Meg loves ponies. She fills her room with them, she rides them as often as her parents can afford, she draws them at home and daydreams about them at school. What she wants more than anything is a pony of her own but with her parents struggling for money a pony is not top of the shopping list. So imagine Meg’s surprise when on her 10th birthday a pony appears in her garden. Have all Meg’s wishes finally come true…
Meg and Merlin: Making Friends is a heart-warming story about a young girl who meets the pony of her dreams and discovers that sometimes wishes do come true, or at least partly true. All young horse-lovers who long to have a pony of their own will relate to Meg and her predicament; the desperation to have a pony of her own but all the while knowing that it is nothing more than an impossible dream.
Tanya Landman’s short story, illustrated by Sònia Albert, is full of emotion and empathy and you quickly find yourself experiencing every high and low with Meg; the excitement she feels around horses, the utter joy she experiences when seeing Merlin in her garden, the despair of learning that Merlin is not her dream birthday gift but an escapee from elsewhere. Like many children, Meg has a dream, but also like many children, it is a dream that stretches beyond the financial limitations of her family. Financial pressures can be the cause of great stress for many families yet Meg’s mum and dad refuse to let it affect their little family unit. Love, understanding and doing everything they can to support their daughter’s passion are what shine throughout. And as the saying goes, ‘good things happen to good people’, and Meg’s mum and dad are certainly that. And even though Meg may not have gotten her dream birthday present, a lovely surprise waits in store when the owner of the horse reveals a need for some extra help that means Meg and Merlin will be seeing plenty more of each other - something that I believe will be happening in further books in the series. True to Barrington Stoke form, this read is printed in dyslexia friendly font and on tinted paper ensuring the book can be accessed by every child. With huge thanks to the lovely peeps at Barrington Stoke for the copy I received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Recommended for 7+.
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