Another favorite from when I was a kid. I'm surprised that no one has reviewed it here yet, as it's a wonderful story. If it were enhanced just a bit, it would make a capable adult novel, and perhaps even a feature film, but this version is definitely a read for all ages.
Young Carl Lee hasn't had an easy start to life. Due to an all-too-common occurrence, he cherishes his summer-long stays with his grandfather at his ranch near the little town, Golden Pasture, near Ponca City, Oklahoma, because his Cherokee mother disappeared when he was a newborn, and his relationship with his sometimes-abusive father is strained. Like so many children his age, Carl Lee finds his solace in his grandfather, and in horses. In fact, Carl Lee and his grandfather Gray formed an immediate bond when Carl Lee was just an infant, provoking a jealous fury in his father Samuel.
"The differences in culture and background had attracted them to each other, but these differences had also pulled them apart." Carl Lee was born one blustery winter day, essentially caught between worlds: his mother, Rose Branch, a Cherokee woman, steals away in a snowstorm to give birth to him in the wilderness, where she had prepared a place, far from the sterile environment of a modern-day hospital. Like generations before her, she wishes to bring her baby into the world in the setting of wild nature, much to the chagrin of Carl Lee's father, who pursues her to make sure nothing happens to the baby. He finds Rose Branch and takes the baby from her as soon as he's born, and, leaving her to fend for herself, returns home, never to see her again. Like a fairy godmother, however, she watches over Carl Lee all his life. He does not know her, but he sees a mysterious figure he calls The Apple Woman.
Gray, Carl Lee's grandfather, is an old-school rodeo cowboy, who used to round up wild horses. Now he lives in retirement on his ranch, spending his days tending to the farm and reminiscing on the front porch with his old rodeo pals. The best kind of grandparent there is is the one whom you fear, more than anything else, even more than you fear dying, will be disappointed in you. That's the kind of bond Carl Lee has with his grandfather, Gray. Carl Lee's father reluctantly allows him to spend summers on the ranch, but frequently threatens to come and take him back. After a particularly vicious incident with his drunken father, Carl Lee finds a injured horse in his grandfather's back pasture, a secret place where no one is allowed. I'll spare you the spoilers, but, in the end, this one special horse is the only thing which can heal the members of this fractured family.
More than just a "horse story," of which I was so fond in my youth (and still am!), this timeless tale explores the family dynamic of three generations of African-American rodeo cowboys, set near the author's hometown of Ponca City, Oklahoma, not far from where my Cherokee ancestors lived so many decades ago. Perhaps for that reason, and because of my own love of horses, from early childhood, this beautifully written story really struck a chord with me, as it likely has for many like me. Enthusiastically recommended for just about anyone!
Young Carl Lee hasn't had an easy start to life. Due to an all-too-common occurrence, he cherishes his summer-long stays with his grandfather at his ranch near the little town, Golden Pasture, near Ponca City, Oklahoma, because his Cherokee mother disappeared when he was a newborn, and his relationship with his sometimes-abusive father is strained. Like so many children his age, Carl Lee finds his solace in his grandfather, and in horses. In fact, Carl Lee and his grandfather Gray formed an immediate bond when Carl Lee was just an infant, provoking a jealous fury in his father Samuel.
"The differences in culture and background had attracted them to each other, but these differences had also pulled them apart." Carl Lee was born one blustery winter day, essentially caught between worlds: his mother, Rose Branch, a Cherokee woman, steals away in a snowstorm to give birth to him in the wilderness, where she had prepared a place, far from the sterile environment of a modern-day hospital. Like generations before her, she wishes to bring her baby into the world in the setting of wild nature, much to the chagrin of Carl Lee's father, who pursues her to make sure nothing happens to the baby. He finds Rose Branch and takes the baby from her as soon as he's born, and, leaving her to fend for herself, returns home, never to see her again. Like a fairy godmother, however, she watches over Carl Lee all his life. He does not know her, but he sees a mysterious figure he calls The Apple Woman.
Gray, Carl Lee's grandfather, is an old-school rodeo cowboy, who used to round up wild horses. Now he lives in retirement on his ranch, spending his days tending to the farm and reminiscing on the front porch with his old rodeo pals. The best kind of grandparent there is is the one whom you fear, more than anything else, even more than you fear dying, will be disappointed in you. That's the kind of bond Carl Lee has with his grandfather, Gray. Carl Lee's father reluctantly allows him to spend summers on the ranch, but frequently threatens to come and take him back. After a particularly vicious incident with his drunken father, Carl Lee finds a injured horse in his grandfather's back pasture, a secret place where no one is allowed. I'll spare you the spoilers, but, in the end, this one special horse is the only thing which can heal the members of this fractured family.
More than just a "horse story," of which I was so fond in my youth (and still am!), this timeless tale explores the family dynamic of three generations of African-American rodeo cowboys, set near the author's hometown of Ponca City, Oklahoma, not far from where my Cherokee ancestors lived so many decades ago. Perhaps for that reason, and because of my own love of horses, from early childhood, this beautifully written story really struck a chord with me, as it likely has for many like me. Enthusiastically recommended for just about anyone!
