Product Description

Colt Vittorio has never run a race, or even walked down the street on his own. Colt has spina bifida, and sees the world from a wheelchair. Then his mother signs him up for a special riding program. "An excellent portrayal of a young person struggling with the emotional and social ramifications of a serious disease."--Booklist. An IRA Young Adult's Choice; Winner of the Joan Fassler Memorial Book Award.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1702863 in Books
• Published on: 1994-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-- Colt's story is launched with his trademark whine, "I don't want to!" Handicapped with spina bifida, he resents how adults totally control him. He fearfully resists therapeutic horseback riding, but a few minutes on an Appaloosa named Liverwurst changes his life. The contrary Colt is a complex character, ruled by conflicting moods of anxiety, curiosity, and embarrassment about his condition. He feels helpless physically and emotionally when his mother remarries a man with two children. Riding gives him freedom and the opportunity to master a skill. He savors his newfound independence and fights to continue the risky sport, proving his mettle when he rescues his new stepbrother following an accident. In a matter-of-fact style, Springer transforms Colt from a grouchy victim to a likable boy. Despite a debilitating situation, he gains a passion for living. Readers will be affected by his triumphs and failures, changing their initial sympathy for Colt to admiration. Recommend this uplifting story to those who want "another" after Jodie's Journey (HarperCollins, 1990) by Colin Thiele. --Charlene Strickland, formerly at Albuquerque Public Library , NM
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Colt, who has spina bifida, is introduced to riding in a special program for handicapped children. Reluctant at first, he soon learns that being on a horse not only strengthens his muscles but empowers him with new independence and courage, a better route to self-identity than his former brattiness. Meanwhile, his mother Audrey marries Brad, a gentle, sympathetic man with a teenage son (``Rosie'') and a daughter Colt's age. What would normally be a minor incident--Colt's mount jolts him when he starts to trot--is life-threatening for Colt, and Audrey reluctantly decides that the riding must stop. Colt becomes despondent, but then Brad comes up with an especially safe mount and the family agrees that, as Colt has pleaded, the rewards of his riding are worth the risks. Indeed--in a satisfying scene dramatizing how Colt can overcome his limitations, he rescues his stepbrother when the two are alone together and Rosie is injured. The plot here is familiar, the details concerning spina bifida obviously purposive. But Springer's characters, striving to create a loving new family, come alive as exceptionally warm, nice people who try to solve their unavoidable problems without dissipating emotional energy in rivalries or self-pity. Sweet but not saccharine: a satisfying horse story with fine extra dimensions. (Fiction. 10-13) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Unique view: horseback riding for kids with disabilities
Hundreds of horse books exist for children and teens, but this book addresses a unique aspect -- horseback riding programs for those with disabilities. Colt has spina bifida and is terrified of the idea of being on a horse, but once he begins riding, he discovers that it opens new doors for him. Horseback riding soon means a great deal to him. This is a well-written, solid book. Based on my experience volunteering with a similar program, it is also accurate. Plus it contains enough action to hold readers' attention.

Heartwarming story
Colt is a disabled boy who suffers from spina bifida that makes him unable to get around without a wheelchair most of the time. He also suffers (in his opinion) from getting a new father after his biological dad left him and his mom when the disability was revealed by the doctors.

Overall the story was well done; it made you relate to the main character without feeling sorry for him and really showed that horses and kids can accomplish just about anything together. I recommend this book to any person assisting at a disabled riding stable.

Recommended reading age: 8-12 yrs.

Super Book
Colt is a great book for horselovers and the handicapped horselovers. This book is about a boy that's handicapped that got a horse for Christmas.