Skip to main content
Displaying 1 of 1
Wild Horse Annie : friend of the mustangs
2019
Availability
Large Cover Image
Trade Reviews
Publishers Weekly Review
As a girl on her family's Nevada ranch, Velma Bronn Johnston, known as Annie, fell in love with mustangs. That love sustained her through a devastating bout of childhood polio-"horses took the pain away, at least for a little while." As an adult and rancher in her own right, she noticed the brutal and inhumane way that wild horses were treated. Her outrage drove her unexpected second career as an animal-rights activist, earned her the nickname "Wild Horse Annie," and, via a children's letter-writing campaign, led to federal laws protecting mustangs. Though the issue of how to share land with wild horses remains controversial, Annie's passion and persistence in the face of long odds resonates. Salerno's illustrations combine loping lines, sketched details, and rubbed textures to conjure the vanished west of the mid-20th century, and they cleverly balance a running mustang herd with letters stampeding from Annie's typewriter. Ages 4-7. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Velma Bronn Johnston's efforts to protect the wild mustangs of the western United States began in 1950, when she happened upon a truck full of wounded horses bound for the slaughterhouse. Upon learning of the burgeoning practice of rounding up the wild horses for profit or sport, she decided to speak out against the unethical treatment of the animals whose overpopulation was becoming a nuisance to ranchers. Over the course of two decades, Velma, who became known as Wild Horse Annie, tirelessly campaigned for the horses' right to roam free. Fern's account of Bronn Johnston's life and work is fast paced and on point. Readers will be captivated by the story of a Nevada ranch girl who learned to love horses at a young age and spent all of her time around them until she contracted polio at the age of 11 and was unable to ride or even walk. "When Annie left the hospital, her spine was bent and her face was twisted. Everything ached all the time. Part of Annie just wanted to hide inside her house. Instead, she got on a horse." As a member of Wild Horse Annie's pencil brigade 50 years ago, the author brings personal experience to the fascinating account of the dedication that led to the eventual passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. Salerno's full-page mixed-media illustrations exude the expanse of the West and invite intimacy with Annie all while maintaining a playful air of adventure. Readers will root for Annie and the mustangs she fought to protect. Teachers can use the book as a springboard for discussions about activism or the impact of habitat loss on wild animals. VERDICT A fitting choice for any library that has room for an inspirational and thought-provoking biography.-Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, MA © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Librarian's View
Displaying 1 of 1