Kat and Brandy
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From New York Times bestselling author Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt comes an inspiring, empowering, and heartwarming tale about the powerful connection between animals and humans and the enduring friendships that can change a child’s life.
Through beautiful illustrations and compelling text, the story of Brandy and Kat takes the reader on a journey where fear is transformed into courage. Where trust is earned, and love is realized.
Kat has loved horses for as long as she can remember. She’s grown up going to the barn, watching her mom ride, and riding herself. But while out on a ride one day, her pony gets scared, and she falls off. Ever since then, Kat has been afraid to get back in the saddle—until she meets Brandy.
Brandy is a rescue horse with a past that makes it hard for her to trust others. From the moment Kat first sees Brandy in the pasture from afar, with her pretty white coat and the unique little scar on her face, she wants to learn the horse’s story. Kat sees herself in Brandy and is intrigued, eager to get to know her better. Through patience and curiosity, Kat works through her worries and builds up the courage to get back in the saddle and ride again.
Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt shares a heartfelt story—based on her own childhood memories with her real-life pony Brandy—complete with a letter to the reader about the bonds we have with animals that help us feel strong and confident, and sometimes even allow us to conquer fears we never thought possible.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kat loves horses, but after tumbling off a startled pony as a younger child, she fears getting back in the saddle, despite encouragement from her equestrian mother and the family stable's riding teacher—"The fall kept replaying over and over in her head." Then Kat locks eyes with Brandy, a timid white rescue pony with a scar running down her face, and instantly feels a connection. Both remain hesitant, though, and their initial encounter doesn't go smoothly: when Kat reaches to touch Brandy's muzzle after offering her a carrot over the fence, the horse "reared, spun, and ran off," startling Kat so much that she tumbles to the ground. But patience and courage on Kat's part gradually build Brandy's willingness to trust, and together they overcome their fears. An unhurried, extended narrative by Schwarzenegger Pratt (Good Night, Sister) is echoed in soft-focus, digitally painted illustrations by Brown (I Love You, Jingle Bell Baby), which capture the tender bond between human and pony, and vividly evoke the stable and riding ring where that bond deepens, one step at a time. Human characters are portrayed with pale skin. Resources conclude. Ages 3–7.
