Heather's Reviews > Black Beauty

Black Beauty, a book that has sold millions of copies since it was first published in 1877, has gained somewhat curious status as a children's classic. The author originally wrote it as a work for adults to promote awareness of cruelty to horses. She succeeded in this when it became very popular soon after publication. It's the story of a horse who starts out his life well taken care of, but through circumstances beyond his control goes through a series of masters both kind and terrible.

Adults may find the author's message heavy-handed, but there are definitely a few gems, such as “...if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt,” and “...we have no right to distress any of God's creatures without a very good reason; we call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.”

For many children this is their first horse book and they want their parents to read it to them over and over again. Other children, however, might be upset by the scenes of animal cruelty on the way to the happy ending. You know your child best, so adult guidance is suggested.