Carson Ellis' Home meets Carter Higgins' Everything You Need for a Treehouse in this poetic, open-ended testament to the power of imagination, through the prism of horses.

In lovely, lyrical fashion, If You Want to Ride a Horse introduces young readers to the joys of owning, riding, and caring for horses. It only starts with imagination—from there, the possibilities are endless.

Beginning with a daydream, our young rider goes from dreaming about a horse, choosing the ideal kind of horse, meeting the horse, cleaning the horse, tacking up in preparation to ride, soothing their horse through a hard moment, triumphantly getting on, and finally riding gloriously off down the beach.

Is it the best dream ever or a dream come true? It hardly matters: Gael Abary’s art makes even the most incredible fantasy feel possible, and award-winning author’s Amy Novesky’s unforgettable language is an ode to the power of dreams and self-belief to change any young child’s life. 

The book includes an author’s note, an illustrator’s note, and tantalizing fun facts about horses and horseback riding.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

“Horse lovers, take note: This is a sweet, tender book to ride off into the sunset with.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A love letter to horseback riding.”—Publishers Weekly