The Boy from Snowy River by Edwina Howard

Mates series. Omnibus Books, 2014. ISBN 9781862919976.
(Age: 9+) Highly recommended. Meet George Johnson of Mumblegum, a town in the middle of nowhere, Australia. He dreams of going to Big Spills Water World on the Gold Coast. This dream seems impossible until his gran shows him an up and coming event at the local festival - a horse race called The Stockman's Cup, being raced to remember The Man from Snowy River. Gran encourages George to enter with Bandicoot their pure mountain bred stockhorse. Is old Bandicoot a match for the other horses? Are George and Bandicoot brave enough to finish?
The Boy from Snowy River is a great Aussie story and it is descriptive and full of action. It is highly recommended for independent readers aged 9+ and is great for children moving into novels. The illustrators are bright and comical and the chapters move quickly. The descriptive language will keep the reader engaged and the twists in the story mean you never know what is going to happen next.
Kylie Kempster