One of my all-time favorite series of books is The Saddle Club, a collection of novels chronicling the adventures of a trio of best friends: Carole, Stevie, and Lisa. They all love horses, and decide to form a club that honors this love.

There are 101 books in this series (wow!) and 7 Super Editions (which are longer than an average Saddle Club book). The more I read them, the more I appreciate how well-written they are.

Here are some brief reviews on my three favorite books:

TITLE: #1, Horse Crazy

AUTHOR: Bonnie Bryant

NUMBER OF PAGES: 135

YEAR PUBLISHED: 1988

PLOTLINE: Lisa Atwood is a new rider at Pine Hollow Stables. She doesn’t know anyone there, and honestly, she doesn’t want to learn how to ride. But Lisa does want to make friends with Carole Hanson, a no-nonsense girl who loves horses. There’s only one problem: Carole is friends with Stevie Lake, who pulled a dangerous trick on Lisa at her first riding lesson. Maybe the answer is to avoid them both, and start hanging out with the rich Veronica diAngelo . . .

*****
TITLE: #3, Horse Sense

AUTHOR: Bonnie Bryant

NUMBER OF PAGES: 135

YEAR PUBLISHED: 1989

PLOTLINE: Carole, Stevie, and Lisa have only been friends for a little while, and their club, The Saddle Club, is still a very small organization. That’s when Lisa gets the idea to change it into a big club, with rules and a constitution and everything. But Stevie and Carole seem to be ignoring her, because they have projects of their own. Lisa gets upset, and decides to hold meetings without her friends. Could this be the end of The Saddle Club---when it’s hardly even the beginning?

*****

TITLE: #101, Best Friends

AUTHOR: Bonnie Bryant

NUMBER OF PAGES: 149

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2001

PLOTLINE: The Saddle Club is busy preparing for the upcoming horse show in South Carolina, and it’s also very close to Christmas. Carole, Stevie, and Lisa have enough trouble getting money for Christmas presents, but how can they all pay for the horse show entry fee, too? None of the girls wants to let each other know about the situation, but it’s hard to keep it a secret, especially when Stevie needs new riding boots, Carole needs a new halter for her horse, and Lisa’s parents are struggling to pay bills. Can the girls help each other in time? Or is it too late?

*****

These are the three best books in the entire series, in my opinion. Bonnie Bryant is an excellent writer, and they’re great stories.

The Saddle Club was also made into a television series, and Seasons 1 and 2 are on DVD available from http://www.amazon.com./ I highly enjoy watching them, although they are quite a bit different from the books. I recommend both the novels and the TV episodes!

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