The Wonder Horse by Mark Greenwood

Even if you have heard of Phar Lap, the famous race winning horse, you are sure to discover even more when you read this book. Readers who love history and mysteries will thoroughly enjoy this intriguing story and it is also one to share with horse lovers. I especially loved the descriptions when Phar Lap (also known as Bobby) was taken into a field to enjoy sweet grass and clover. I did find the descriptions of adding heavy weights to make racing harder for Phar Lap, who kept winning, very distressing. I guess I should disclose I am not a fan of horse racing but I was fascinated to read about this special horse/hero.

Discover the answers to these and many other questions in this book:

• Do you know how Phar Lap go this name?
• Where did Phar Lap run his final race?
• Did Phar Lap look like a champion when he was a young colt?
• Did this famous horse win every single race he ever entered?
• Is Phar Lap from Australia?
• What is the sweet treat his trainer always gave him?
• How many races did Phar Lap win?
• What happened on the day of the Melbourne Cup in 1930 before the race?
• Why did the owner and trainer need to protect Phar Lap?
• How do you feel about horse racing after reading this book? 

Here are some other books about Phar Lap that might be in your school library:

Last week I talked about another book from this splendid, thoroughly researched, series. These books are perfect for young curious readers in your library. They are easy to read with short chapters, big print, and page turning stories from history. Huge thanks to Freemantle Press for sending me copies of these two books from the History Hunter series. The Wonder Horse was published early in June 2025. Here are the teachers notes and these are well worth exploring because they contain extra web links and a vocabulary list. Read more details about The Wonder Horse in this blog post from The Bottom Shelf.

Who needs a time machine when you’ve got the History Hunter? He’s your fearless guide, taking you back through time to investigate mysteries that have puzzled the world for generations. From royal treasure rooms to racetracks, you’ll follow the clues, ask the tough questions and maybe even crack the case. These books are a history adventure double-pack that’s cooler than any video game! Better Reading

I previously talked about these horse racing picture books:

Subbie and his mate

Fabish the horse that braved a bushfire

The Epic Race

Subbie and his Mate by Corinne Fenton illustrated by Mark Wilson

 

The most famous horse race in Australia is The Melbourne Cup. It is always run on the first Tuesday in November. in 1992. After his racing career ended Graham Salisbury adopted him.

"Subbie and Graham went to schools, then hospitals and aged-care homes. They visited sick children and lonely old people, those who were fearful or sad or shy. Subbie bought happiness and laughter to them all."

"After the Black Saturday bushfires, Graham and Subbie toured the scorched and blackened countryside, bringing smiles to tired, frightened faces."

Horse lovers will adore this true story about an amazing horse and an even more amazing man. It could also be a book to share with groups of children on Melbourne Cup Day – I had a teacher in my former school who was always looking for books to share with her class on Melbourne Cup Day. 

The story of Subbie touched my heart especially when, as an older retired horse, he visited hospitals, schools and aged-care homes and even assisted people emotionally after the Black Saturday bushfires. He was so much more than a winning racehorse. Reading this book made me want to know more about Graham and Subbie. If you have time, there are a few YouTube videos about Graham and Subzero – they made me cry – so very special. Here is a very short one. And one that is around 3 minutes long. 

The end papers are perfect, but I do wish a different image had been selected for the cover. To me, that is the only weak part of this book. I think the image on the page 'For a handshake and a dollar Graham Salisbury bought the famous thoroughbred' would have been a better choice – it is a powerful, emotional illustration that perfectly matches the tone and themes of this book. Here are a set of teachers notes from the publisher with questions and activities and a further reading list. Take a look at this review from Kids' Book Review.  In this interview with EQ Life Magazine, Corinne Felton talks about making this book with Mark Wilson. You can see other books by Corinne Fenton here. And books by Mark Wilson here. 

Here are some notes about the illustrations by Mark Wilson: I use a lot of photos of Subbie for each illustration, of which there are many, including Corinne’s own photos of Subbie at his home. I watched films of Subbie to study how he walked, bowed and galloped, particularly how Subbie and Graham interacted. I sketched from these photos and films, finding different angles, never directly copying, but using them to make sure that all the detail in the illustrations is as realistic as possible – for instance, Subbie’s long thin nose. I draw different angles. Sometimes it’s a long shot, then perhaps a view from above, a ground-level angle, then a close-up, then a long shot - so Subbie is small in the overall picture. Many people do this when making documentaries or movies, for variety, to keep the viewer engaged. I approach picture books the same way.

Here are a couple of other (much less serious) books to share with your students about horse racing:

The Epic Race

I'm not especially keen on these next two books but they might be in your school library - they are both very silly but they might give your young students a smile.

Storm Horse by Jane Elson

Daniel Margate has a very special family treasure. It is a scrap book filled with letters written by his great-grandfather, Cuthbert H. Brown Jr, who was a child during the American Great Depression. The letters are written to the legendary racehorse Seabiscuit, a horse who at the time captured the imagination of the nation. 

Parallel with this, Daniel and three other students in his "bottom" reading group have to meet two challenges. They have to read in front of judges and live television and Daniel has to run in a race. Daniel has great difficulty with running and he always falls over he is also dyslexic. The challenges seem impossible. The Skakespeare group are sure to win the reading challenge and the school bullies seem set to win the race but Daniel has a special gift. He sees things differently. He is a problem solver and this problem can be solved with help from a stray horse that he has befriended. 

In honour of Seabiscuit Daniel names the horse Jammy dodger. Australian children might need to see a picture of this type of biscuit.

This book was on my November and December reading pile. It's taken me until early January to read it. I did enjoy reading this story, especially the included letters from 1936, but it is quite long - perhaps a little too long for the target audience. One strength, though, is from the storytelling which contains just the right amount of tension has Daniel works hard to hide his horse, stay safe from the gang of bullies and master reading which he finds so difficult. Daniel is also a really wonderful friend to the others in his group.  Here is an interview with the author.  If you have a horse fan in your family this could be a good read aloud book to share. 

The Emperor's new Clothes Horse by Tony Wilson illustrated by Sue deGennaro

Step One read the famous Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Emperor's New Clothes

Step Two read The Emperor's new Clothes Horse

Step Three read The Emperor's Underwear from the Seriously Silly stories series.

I do enjoy fairy tale parodies.  The Emperor's new Clothes horse is perfect.  The illustrations are whimsical and lively.  The twist of using a clothes horse and a horse race is a delightful innovation.

I do hope this book is short listed for the CBCA awards in 2013. It will be fun to share this romp in my library.

We have a good collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales in our library.

Here is an audio version of The Emperor's New Clothes. Here are lots of activities for this story. Finally here is the full text of the traditional story if you don't have your own Fairy Tale collection nearby.

Here is an image of a clothes horse which might be useful.