Riding Lessons - Softcover

Meet Ellen: a spirited - and occasionally misbehaving - young horseback-riding student. In the spring of fourth grade, Ellen's life feels like a balancing act: she is only allowed to go to riding lessons when she behaves at school and at home. But it's much harder than it sounds! Ellen has a knack for speaking out of turn in class, and with a new sibling on the way, she can't resist taking advantage of her parents' distraction. Then, on one perfect day - when Ellen has minded her manners - she sees Ned for the first time. Ned is a beautiful colt who used to be a racehorse, until he hurt his leg. They seem to understand each other immediately, and all Ellen wants to do is spend more time with her new friend. But will she be able to keep up her best behaviour at school? And will her parents ever let her have a horse of her own?

Jane Smiley is the author of many books for adults, including Some Luck, Horse Heaven, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Thousand Acres. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001. She is the author of five Horses of Oak Valley Ranch books, NOBODY'S HORSE (published in the US as The Georges and the Jewels), SECRET HORSE (published in the US as A Good Horse), MYSTERY HORSE (published in the US as True Blue), CHAMPION HORSE (Pie in the Sky in the US), and STAR HORSE (Gee Whizz in the US). RIDING LESSONS is the first book in a brand-new horse trilogy. Jane Smiley lives in Northern California, where she rides horses every chance she gets.