Just wanted to suggest some ages...these books are a treasure a parent can enjoy with their child...the saga of Katy travelling from the Midwest by wagon train is a must for anyone who loves horses or who enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder's books. My 6 year old grand-daughter complains that each chapter ends at a very exciting place....she always wants me to read on.
The following themes may require some explaining or spark some opportunities for discussion for a 6 year old: Katie's original guardians do not treat her well, and mistreat (whip making welts) a horse. Katy was orphaned by an epidemic. In one book we learn that someone's hands got badly burned in a fire, and there is a boy who mistreats animals- whom Katy eventually learns was physically mistreated by his father- then she feels more sympathetic towards him.
Otherwise the books chronicle an exciting realistic adventure of a young girl (about 10?) who loves the horse she rescues from her guardian's abuse.
The following themes may require some explaining or spark some opportunities for discussion for a 6 year old: Katie's original guardians do not treat her well, and mistreat (whip making welts) a horse. Katy was orphaned by an epidemic. In one book we learn that someone's hands got badly burned in a fire, and there is a boy who mistreats animals- whom Katy eventually learns was physically mistreated by his father- then she feels more sympathetic towards him.
Otherwise the books chronicle an exciting realistic adventure of a young girl (about 10?) who loves the horse she rescues from her guardian's abuse.
