Jonni wants a rocking horse but his family are poor and rocking horses cost a lot of money. His family live in a very small house and rocking horses need space. On Saint Nicholas' Day the family visit the Christmas fair. Jonni sees a beautiful rocking horse but of course he cannot have it so instead his mother buys him a little rocking horse Christmas ornament.
On the far side of the fair the family stop in front of a nativity display.
"But no one gave the Christ Child anything. And a little child must have a toy. So, as his father turned away, Jonni leaned down and dropped the red rocking horse (ornament) at the foot of the manger. It was just the right size for the Christ Child."
On Christmas eve Jonni is given gifts - a tiny blue wool mouse, a picture book with animals from around the world, and a gingerbread rocking horse. Jonni almost eats the gingerbread but in a magical moment the rocking horse talks to Jonni and explains about his magic saddle which can take them both on an adventure.
This is a magical story which shows dreams can come true.
What did you want for Christmas when you were a child? I wanted a dog (and I was given one); I wanted a bicycle (yes I was given one of those too); and I wanted a wooden dolls house (but sadly I didn't quite get the one of my dreams). As an adult, at one time, I thought I would also like a rocking horse (but as you have guessed I didn't buy one).
The Magic Saddle is a very old book, published in 1984, and so it is long out of print but as often say here on this blog, you might be lucky and find a copy in a library or at a charity book sale. In 1984 The Magic Saddle was short listed for our CBCA Picture Book of the Year award. This book is not especially Australian - it feels quite European but the author and illustrator are award winning Australian book creators.
I have talked previously about Christobel Mattingley and her wonderful body of work. In another post I talked about the tissue paper collage illustrations by Patricia Mullins in her books Ice Flowers and The Sea Breeze hotel.
I would pair The Magic Saddle with these two books:
No comments:
Post a Comment