AWARDS

REVIEWS

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3–This easy-to-read title provides an interesting look at the famous racehorse. Readers who were intrigued by the exploits of Seabiscuit will discover that Man O' War was his grandfather. A big, strong horse, he had a mind of his own. He gave the stable boys a hard time saddling him and even began one race facing the wrong direction because he fidgeted so much. Named the Greatest Horse of the Century in 1999, he lived a long life after his retirement from racing. The information about the horse's life flows easily and the realistic, soft-toned illustrations clearly depict various moments in his life, such as getting a carrot-candle birthday cake. A pleasant addition to nonfiction collections.–Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Gr. 1-3. Named the Greatest Horse of the Century in 1999, Man o' War began as a wobbly colt ("He would not slow down / long enough to be trained"), but grew up to win all the big races and break all the world records. In this entry in the Step into Reading series, McKerley tells his story in crisp prose set down on the page in short lines. Widener's illustrations of the big horse and his trainers, riders, and fans, simple yet appropriately powerful, are colored in the deep greens and rusts of the tracks and fields where the horse trained and raced. The exclamatory style occasionally becomes tiresome ("first!"), but the facts are astonishing, and new readers will find the exciting nonfiction makes a great story. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.