Tween horse books and the series of horse books for tweens (and tween girls, especially) are highly regarded by fans of the genre. I don’t read too many horse books, but I have several horse fanatics in my life that it was almost essential to make this list. Contrary to popular opinion, children read horse books too, and in this list of middle-grade books about horses, I was pleased to find several with children as protagonists. If you have a child (or are) crazy about horse books for tweens, this list is for you!
Best Horse Books and Series for Tweens
Here are 18 of the best horse books and horse book series for tween boys and girls:
You are reading: Chapter books about horses
American horse tales series
Published: June 29, 2021
A young woman named Ginny and her family are dealing with the hardships of the Great Depression, and in order to survive, her father decides they must sell his horse and Ginny’s best friend, the thimble. but her ginny will do anything to find a way for them to stay together, and she decides to leave her family in oklahoma and travel west to california. the dust bowl is part of a series of books by various authors that highlight the unique relationships between the girls and their horses.
meg and merlin: making friends
Published: January 06, 2022
Meg treasures every moment she spends riding, and has always longed to have her own pony.
She knows mom and dad can’t afford a pony, they can’t even afford their weekly riding lessons anymore. But on the morning of her 10th birthday, Meg looks out the window at an incredible sight… a pony standing in the front yard. Have all of meg’s wishes come true?
horse girl
Published: March 30, 2021
wills is a seventh grader who is crazy about horses and is beyond excited when she gets the chance to start training at the prestigious oakwood riding academy. but she amara, the queen of #horsegirls, and her gang are not going to let certifiably idiotic and labeled wills into her club so easily. between learning the reins of horsemanship, dealing with her air force pilot mom who’s stationed thousands of miles from home, and standing together in the face of (gasp!) horsemen, wills learns that becoming a part of the world #horsegirl doesn’t it is not easy. But with her rescue horse, Clyde, by her side, it’s sure to be fun.
horse problems
Published: October 26, 2021
there is nothing that kate likes more than being surrounded by horses. but her best friend is allergic to them, so kate has to take riding lessons without her. Kate is forced to overcome some of the difficulties in her life, like the mean girls in the barn who make fun of her and her body insecurities, on her own. To make matters worse, Kate keeps falling off her horse. For Kate, her teenage years feel like one unjust punishment after another. Will she be able to get over it all…and get back on her horse?
the most nervous girl in the world
Published: August 18, 2020
pearl lives on a ranch where her duties include collecting eggs and feeding cranky ostriches. she has three older brothers, who do not pamper her at all. and she also knows a thing or two about horses.
one day, pearl’s brothers get comfortable jobs doing stunts for this new form of entertainment called “moving pictures”. They are the daredevil Donnelly Brothers, a trio of death-defying cowboys. Before she knows it, Pearl has become a stuntwoman herself and dreams of becoming a star. the only problem is that her mother has no idea what she is doing. And let’s just say she wouldn’t be too happy to learn that Pearl has been jumping out of burning buildings in her spare time.
lizzie flying alone
Published: April 16, 2019
lizzie street. Claire wants to be invisible. Forced to move out of her home, she and her mother now live in a transitional housing shelter, good hope, until they can get back on their feet.
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lizzie just wants to keep her head down in the face of good hope and her new school, so she doesn’t have to admit the real reason she and her mom lost everything.
but when lizzie finds herself in the nearby birchwood stables, some new friends, along with the arrival of a frightened pony named fire, help lizzie open up and accept help from those around her, even if it means help. that he will have more to lose if things change again.
horse journal series
Published: February 18, 2009
iceland, around the year 1000
Elska is a silver gray Icelandic filly. She spends her summers frolicking in the fields and her winters in the barnyard, where the human girl Amma takes special care of her. But when a powerful neighbor takes notice of Elska, her happy life suddenly changes. here is the story of elska. . . in her own words.
all sky
Published: August 22, 2017
Twelve-year-old Sky and her father are both horse whisperers: their unearthly tenderness and understanding of horses, and Sky’s uncanny ability to really understand what they say, become their lifeline during calving season in multi-million dollar horse farms. they are sought after by the most prestigious farms in the country to keep pregnant mares calm and stress-free until they give birth. but this spring, something horrible is happening… foal after foal is stillborn, and no one knows why. And worse for Sky, who lost her mother just a few months earlier, her most beloved horse is about to have her first foal. In agony, Sky takes it upon himself to find out what the vets are missing and stop it before even more foals are lost.
shadow of doubt
Published: April 21, 2015
fyfe flynn lives on a modest farm in the shadow of the world famous churchill downs racecourse, where he spends more time with the horses than with other children. That suits his father, acclaimed jockey Roscoe Flynn, very well. together they dream that one day shadow will become a great racehorse and win the kentucky derby. At first, few believe in Shadow’s prospects, especially when next-door neighbor Colonel Epsom uses his great wealth to produce top-caliber racehorses and will do whatever it takes to see them win. But Fyfe and Shadow, with the help of their animal friends, refuse to give up on their dreams.
horses from the dawn series
Published: January 7, 2014
horses are in danger. they were surrounded by both legs and forced into a boat to cross the wide ocean. the trip went awry and the boat was deemed too heavy, so the two legs pushed the horses into the sea and away, leaving the herd to perish in the depths.
Miraculously, the horses survived and made it to land. all but one: the ghost horse, the leader of the pack. now it’s up to his daughter, just a filly, to take charge of the terrified herd. Stranded in a new land, surrounded by two legs, will the horses find a way to live safe and free?
a good horse
Published: October 26, 2010
when eighth grader abby lovitt looks up at those rolling hills of pure gold, she knows there’s no place she’d rather be than on her family’s ranch, even with all the hard work of tending to nine horses. But some tasks aren’t work at all, like fixing up young Jack. at eight months, his coarse foal coat has shed, leaving a smooth, rich silk, like chocolate. As for Black George, such a fine horse, he turns out to be a natural jumper. As he and Abby top four feet with ease, heads begin to turn toward the ring (buyers’ heads) and Abby knows Dad won’t turn down a good offer.
Then a letter arrives from a private investigator, and all of a sudden, Abby loses not one horse, but two. The letter states that Jack’s mare may have been sold to the Lovitts as stolen goods. A mystery unfolds, more surprising than Abby could expect. Will she lose her beloved cat at the hands of her rightful owners?
george and the jewels
Published: September 8, 2009
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seventh grader abby lovitt has always been more comfortable with horses than with people. her father insists that all the mares be called “jewel” and all the geldings “george” and warns abby not to get attached: the horses are there to be sold. But with all the stress at school (the Big Four have turned on Abby and her friends) and at home (her brother Danny is gone, forever it seems, and now Dad doesn’t say his name), Abby looks for haven with the georges and the jewels. but there’s a gelding on her family’s farm that causes her endless problems: the horse that won’t look her in the eye, the horse that bucks her whenever he can, the horse her father makes her ride and to train every day. . she calls him hot-tempered george.
pony
Published: September 28, 2021
Twelve-year-old silas is awakened in the dead of night by three menacing horsemen carrying his father away. Silas is left shocked, scared and alone, except for the presence of his partner, Mittenwool. . . which turns out to be a ghost. When a pony appears at his doorstep, Silas makes the brave decision to leave home and embark on a dangerous journey to find his father. Along the way, he will face his fears to uncover the secrets of his past and explore the unfathomable mysteries of the world around him.
free spirit riding series
Published: May 2, 2017
Twelve-year-old Lucky Prescott longs for adventure, but as a society girl, she’s only been allowed to experience adventure through books. That is, until one fateful day when Lucky, her father, and her aunt leave their neat, orderly life in the city and travel to her new home in the west: the Wild West.
Lucky is excited at first, but during the long train ride to his new hometown of Miradero, he begins to worry. what if she doesn’t make any new friends? everyone in the west rides a horse, but she has never even been allowed to sit on one. how can she fit in? Eager for the future, Lucky looks out the train window and sees a majestic wild stallion. when her eyes meet, she feels a connection. But when the wranglers catch the stallion, Lucky’s heart breaks. and when she returns to see the stallion, she is tied to a post, refusing to be “tamed”.
chincoteague fog
Published: July 7, 2015
On Chincoteague Island, off the coast of Virginia and Maryland, lives a century-old herd of wild ponies. Among them is the most mysterious of all, Phantom, a rarely seen mare who eludes all efforts to capture her, that is, until a boy and a girl see her and decide they can’t live without her.
The frantic rodeo that follows the ponies’ next corral day does bring ghosts into their lives, in ways they never would have suspected. the ghost would forever be a wild creature. But her gentle and loyal foal, Misty, is another story entirely…
opportunity to ride
Published: October 11, 2016
troy is a passionate boy. and dreams and wanting to do the right thing. but after taking a wrong turn, he is forced to endure something that is worse than any juvenile detention he can imagine: he is “sentenced” to the local town stables where he is forced to take care of the horses. the biggest punishment has been trying to make sense of things since his mother died but, through his work with horses, he discovers a sport totally unknown to him, polo. Troy has to figure out which friends have his back, which kids to let loose, and if he and Alisha have a real connection.
horse riding lessons
Published: March 6, 2018
Eleven-year-old Ellen is a brave and sometimes misbehaving young riding student. Ella’s teacher Abby Lovitt (who readers may recognize from Georges and the Jewels) is a high school student who teaches her jumping techniques, dressage, and most importantly, Ned. Ned is a colt who used to be a racehorse, until he hurt his leg and moved to Abby’s ranch. ellen and ned seem to understand each other, and their camaraderie is immediate. But Ellen is only allowed to go to riding lessons when she behaves herself in school. And with everything going on, from finding out she’s adopted to finding out her parents are adopting a new baby, Ellen is finding it harder than ever to pay attention and behave in class and at home. Will ellen be able to spend more time at the ranch with ned? and will her parents ever let her have a horse of her own?
a horse named hero
Published: July 1, 2014
On the brink of World War II, a family forced from their London home flees to the countryside. Wolfie and Ella Dodo Ella’s older sister are devastated to leave everything they’ve known behind, but begin to adjust to their new life.
One day, they come across an orphaned bird, which they raise as a hero, a strong and beautiful horse who lives up to his name when he saves children from a fire.
Wolfie and Dodo find solace in their new lives, but the war quickly escalates and horses are needed for the fight. one night, the hero is stolen and the children are shattered. then years go by without any indication that the hero will return. Only when Wolfie becomes a stable boy does she discover that Hero has ended up working in the mines in terrible conditions. At that moment, Wolfie decides to save Hero, a plan that puts both their lives in danger. together again, can they survive?
there they are: 18 of the best middle grade books on horses! which of these have you read and loved? what did I miss? do you want a printable of this list? you can get one by becoming a sponsor.
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