Student Book Review:


Red Pony, The -Classic

by: John Steinback


Review done by:

 Ashley Wilock
Grade 6
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

I read the book The Red Pony. It was a very good book. It was really joyful at times, but sometimes it was very sad. It was about a little boy who wanted a horse. His father always said that he would give him a horse, but he never was given one.
What happens is Jody is a little boy who lives on a very small farm. He has a normal farm life and normal chores. But he wants his dad to get horse for him. But he doesn't get it. So he gives that up.
But by surprise his dad buys him one. Jody was so happy he took great care of the horse. But, one day, the horse is left out when it rained. The horse was very sick. Billy the ranch hand tried to save the pony but it got too sick and died. Billy was very sad.
After he got over that his father told him that one of the girl horses was pregnant, and Jody got the baby horse. This made Jody very happy. So, he waited and waited for the horse to have her baby. He made Billy promise that nothing would happen to the baby. So Billy promised. But when the time came something was wrong.
This was a very good book even though it was very sad at times. I recommend this book for people who don't like to read. It is a very short book, but it is also very good if you like to read. If you want to know more read another review. But, if your still not satisfied,read the book!

Student Book Review:


Red Pony,The

by: John Steinback


Review done by:

 Holly Baumgartner
Grade 6
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

If you like tragic stores then this is the story for you. A lot of my friends have read it,, and I advise you to read it to. It is a very sad story, but very well written.
It is about a boy (Jody) who lives on a farm in about these times. He lives with his mother and father and a man who works on his farm named Billy. One day Jody's father had went out hunting for food and when he came back he told Jody that he had a surprise in the barn and the next morning they would go out to see it. Sure enough, the next morning Jody was up bright and early to see what his father had bought him. As Jody and his father approached the barn Jody could hear something. It was making a loud noise and Jody started to run towards the barn and there he found a little Pony. He had a red coat and was in good heath. Jody thought about it for a little while and decided to name the horse Gablin. Jody begged his father to ride Gablin only around the barn but his father was persistent and refused. He said that the pony was way to young and Jody would break his bones. Jody certainly didn't want to do that. He wanted to keep Gablin in his best health. Jody would have to wait until he gets stronger.
One day while Jody is at school it starts to rain very hard. Jody knows that his pony is outside. He also knows that Billy is the best horse care around and he would surly get the pony inside. Nothing to worry about or at least that is what he thought. When Jody got home he ran right to the barn to find out that everything was not just fine. Things were going pretty bad. It all started with a little cold and turned into a horrible disease. What would happen to the little pony?
If you like sad stores this is for you trust me. If you are going to read this I would advise you to have a box of tissues by your side. It is a real tear jerker. I loved it all the same though, and so did a lot of my friends. It was a great story and I recommend to all of you soap opera or not lovers. I gave it a 10!

Student Book Review:


Red Pony,The -classic

by: John Steinbeck


Review done by:

 Tami G.
Grade 6
Van Antwerp Middle School
Niskayuna, NY

The book The Red Pony was a very touching story about a boy, Jodie, who wanted a colt. This takes place in the 1930's. Jodie was a very adventurous boy, with a lot of curiosity. He had a pony named Gablin to train himself for the colt.
One day Jodie had to go to school and it was raining, he had to decide weather to keep Gablin inside the barn or to let him outside in the rain. Jodie asked Billy Buck, his father's friend, to take care of him during the day. Billy Buck failed to take good care of him and the pony got sick. Billy promised Jodie that he would make sure Gablin would get better. That's not exactly what happened.
Billy Buck didn't take care of him right and broke his promise to Jodie. Gablin had a horrible flu and Billy just couldn't heal him. Billy decided to give Jodie another horse named Nellie, who was pregnant with Jodie's colt.
This book didn't have a lot of action but it was sad how poor Jodie goes through all this trouble for one colt. When Nellie was giving birth the book became very interesting. Billy Buck made Jodie leave to get hot towels. Jodie was excited and skipped out of the room. When he came back, Nellie was still in labor but Billy Buck was reaching into his pocket for a knife.
Jodie never knew why Billy Buck did what he did but he had worse things to worry about. His father began to change, when his grandfather came Jodie's father became an angry rude man. Mr. Tiflin yelled at Jodie's grandfather for telling the same story every time he came. Jodie and Mrs.Tiflin both noticed the change in him and blamed Billy Buck. They never found out what caused the change in him.
This book was great in many ways which I have just expressed. However, if you need more proof, read the book. It was an easy and fun read. I'm sure you will enjoy it just as I did. And maybe, you will write a review like this about The Red Pony.
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