Bramble and Maggie: Give and Take (Bramble and Maggie #2)

K-Gr 3--Bramble and Maggie return in this delightful tale about a girl and her horse. In soft gouache tones, the natural colors depict life on a farm, at the beach, and in the backyard where Maggie introduces Bramble to new places in their neighborhood. The illustrations provide support to the text, chapters are concise, and the narrative is developed well for comprehension and reading fluency. Maggie learns that by offering her horse a carrot, it is much easier to get her bridle on. Bramble is unhappy when Maggie and her family leave for the day and there is no one to apply bug spray or to keep her company. It is only when she ambles over to Mr. Dingle's fence and starts eating the neighbor's roses that she meets his hen and things start to change for her. The horse discovers that the hen eats all the bugs nearby, and she uses Bramble's back for a perch so the animals are much happier together. Full spreads and realistic artwork convey the characters' emotions well, helping emerging readers understand that friendships are often about give-and-take. Equine fans and those ready to progress to more substantial plots will enjoy this early reader.--Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Haas combines realistic horse adventures and grade school pony love like no one else. Bramble is sassy but never scary; Maggie persistent and cheerful, but not all-knowing. Friend's enticing gouache illustrations appear on every page, a help to children just moving into longer books.
—Kirkus Reviews

For new readers gaining confidence, the simple sentences are peppered with more challenging vocabulary, and they build in complexity over the course of the book. The soft gouache illustrations delicately draw out and supplement the text's humor in both spot art and full spreads.
—The Horn Book

Portraying human and animal characters empathetically, the narrative features moments of humor as well as insight. Expressive watercolor artwork will draw horse lovers to this highly satisfying book for beginning readers.
—Booklist

Haas' short, accessible sentences ... are an inviting and achievable success for readers just moving beyond formal beginner series. Friend's gouache illustrations combine soft, sunny realism with a touch of bulbous cartooniness in Bramble herself, whose wide-eyed expression always seems to be questioning the world. Horse lovers who've moved past Bang-Campell's LITTLE RAT RIDES will enjoy Bramble and Maggie's company.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Bramble and Maggie return in this delightful tale about a girl and her horse. ... Equine fans and those ready to progress to more substantial plots will enjoy this early reader.
—School Library Journal