Author Mattie Richardson/Appaloosy Books – Mattie Richardson’s Horses in History Series

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Author Mattie Richardson/Appaloosy Books – Mattie Richardson’s Horses in History Series – a TOS Crew Review

When I was asked if I wanted to do a TOS Crew review on Author Mattie Richardson/Appaloosy Books, I knew Mattie Richardson’s Horses in History Series would be a perfect fit for our family.

We absolutely love horses and history, so how could these books possibly be wrong?

When my older children were younger, we owned horses. Granted, they weren’t appaloosas, they were Arabians, but we loved them.

My younger crew isn’t so happy with the fact that we don’t own horses anymore, but they just head up the road to their uncle’s house whenever they feel like riding.

As a homeschooling mama, I am always looking for ways to incorporate my family’s passionate interests with ways to learn.

Mattie Richardson’s Horses in History Series made this process super easy.

Mattie Richardson’s Horses in History Series

My family thoroughly enjoyed the animated movie, Spirit. These books made us immediately compare them to this movie.

Each book took us on a ride (pun definitely intended) throughout different time periods with the horses telling the stories.

Appaloosy

This book starts out with two horses, Misty and Blackhawk, delivering their son, Storm.

Storm gets captured by the Nez Perce Indians.

I personally enjoyed learning about the Nez Perce in this book. I really enjoyed seeing their techniques of training horses. They displayed so much patience!

Storm doesn’t stay with one person, and actually gets given and even sold quite a few times.

Each new owner is a story in itself.

The book discusses Chief Joseph, conflicts between the Nez Perce and the white man, and war.

As a homeschooling mama, I really liked that she included a little glossary of Nez Perce words and their meanings that were used within the book.

Dusty’s Trail

Dusty’s Trail is the amazing story of the Pony Express told through the eyes of Dusty the horse.

Dusty is taken along on a great adventure with his young owner, Levi, who goes against his Ma’s wishes, and sneaks away in the middle of the night to sign up with the Pony Mail.

Levi’s eyes are filled with dreams of making $100 a month!

The Pony Express trails are far from filled with dreams though. Adventures included not-so-friendly dealings with the Pauite Indians!

Golden Sunrise

Cheyenne is a golden Palomino. This adventure was my daughter, Judy’s favorite since one of her greatest desires is to go to Texas and visit the Alamo.

This book took us right into the midst of the battle between Mexico and Texas as Jared, Cheyenne’s owner is sent to help defend Fort Alamo.

I enjoyed getting to meet the great legends, Davy Crockett and James Bowie!

Day and Night

Day and Night is such a touching story. This adventure takes place during the heartwrenching Civil War time period.

The Civil War is also known as The War Between Brothers. True to form, this book is told through the eyes of two horses who are also brothers. These brothers serve on opposite sides. Tucker serves the North, while Shiloh serves in the South.

Day and Night Enrichment Guide

For all of my homeschooling mamas who couldn’t fathom simply reading books for school, Mattie Richardson has created an Enrichment Guide!

This is a 98-page e-book. It is filled with all kinds of lessons and activities for your students to complete.

Day and Night Enrichment Guide coincides with the book, Day and Night.

Lessons include things like, reading comprehension, vocabulary, history, geography, writing lessons, biographies and so much more!

How Our Family Used These Books

If you have followed my family at all, then you probably realize how much we love family read-aloud time.

Mattie Richardson’s Horses in History Series work perfectly for reading aloud.

They are written in a very captivating storybook form rather than a dry, boring textbook form.

My family complained that I wasn’t reading enough each night!

Meet the Author

One of my favorite parts of these books was the author!

Mattie Richardson was formerly known as North Dakota’s Teen Author since she wrote her very first book, Appaloosy, at the young age of 13!

Now, that is impressive!

She went on to write a total of SIX books so far, and has a list of more she is working on!

Our Family’s Opinions

The girls loved the books. They were fun-filled and light-hearted since they came from the horse’s point of view.

I, also, enjoyed the books.

I like to call these types of books living books. They grabbed our attention quickly. Kept us each engaged with the storyline, and was far from dry and boring.

Each book used a storybook form but taught real-life history.

They are the perfect way to teach history!