Children’s Book Review: *Leah’s Pony* by Elizabeth Friedrich

Leah’s Pony by Elizabeth Friedrich, illustrated by Michael Garland
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press (September 1999)
ISBN-13: 978-1563978289

Back-of-the-book blurb: Amid the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, Leah’s father is faced with the loss of the family farm and puts his farm and equipment up for auction, but Leah comes up with the money by selling her beloved pony.

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: Leah’s Pony is about a girl and her family who lived in the Midwest during the Great Depression.  Although it’s a work of fiction, the author gives a real sense of what it might have been like to live through the period.  Elizabeth Friedrich connects the young reader with Leah right away, and sets the prosperous opening mood by describing the good times:

The year the corn grew tall and straight, Leah’s Papa bought her a pony. … That whole summer, Leah and her pony crossed through cloud-capped cornfields and chased cattle through the pasture.

Then, the mood changes.  Again, Friedrich uses the landscape and personal narrative to show the effects of the change:

The year the corn grew no taller than a man’s thumb, Leah’s house became very quiet.  Sometimes …[she] heard Papa and Mama’s hushed voices whispering in the kitchen.  She couldn’t understand the words but knew their sad sound.

Haven’t most children heard whispers from another room and understood the meaning, if not the content?

Friedrich cites other examples of the fallout: the sky grows black with dust, Papa sells some of the livestock, Mama recycles flour sacks into underwear, grasshopper plagues eat all the leaves from the trees, neighbors pack up and abandon their farms.  Then, Papa tells Leah that the family needs to repay money to the bank; in order to do this, they’ll need to sell the farm and its equipment at auction.  Unbeknown to her parents, Leah sells her pony to the owner of the general store.  She doesn’t get much for him, but she’s hoping she can help her family somehow.

Here we go, this is the part that makes me cry.  The auctioneer from the bank comes and starts to sell their items; a wagon, rooster, bull and calf are sold.  Then “one of the best items in this entire auction” goes on the block.  The auctioneer attempts to start the bidding at $500, but Leah has another idea:

Leah’s voice shook.  “One dollar.”

The man in the big hat laughed.  “That’s a low starting bid if I ever heard one,” he said.  “Now let’s hear some serious bids.”

No one moved.  No one said a word.  No one even seemed to breathe.

…

“This is ridiculous!”  the man’s voice boomed out from under his hat into the silence.  “Sold to the young lady for one dollar.”

The crowd cheered.  Papa’s mouth hung open.  Mama cried.  Leah proudly walked up and handed one dollar to the auctioneer in the big hat.

As the story continues, Leah’s friends and neighbors buy back the family’s farm for pennies on the dollar.  A flock of hens sells for ten cents, the purchaser hands the cage to Mama.  Another neighbor bids twenty-five cents on the pickup truck, and gives Papa the keys.  Yup, I’m tearing up as I write this.  No matter how many times I’ve read the story, it gets me.  The kids understand, and have learned to grab me a Kleenex before we sit down with the book.

Michael Garland’s illustrations progress from brighter tones in the beginning to more muted colors as the Great Depression takes its toll.  You can read the emotions of the characters through facial expressions and body language.  Here, Leah waits in the crowd of people as her home is auctioned.

"Migrant Mother" photo by Dorothea Lange (Library of Congress)

A few other personal notes: we have two old family scrap quilts that are backed with flour sacks; this was another connection my kids made with the book.  When my older daughter was in Sixth Grade she researched the life of the photographer Dorothea Lange and understood immediately the significance of her photo “Migrant Mother.”

Leah’s pony ends up back in her own barn, too, but you’ll have to read the book to find out how.  Highly recommended as a read-aloud for younger children, and read-alone up to about age ten.

FTC Disclosure:  We’ve had this book on our shelves for over ten years now; I got it way back before my kids were old enough to understand the story.  My copy is a hardcover from Discovery Toys; I don’t know if they still sell it, but I see that a paperback is available from your favorite bookseller.