Book Review: Billy and Blaze by C. W. Anderson

I have loved horses my entire life. I have read any horse book that I can get my hands on and I have since I was a kid who practically lived at the library. I would scour the library shelves searching for all the horse books they had and then I'd sit and read them one after the other. I would check them out, read them, return them, and check out more again and again. I re-read my favorite horse stories lots of times!

It was when I was about 12 or so that I discovered Clarence William Anderson also known as C.W. Anderson and fell in love with his horse illustrations. I've always been impressed with how alive and healthy and shiny his horses look. I've marveled at his talent and how he shows so much of the personality and character of a horse especially since most of his drawings are done in black and white!

One of the first C. W. Anderson horse books that I read was "Afraid to Ride." I wore my little paperback copy out from re-reading it over and over again. Once I read "Afraid to Ride" by C. W. Anderson, I wanted to read ALL of his books. This is a habit of mine even to this day.

So at the library I found the Billy and Blaze series of picture books by C. W. Anderson. Now I admit that I was technically too old for them because they are picture books for younger readers but I checked them out and read them and loved the pictures anyway. If a book had a horse in it, I would read it, no matter what age group it was intended for.

The first book in the Billy and Blaze series is simply titled "Billy and Blaze." It's a story about a boy named Billy and how much he loves horses. His room looked like mine, horse pictures all over the walls! He was always looking for a chance to be near horses and then one birthday his parents tell him that his present is out on the lawn. Tied to a tree in the yard was a bay pony with four white feet and a white nose. Billy named him Blaze after the marking on his nose.

Billy took good care of Blaze, grooming him, teaching him to come when he's called, and feeding him carrots. While they were out on a ride one day Billy and Blaze discover a german shepherd dog caught in a wild animal trap. Billy releases the dog from the trap and the dog follows the boy and the pony home. And that's how Rex becomes a new member of the family.

From that moment on Billy, Blaze and Rex spend most of their time together riding through the woods. One day Billy sees a sign on a tree advertising a horse show with a silver cup as a prize for the best pony. Billy decides that he and Blaze will enter but when they got to the show, Billy was intimidated by how many fine ponies were there. But he felt better after he saw how poorly the pony's behaved while going over the jumps because he and Blaze had jumped over fences nearly as high as the ones at the show. When it was Billy and Blaze's turn, Rex went into the show ring with them and jumped over all the jumps too. Of course Billy and Blaze won the silver cup for best pony and the book ends by saying that Blaze was Billy's best friend.

Billy and Blaze is perfect for the beginning reader with its simple story and large printed words. As an adult, I like the story for its sweetness and charm and of course for the illustrations.

Billy and Blaze was originally written in 1936 and there is one big difference then as compared to today's standards. Billy never wears a helmet when he is out riding and jumping. As long as a parent is reading the book with their child, I don't think this will be a problem as long as the parent explains that not wearing a helmet while riding a horse is very dangerous.

The only other possible negative to the book is that it is Anderson's first book for children and the drawings aren't quite as lovely as those in his later Billy and Blaze books. They are still lovely just not quite as lovely.

I recommend the Billy and Blaze books for horse lovers of any age but especially for the beginning reader who has just begun to love horses and who has just begun to have the dream of having their own pony someday.

Here is a list of the other Billy and Blaze books and the year they were originally published.

Billy and Blaze (1936)
Blaze and the Gypsies (1937)
Blaze and the Forest Fire (1938)
Blaze Finds the Trail (1950)
Blaze and the Thunderbolt (1955)
Blaze and the Mountain Lion (1959)
Blaze and the Indian Cave (1964)
Blaze and the Lost Quarry (1966)
Blaze and the Gray Spotted Pony (1968)
Blaze Shows the Way (1969)
Blaze Finds Forgotten Roads (1970)

Not all of the Billy and Blaze books are available today since they are out-of-print. So if you want a copy of any of the titles, you would need to visit one of the online used book search services such as bookfinder.com. http://www.bookfinder.com/

A few of the Billy and Blaze titles have been reprinted in paperback and can be purchased through any online bookstore such as amazon.com or borders.com.

Billy and Blaze
Paperback, 56 pages
Publisher Aladdin (April 1, 1992)
ISBN-10: 0689716087 ISBN-13: 978-0689716089
$5.99