Welcome to the Moonlight Library’s 30 Day Book Challenge!
This meme intends to generate discussion, so please feel free to add a comment.
This particular challenge is taken from the 30 Day Challenge Archive on Tumblr.

Day 24: A book that you wish more people would read

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

I really wish more people would read Black Beauty.

Black Beauty was the first full-length novel I read when I was about six or seven years old. I remember it seemed like it was taking forever, even though it’s quite a short novel. I also remember that, because I didn’t own many books as a child, I started re-reading it immediately after I finished it and finished it quite quickly the second time around.

The reason I think more people need to read Black Beauty is because it taught me a lot about cruelty and kindness to animals. Black Beauty is written from the horse’s point of view, and he suffers through ignorance and wilful mistreatment by his human owners. For example, bearing reins! They hold the horses’ head upright to make them look fancier, but a horse needs all the power in his neck and shoulders to climb up a hill – that’s why they put their heads down and throw all their weight forwards. And the rider who got drunk and was ignorant of one of Beauty’s shoes coming off, and made him gallop over sharp stones, and then Beauty fell, scarring his knees and inadvertently killing his rider! And poor Joe Green, who thought he was doing the right thing when a hot and tired Beauty returned home after fetching the doctor for his sick mistress, and didn’t give him a blanket after giving him cold water to drink. Beauty got really sick!

Did I ever mention how much I love horses?

From what I remember, the author Anna Sewell died just five months after its publication. I like to think it’s her legacy that this book teaches about kindness and respect not just to animals but to other people as well.

What about you? Which book do you wish more people would read?

About Nemo

A lover of kittens and all things sparkly, Nemo has a degree in English Literature and specialises in reviewing contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, historical, sci-fi and fantasy Young Adult fiction. She is especially drawn to novels about princesses, strong female friendships, magical powers, and assassins.

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