I was hesitant about reading DIRT. It seemed to be covering some reoccurring themes in MG…

Bullies √

Parent and child grieving √

Parent ignoring their child√

But that cover… it pulled me right in like a good cover should. Dirt the pony becomes Yonder’s best friend. She’ll do anything to ensure this Shetland’s safety. Yonder is eleven and hasn’t spoken since her mother died four years ago. She and Dirt communicate a different way.

School is horrible for her, but home with Dirt, despite the conditions, suits Yonder just fine. I’m glad this is fiction because I’d march right over to that school and let them know they need to get their act together.

Yonder narrates the story and her words sometimes seem more adult like. Despite this, her journey to save Dirt from certain elimination will warm the hearts of animal lovers and the many kids I cross paths with who want to become a vet. Yonder is courageous and hopefully her actions will rub off on young readers.

DIRT is a quick read and one that would work perfect as a read-aloud.

PUBLICATION DATE: 2017   PAGE COUNT: 224

FULL PLOT —From AMAZON

Things are hard for eleven-year-old Yonder. Her mother died and her father has sunk into sadness. She doesn’t have a friend to her name . . . except for Dirt, the Shetland pony next door.

Dirt has problems of his own. He’s overweight, he’s always in trouble, and his owner is the mean Miss Enid, who doesn’t have the patience for a pony’s natural curiosity. His only friend is Yonder, the scrawny girl next door.

So when Miss Enid decides to sell Dirt for horsemeat, Yonder knows she has to find a way to rescue him. Even if that means stealing Dirt away and sneaking him into her own house. What follows will make you worry, will make you cry, and will ultimately fill you with hope, love, and an unshakable belief in the power of friendship. Especially the four-legged kind.

FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: DIRT by Denise Gosliner Orenstein

1. You’ll learn about Shetland Ponies. They’re fascinating creatures and cute.
2. The world of foster care is opened up and demonstrates how hard it is for a kid to adjust to a new setting and guardians. You’ll also see it from the foster parents’ side.
3. I always love when a character’s appearance doesn’t match who they really are as a person. Yonder meets many of them along the way from the man in the dump to her social worker.
4. The idea of a therapy animal shows off its importance here even though none of the adults, except for one, promoted its possibilities.
5. Showcasing the positive work vets do every day was heartwarming and made me want to hug my own pet.

FAVORITE LINES: 

Dirt looked proud of himself when I found him drinking from my father’s special cider pan, which he’d left in the kitchen sink. His ears were flopped back, a sign of supreme pony relaxation; he bobbed his head, rubbed his cheek against the kitchen counter, and then raised his tail in pure pony scorn. Then, right in front of my eyes. Dirt had the nerve to drop three big ones directly on the kitchen floor.

ABOUT Denise Gosliner Orenstein (from GOODREADS)

Denise Gosliner Orenstein is a graduate of Bennington College and Brown University. Her career in education includes teaching at American University in Washington, D.C. as well as in bush villages thoughout the state of Alaska. Additionally, she has cooked for for an Alaskan village prison, worked as a PEN prison writing mentor, taught literature classes and assisted in a canine therapy program for inmates. Most recently, as head of a school for children with learning differences, she introduced a curriculum based on two rescued Shetland ponies. Denise is the mother of two daughters and lives in Northampton, MA with her dogs, Luke and Lily.

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