Night Mare

A class assignment—to blog—gets Ellie’s horse Dream noticed. Ellie and her family believed that the Pinto was a “runaway” horse without a home. But now the owners want him back. How will Ellie deal with losing her beloved backyard horse?

If you're reading this review, I assume you've read the other 3 books in the Backyard Horses series. This book is my favorite of all of them! Ellie truly loves her horse Dream and, suddenly, she's going to lose her to the original owner... and the person she is losing Dream to is not reassuring in the least. Ellie grows closer to God through her trial--quite a trial for a 4th grader! Ellie realizes anew that God doesn't always answer our prayers in the way we expect Him to. She leans on Him through "the fire" and she sees that He is always with us even when it doesn't feel like it. This book isn't just pure entertainment; its message is one that will impact the reader and reassure him or her that God's plans are the best even when we can't always see that: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jer. 29:11)