Book Review for Quincy Moves To The Desert by Camille Matthews

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Quincy Moves to the Desert by Camille Matthews, Illustrated by Michelle Black

Pathfinder Equine Publications

ISBN-13: 978-0-9819240-1-4

Ages 5-10

40 Pages

Fiction     Children’s Picture Book    Horses
         

Between them, Camille Matthews and Michelle Back have done just about everything with horses, but the creation of the Quincy the Horse Books is their favorite project. Camille is a licensed clinical social worker who, along with the real Quincy, a 20 year old American Quarterhorse,provides Equine Assisted Psychotherapy to children and families. She was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the horse capital of the world. She loved horses and wanted one more than anything but her parents could not make that happen. She also loved to read and treasured her horse stories. As an adult she has been a life long equestrian first living in Upstate New York and then in New Mexico for a number of years. She is an avid trail rider and is very active in the equine rescue movement. She began working on the Quincy the Horse Books in 2007 and discovered writing as a second career. She now lives in the Reading, PA area.

Reviewer: Renee Hand

Quincy Moves to the Desert is a gentle and easy tale about friendship, trust, and love. 

This story is the second book in the Quincy the Horse Series. Quincy was a little red horse who lived happily in a tan and white barn along with his best friend Beau. Beau was an older horse who has had many adventures in his life and would often share those tales with Quincy.  

The horse’s owner was a lady named, Cam. She lived in town, but would come and visit with Beau and Quincy frequently, taking good care of them. One day Cam decided to take the horses on an adventure across the country, from the state of New York to the state of New Mexico. Each state held something surprising and new to Quincy. He saw many different kinds of horses. Beau would explain to Quincy about what they saw.

He saw the Amish working hard in the fields with draft horses, Quincy wondered if he could pull like they could. When they reached the state of Kentucky, home of the Thoroughbreds, Beau told Quincy of the races and the winner’s circle. Quincy wondered if he could run like a Thoroughbred and win a race.     

Quincy learned that there were many types of horses, who had many different jobs, some horses were hard working, and some were for show and entertainment. But what kind of horse was Quincy?

Mathews has created a charming story in Quincy Moves to the Desert. Children who love horses, and are already a fan of the series, will delight in this new addition. The illustrations are so realistic that the reader can feel like they are a part of the story. The storyline is simple, yet the reader learns quite a bit about various horses that live in certain states and the jobs they have. 

A minor quibble would be the lack of adventure in the story. The story tells a beautiful tale of a horses’ journey, but lacks the adventure to keep some readers attention. Some readers might lose interest, while others will relish in the storyline and illustrations as they picture themselves riding Quincy, and doing all the things that the other horses he has learned about, have done. Children of all ages will enjoy this 40-page hardcover picture book.

Check out the author's next stop on October 11^th

Writers On The Move – Guest Post: Knowing Your Readership

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