Centaur Rising

Gr 4–6—Thirteen-year-old Arianne Martins has a secret. It's not that her "famous enough" rock musician father abandoned the family seven years ago. It's not that her homeschooled brother Robbie uses a wheel chair and has malformed limbs due their mother's thalidomide use during pregnancy. It's not that Martha, the irascible barn manager at Ari's family-run stable communicates with as many snorts and whinnies as the horses do. Ari's secret is magic: the farm's newest foal is a centaur! Ari, Robbie, mom Hannah, Martha and the trusted veterinarian promptly post a "Quarantine" sign, while they contemplate what to do. They name the pony boy Chiron, and since the centaur matures at the rate of about a year for every day, it isn't long before "Kai" can say his own name, read books, and communicate in English as well as in horse. At the heart of the story is the idea of protecting those we love. Ari protects Robbie, though she is sometimes a little jealous of the extra attention he requires. Hannah protects her children from their unkind dad. Martha protects the horses, and veterinarian Dr. Herks is there for Hannah. Everyone protects Kai. The 1965 setting means newspaper photographers with flash bulb cameras eventually spill the secret, causing distress at the farm, though things smooth out at the end. A gentle fantasy for tweens.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX