smithrachaelynn's review against another edition
5.0
Audiobook. A reread! I haven’t read this since I was a kid. But this story holds so much nostalgia for me. It definitely held up. There are a lot of things that I noticed this time around like class differences and a commentary on the lives of those around the horses. So much packed in but it was such a cozy read.
mistercrow's review against another edition
3.0
Some pros/cons to this.
PROS:
I like that it teaches children to be compassionate and kind, not just to animals, but people too.
Keeping the book for the artwork.
CONS:
Overly religious, constant implication that only good people are those who go to church and believe in God. All bad people are atheists or not religious, and/or drinkers.
This book is heavily against drinkers, not just alcoholics, but anyone who drinks. Of course, this book was written in 1800s, so Anna Sewell didn't know that drinking on occasion is actually beneficial to your health.
I think it teaches children to 'know their place' too much. For example, in the beginning of the book, Ginger and Sir Oliver were speaking about their abuse ordeal and everyone had this attitude of "Well, we have good people now so let's not sound ungrateful!" (Literally... ??? How is pointing out that suffering from humans is being ungrateful!? It's like speaking about oppression and someone tells you that you're ungrateful to certain friends you may have that don't oppress you ?? ) Further on, Ginger and Black Beauty are met once more, and Ginger has such a defeatist attitude and that 'man have the strongest will', i.e. I use to kick about when I was abused but now I know my place.
On the other hand, it is so contradictory in that the humans will always step up and defend the horses whenever possible. So the object (animals) who are oppressed are not allowed to say anything but the oppressor is? Again, I don't want to teach any child that as it goes back to 'knowing my place' attitude and being silent on abuse.
3/5 stars, there is good intention here but the overly religious, 'know your place' bits are problematic. In particular, quiet women seldom make history and seeing as girls are the ones who will read about horses, I don't want them to think they should stick to their stereotypical gender roles of keeping quiet and knowing her place.
PROS:
I like that it teaches children to be compassionate and kind, not just to animals, but people too.
Keeping the book for the artwork.
CONS:
Overly religious, constant implication that only good people are those who go to church and believe in God. All bad people are atheists or not religious, and/or drinkers.
This book is heavily against drinkers, not just alcoholics, but anyone who drinks. Of course, this book was written in 1800s, so Anna Sewell didn't know that drinking on occasion is actually beneficial to your health.
I think it teaches children to 'know their place' too much. For example, in the beginning of the book, Ginger and Sir Oliver were speaking about their abuse ordeal and everyone had this attitude of "Well, we have good people now so let's not sound ungrateful!" (Literally... ??? How is pointing out that suffering from humans is being ungrateful!? It's like speaking about oppression and someone tells you that you're ungrateful to certain friends you may have that don't oppress you ?? ) Further on, Ginger and Black Beauty are met once more, and Ginger has such a defeatist attitude and that 'man have the strongest will', i.e. I use to kick about when I was abused but now I know my place.
On the other hand, it is so contradictory in that the humans will always step up and defend the horses whenever possible. So the object (animals) who are oppressed are not allowed to say anything but the oppressor is? Again, I don't want to teach any child that as it goes back to 'knowing my place' attitude and being silent on abuse.
3/5 stars, there is good intention here but the overly religious, 'know your place' bits are problematic. In particular, quiet women seldom make history and seeing as girls are the ones who will read about horses, I don't want them to think they should stick to their stereotypical gender roles of keeping quiet and knowing her place.
jessica_flower's review against another edition
5.0
A heart-warming tale about the life of a horse in the late 1800s England.
Black Beauty is by turns treated well and treated badly, by different owners and drivers, and very rarely does he lose his spirit or drive to do what he thinks is right. His story shows us the many different kinds of work that horses were put up to in England at this time, from cart horses to private carriages to city cabs to cavalry in war. This work, especially when carrying heavy loads, could terribly affect a horse's health, depending on how much it was overworked, and we see this being described throughout the book.
I think it's very telling that Anna Sewell knew a lot of real cab drivers and how they treated their horses. Her way of describing a horse's body and how it would move in different situations shows her skills of observation, logic and empathy.
Not surprisingly, there are a LOT of moral overtones in this story, as could be expected of a Quaker: not only treating one another with kindness like you would be expected to, extending that same compassion towards animals and humans, and standing up for those who are in oppression, no matter the species, but - - - also taking care to participate in elections according to one's conscience and credible information, not just getting caught up in the hype surrounding a party, and the importance of having some time to rest after long periods of work (stress and burnout is a great problem amongst our time, in many fields). Something that I wasn't expecting was a discussion, albeit short, of alcoholism, and how prevalent it could be; Jerry, Beauty's kind cab owner, confesses to have had the "bad habit" of drinking too often, and the effect it had on his relationship with his wife Polly. He, with Polly's help, eventually gave up drinking altogether, and says he's better off for it. The value of kindness, compassion, and caution plays out often and plays out well in this book.
All in all, this will definitely be a story I'll return to again in the future.
Black Beauty is by turns treated well and treated badly, by different owners and drivers, and very rarely does he lose his spirit or drive to do what he thinks is right. His story shows us the many different kinds of work that horses were put up to in England at this time, from cart horses to private carriages to city cabs to cavalry in war. This work, especially when carrying heavy loads, could terribly affect a horse's health, depending on how much it was overworked, and we see this being described throughout the book.
I think it's very telling that Anna Sewell knew a lot of real cab drivers and how they treated their horses. Her way of describing a horse's body and how it would move in different situations shows her skills of observation, logic and empathy.
Not surprisingly, there are a LOT of moral overtones in this story, as could be expected of a Quaker: not only treating one another with kindness like you would be expected to, extending that same compassion towards animals and humans, and standing up for those who are in oppression, no matter the species, but - - - also taking care to participate in elections according to one's conscience and credible information, not just getting caught up in the hype surrounding a party, and the importance of having some time to rest after long periods of work (stress and burnout is a great problem amongst our time, in many fields). Something that I wasn't expecting was a discussion, albeit short, of alcoholism, and how prevalent it could be; Jerry, Beauty's kind cab owner, confesses to have had the "bad habit" of drinking too often, and the effect it had on his relationship with his wife Polly. He, with Polly's help, eventually gave up drinking altogether, and says he's better off for it. The value of kindness, compassion, and caution plays out often and plays out well in this book.
All in all, this will definitely be a story I'll return to again in the future.
deathsonyourheels's review against another edition
5.0
Got my mom to buy it for me as a present because I really liked my old copy, it was theifted and it was like a beige frame with a drawn black horse?? The one I have right now is ugly and big but whatever. I want to read it again because I'm pretty sure I liked it during my childhood
reader_taylor's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was so good! It's a great reminder of the feelings that animals have, and that we should care how we treat them. Though it was a little slow-paced, most classics are. I appreciate how the book followed the majority of Black Beauty's life. It does have a happy ending. I like the recurring characters. It was a very realistic book that didn't shy away from how horses were treated during the time period. Black Beauty was an easy character to root for. If you care about animals, you should read this book.
altruisticlatte's review against another edition
5.0
I've been reading and re-reading this book since I was a child. Every time, I get something new from it. As an animal lover and as a horse owner, I will always love this book.
bookstashan's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Fond memories of one of my favourite childhood films made me pick this up, and I can’t believe I didn’t know it was written from the POV of Black Beauty! Why do animal books all have to be so sad. A touching story and nice to throw myself back to when I was a “horse girl”!
fatima98_'s review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I had ever read,
It a very sensitive book that touches the heart of the reader
So the book talks from the horse’s perspective and shows us how horse’s and other animals feel and shine the light on how cruel and cold-hearted humans some time can be and I learned a lot of thing about horses.
It a very sensitive book that touches the heart of the reader
So the book talks from the horse’s perspective and shows us how horse’s and other animals feel and shine the light on how cruel and cold-hearted humans some time can be and I learned a lot of thing about horses.