with an autistic child (no sweets in the house for one thing), and how they work together. Non-fiction information about donkey sanctuaries, pony care, Brexit, facts about the quarantine, how online instruction was handled in Ireland is included in the book. It is an informative and wholesome read. Mother and daughter have several talks that explain the feelings the situation brings out in everyone.

Photos of empty store shelves, social distancing, housing, ponies, donkeys, closed playgrounds, shopping with masks are sprinkled throughout the book. At the end is a tasty recipe you will want to try.

Clare O’Beara has written other horse books I have previously reviewed: ShowJumping Team and Rodeo Finn. Free teaching supplements for both books are available on the Wise Owl Factory site. 

Review by Carolyn Wilhelm

Carolyn Wilhelm is the author of The Wise Owl Factory site and blog. She has an MS in Gifted Education, an MA in Curriculum and Instruction K-12, and has completed the KHT Montessori 12 month program. She makes mostly free resources for teachers and parents. Her children's books are available on Amazon. She wishes for world peace, international courts instead of wars, and a world with more compassion and less greed. 

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