THE RIDING LESSON

An aspiring equestrian learns what horsemanship is really like.

Frances is visiting her friend Mae, who has a stable, for her first riding lesson. She fantasizes about clearing obstacles while atop a noble steed like her favorite toy horse, Excalibur—only to meet an adorably round, filthy horse named Snowball. As Mae gives her a grounding in horse care, Frances discovers that the realities of horsemanship aren’t quite as glamorous as she had anticipated: She notices Mae’s mother mucking out the stables, and horse care entails scraping the dirt out of Snowball’s hooves. When it’s finally time to mount Snowball, she’s a bit nervous. But Mae eases her into things by joining her for a tandem ride. Frances is finally ready for a solo ride, and she ends her visit eager for her next lesson and still daydreaming about riding—though now fantasizing about a considerably rounder mount. While this title isn’t a sequel to Mann’s The Camping Trip (2020), the books share the same reader-friendly text and deceptively simple artwork. Divided into graphic novel–esque panels, whimsically childlike, loose-lined illustrations, rendered in an appropriately muddy palette, offer accurate depictions of equipment. Mann captures the flavor of stable life as she infuses the narrative with well-chosen details, such as the clouds of dirt and horse hair knocked loose as the girls brush Snowball. Frances is light-skinned; Mae and her mother are brown-skinned.

Readers will eagerly saddle up for this enchanting ride.