In the first book of this engrossing middle-grade trilogy set during the Civil War, a young Kentucky slave dares to pursue his dream of becoming a jockey.

The year is 1864 and twelve-year-old Gabriel hopes to one day become a famous jockey. Although he is a the son of a free black father and a slave mother-making him a slave as well-he loves to help his father, one of the best horse trainers in Kentucky, care for the thoroughbred racehorses on Master Giles's farm.

But the violence of war disrupts the familiar routine of daily life on the farm. One-Arm Dan Parmer and his band of Confederate raiders are threatening area farms and stealing horses. When Gabriel's father enlists in a Colored Battalion to help the Union Army and earn enough money to purchase freedom for his wife and son, Gabriel is both proud and worried. But the absence of his father brings the arrival of Mr. Newcastle, a white horse trainer with harsh, cruel methods for handling horses...and people.

Now it is up to Gabriel to protect the horses he loves from Mr. Newcastle and keep them safely out of the clutches of One-Arm Dan and his men.

Author Alison Hart mines the complex relationships between white and black, slave and master, Unionist and Confederate, and old and young in this gripping work of historical fiction. Young readers will experience the danger and drama of a time when war split the country and human beings were segregated into the owners and the owned based on the color of their skin. Background historical material and photos are included.

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Vermont, 1850s

Bell’s Star is a brown Morgan colt with a white star and two white stockings. He was bred for hard work, yet he longs to run free with his human friend, Katie, on his back. But when Star helps rescue a runaway slave girl, his ideas about freedom may change forever. Here is Star’s story . . . in his own words.

With exciting and knowledgeable text and lovely black-and-white art throughout—both by real horse owners—Horse Diaries are the perfect fit for all lovers of horses and history!


From the Hardcover edition....

The year is 1864 and twelve-year-old Gabriel, a recently freed slave, is making a name for himself throughout the state of Kentucky. Blessed with a competitive spirit and a natural talent for racing horses, Gabriel is burning up the horse track and stacking up wins for horse owner Mister Giles.

When Mister Giles asks him to ride Aristo, a powerful but unpredictable horse in the Saratoga Chase, Gabriel jumps at the chance to compete against some of the greatest jockeys in the North. But horse racing can be a nasty business when the stakes are so high. And Gabriel learns soon enough that being freed is not the same as being free. Not when your skin is black.

Now Gabriel has more on his mind than winning the race. He has to keep his horse safe and fend off trouble. More than ever Gabriel misses his father, who has gone off to fight with the Union Army. Who else can he trust?

In the second book in her historical fiction trilogy set during the Civil War, author Alison Hart continues to explore the complex relationships between black and white, slave and master, and North and South. The result is a gripping story that brings to life the danger and drama of a time when war split the country and human beings were divided into the owner and the owned based on the color of their skin.

Background historical material and photos included....

THIS EDITION IS INTENDED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY....

A dramatic story featuring a young Nebraska girl who discovers the courage to save others during a life-threatening snowstorm IT IS 1888. Twelve-year-old Anna loves life on the Nebraska prairie where she lives with her parents and four-year-old brother in a simple sod house. She doesn't mind helping out with chores on her family's farm, especially when she is herding sheep with her beloved pony, Top Hat. Here, on the open prairie, Anna feels at home in the world. But at school she feels hopelessly out of place. Arithmetic is too hard, her penmanship is abysmal, and stuck-up Eloise Baxter always laughs at her mistakes. When a fierce blizzard suddenly kicks up on a mild winter day, Anna, her schoolmates, and young teacher, Miss Simmons, become trapped in the one-room schoolhouse. The kerosene is gone and the wood for the stove is low. Then the wind tears away the roof and door. Anna knows they must escape before it is too late. Does she have the courage and strength to lead the others through the whiteout to safety? Author Alison Hart offers young readers a dramatic story of rescue and survival set in a nineteenth century homesteading community and featuring a plucky, determined protagonist. An author's note provides more information about prairie life in the late nineteenth century and about the great storm that hit Nebraska in 1888, now known as "The School Children's Blizzard."...

In the final book of the RACING TO FREEDOM trilogy, ex-slave Gabriel leaves behind a successful horse racing career to join his parents at Camp Nelson, where his father is a Sergeant in the Fifth U.S. Colored Calvary of the Union Army.

Twelve-year-old Gabriel is too young to join the regiment as a soldier, but finds a job as personal groom to Champion, the unruly horse that belongs to Col. Waite, the white commander. When the Calvary receives orders to join white regiments in an attack on the Virginia salt works, Gabriel surreptitiously gets a hold of a horse and a uniform and joins the troops. But being a soldier is a lot harder than he imagined. Bad, weather, rough riding, dwindling supplies, and blatant racism wear heavily on his spirit. When his father and Col. Waite are not among the weary and wounded who return from battle, Gabriel mounts Champion and rides to the battlefield in search of them.

In the final book of this highly engrossing historical fiction trilogy set during the Civil War, author Alison Hart continues to explore the complex relationships between black and white, slave and master, and North and South. The result is a gripping story that vividly brings to life the danger and drama of a time when war and issues of race and freedom divided the country.

Background historical material, photos, and suggestions for further reading are included....