Author:Anna Sewell,Martin Jarvis
The abridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty, one of the best-loved childrens tales of all time, read by Martin Jarvis.
Black Beauty is a handsome, sweet-tempered colt with a strong spirit. As a young colt he is free to gallop in the fresh green meadows with his beloved mother, Duchess, and their kind master. But when his owners are forced to sell him, Black Beauty goes from a life of comfort and kindness to one of hard labour and cruelty. Bravely he works as hard as he can, suffering at the hands of men who treat animals badly. But Black Beauty has an unbreakable spirit and will, and is determined to survive . . .
Budge Wilson has captured the spirit of the Green Gables books
—— Pat Thomson , CarouselA fun and touching story about family life and all its ups and downs
—— tBK MagazineThe story has a wonderful "feel-good" factor and will be read and re-read many times
—— CarouselA deeply moving account of a child's agony and bewilderment as she suffers from her parents' divorce. Feelings tumble out in a cascade of experiences, at once painful and funny. Language is racy and modern, superbly capturing the experience of many children today
—— Junior EducationThere's a bittersweet symmetry in [Andy's] defiant, touchingly manipulative and funny account of how she comes to terms with it all. Charming stylised illustrations by Nick Sharratt
—— GuardianAnguish and humour combine to create a powerful story describing Andrea's feelings when her parents divorce. The alphabetically arranged chapters are self-contained yet link to portray an emotional journey through bewilderment and jealousy. This is an unsentimental story, skilfully combining realism with humour
—— Junior EducationThe Story of Tracy Beaker was well received and shortlisted for the Smarties Prize; her new novel, The Suitcase Kid is, I think, even better . . . Jacqueline Wilson finds humour in this very poignant situation, and her storytelling is stylish
—— The BooksellerA very sensitive account of what could very well happen in a similar family situation
—— Junior BookshelfTo portray divorce with humour and sympathy takes great skill and Jacquline Wilson demonstrates she has this in abundance with this delightful book. . . . A wonderful, moving, yet funny book - a special read
—— Books for Your ChildrenHonest, angry, sometimes sad and always very readable . . . Adults could learn something here about the emotional turmoil suffered by a child with divided loyalties
—— TES