By Pam Smy (author) , Pam Smy (illustrator)
"An enchanting story of friendship and self-belief illustrating you can see the world with new eyes"
Paperback In Stock £6.99 £6.29
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Merrylegs is a bored riding school pony just plodding around the school, not noticing the delight of the children who ride him. It takes his friend Feathers to show him the Carousel in a local fair to inspire him to new heights. It takes a while, and the magic of the night for Merrylegs to realise he can be the pony that strides out, going from ‘stumble, clump, clippety clomp’ to ‘snippety trip, clippety trip, trip, trot, trip’! His dreams have inspired him and he’s now the pony enjoying all the children riding him.
This is a beautiful simple storybook showing you can achieve your dreams – a truly inspirational message. The illustration style is clear and accurate with lovely details to spot, the ponies look like you really could ride them. Spot the deliberate changes from frontispiece to end papers – reinforcing the story message. Pam Smy uses so many different techniques in her books I do hope she continues to use what I assume are lithographic processes. The lovely rhythm of Merrylegs strides, repeated often in the text, will make this a read aloud favourite for classes and children everywhere.
Merrylegs wishes he was different. He's just a boring riding-school pony, stomping and clomping round day after day. But with a little magic he discovers that when you love yourself, you can see the world with fresh eyes!
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A future classic celebrating the power of self-belief.
'An uplifting tale of self-belief, stunningly realised' The Bookseller
Praise for Pam Smy’s previous title, Thornhill:
“terrific” – Philip Pullman
“deeply memorable” – Guardian
Pam Smy is a Senior Lecturer Practitioner in Illustration on the MA Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. She combines her teaching career with writing and illustrating. She studied on the MA herself, graduating with the first cohort in 2004. Since then she has worked with a range of UK publishers including The Folio Society, Penguin Random House and David Fickling Books. Pam has illustrated books by Conan Doyle (The Hound of the Baskervilles), Julia Donaldson (Follow the Swallow) and Kathy Henderson (Hush, Baby, Hush!), among others.
Her first novel, Thornhill was a critical and commercial success, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the UKLA Book Awards, and the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 and winning the 2018 British Book Design & Production Award for Graphic Novels. She has delivered many talks and illustration workshops, including school events and major literary festivals.
Pam lives in Cambridge with her husband, author-illustrator Dave Shelton, and her child, Mila. Most early mornings you’ll see her walking her dog, Barney, along All Souls’ Lane into the graveyard, past Frances Cornford’s poem, the hidden pillbox and around the field beyond all of which inspired the setting and story for The Hideaway.
Photo credit Zulfiya Wilde
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Merrylegs wishes he was different. He's just a boring riding-school pony, stomping and clomping round day after day.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Merrylegs and determined it is suitable for children aged 3-6 years old
Merrylegs features in the following genres: Featured Books for 3+ readers, Recommendations, Animal Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Featured Books for 5+ readers
Paperback, Hardback. £6.29, down from the £6.99 cover price. In Stock.
Merrylegs was written by Pam Smy and published by David Fickling Books
Merrylegs has 32 pages
£6.29, reduced from £6.99. In Stock.
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