Lewisburg author Brenda Barnes Clark’s new children’s book about a girl befriending a runaway pony will be introduced during Lewisburg’s August First Friday event at A New Chapter Bookstore. One reviewer called the middle-grade adventure novel “a must read.”
The Runaways is the story of 11-year-old Billie Rose Tackett, a multiracial girl with a hearing problem who lives in the imaginary town of Laughing Creek, W.Va. An abused pony runs away to Billie from the 1946 county fair and tells Billie telepathically about being stolen by the mean pony ride keeper.
In the fast-paced adventure story, Billie grows in self-confidence as she deals with prejudice, disability, bullying, family loss, compassion, and forgiveness while doing whatever it takes to protect the runaway pony.
Kate Dooley, local author of Hears the Wind, wrote in a review, “Just as you think Billie with her pony, Penny, has come to a place of safety, you find they have tumbled into the worst trouble they’ve ever experienced.”
Mayor Beverly White described the story as “a book about acceptance, about family, and how important communication is. A wonderful friendship book of understanding one another. I couldn’t stop until I got to the end.”
Brenda Barnes Clark grew up on a small farm in Massachusetts with ponies and horses. Many of her stories are based on her childhood adventures riding Scout, her extraordinary piebald pony. After traveling the world, she now lives in Lewisburg with her husband, Bob.
Autographed copies of The Runaways will be offered at a discount at A New Chapter Bookstore at 922 Washington Street from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6, and from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7. Children, parents, grandparents and friends are invited both days to enjoy hearing excerpts from the book and the free activity of coloring sheets featuring the author’s horse illustrations from the book.
The Runaways, published by RBC Books, is the first novel in the three-book middle-grade series, The Billie Rose Tackett Horse Adventures.
More information about the author and her books is available on Facebook and on her website: www.brendabarnesclark.com.
Book 2:
The Runaways will be available at A New Chapter.