Black Beauty, Young Folks' Edition - Abridged with Original Illustrations

Thought I was getting the whole novel, not so this is a very short, abridged version. No were does it say that in the description. Still trying to find the full version not this edited down version.

The book is fine but it is the abridged version.

We bought this to give to our 7-year-old granddaughter for Christmas. She is an avid reader and loved the book so much that she took it to school to read before class every morning and for show-and-tell to tell about her grandfather writing in the book for Christmas. We are so proud of her love to read, and this is a great book for young readers. We had trouble finding an unabridged version, so we were especially happy to find this one.

I loved this book as a child so I bought it for my horse-loving granddaughter. But I failed to notice the size of this particular version - it's not a regular book shape, it's more like a magazine, big and flat. Which is weird - why did they print it this way?

"Black Beauty" is often dismissed as a children's book, or only for girls who love horses. In actuality, it's not only a novel that adults can enjoy as well as kids, but it's a powerful statement on animal welfare, and on treating animals with respect and not just living machines. And while it does feature an animal main character, it handles this realistically and not like a children's "talking animal" book, so it's more in the vein of "Watership Down" than "Zootopia." And even over 100 years after its publication, it's still worthwhile reading.The title character, a black horse aptly named Black Beauty, lives a good life in the care of a wealthy nobleman, and believes all men to be as gentle and caring as his master. He gets a rude awakening when the family's circumstances change and he is sold... and over the years he changes hands and knows a variety of masters, some caring, others ignorant, and still others outright cruel. And as he and his foal-hood friend Ginger struggle to survive in a world where humans view horses as little more than fur-covered engines, he realizes that man has a great capacity for cruelty... and for redemption and kindness as well.Anna Sewell wrote this book in reaction to the often-harsh treatment of horses in Victorian England, and even then it was a serious wake-up call to how horribly horses were treated. And while horses WERE bred to be domestic creatures and beasts of burden, she makes it clear that just because they're working animals doesn't mean that they should be treated like objects rather than living creatures. The book went a long way towards reforming how horses were treated, including the almost-complete elimination of the check-rein (a device meant to hold a horse's head erect). And while the treatment of Beauty, Ginger, and other horses in this book may be distressing, it's a clear warning that animal abuse still exists, and needs to be treated seriously.As this book was written primarily for its message, this can mean that plot falls by the wayside. There's really not much of a plot to this book aside from "a horse grows up and changes hands multiple times before being retired," and Beauty himself is a rather passive character (perhaps intentional on the part of the author, as animals have almost no control over who owns them). But the writing is still solid, and the horses are given a surprising amount of character without being overly humanized."Black Beauty" is still a well-deserved classic after all this time, and is not only a call to treat animals kindly but a vivid but still realistic account of a horse's life. Not just for kids -- adults can enjoy this novel as well.

I got this book because i was forced to read it in school and didn't really remember it. I thought I would read a page and probably be done with it. But to my great surprise, I found it an amazing story from the horse's mouth. (Joke) Anyway it you've never read it or even read a long time ago, it is well worth the read or re-read!

BLACK BEAUTY is an all-time classic children's story. It tells the tale of a horse named Black Beauty, from birth to old age. It's a gentle, easy-to-read book that will find favor with children of all ages, and those adults with a little child deep inside.One interesting aspect of the story is it's narrated by Black Beauty himself, so we get to see the world from the horse's point of view...and we don't come off well in many aspects.The story is fun on its own terms, but it also teaches consideration for all life, compassion for animals, and how important love and respect are in this world. Any child who hears this story and takes it to heart will become a better adult.

I bought this for my 87 year old mum who has recently had a stroke and didn't even want to read the newspaper any more. I asked her what her favourite story was when she was a girl and she said 'Black Beauty'. Not very hopeful, I ordered her this copy and am absolutely delighted that she has nearly finished it. It has bought lovely memories back to her. It is an excellent size for her to hold and the print is just perfect. I will be ordering her more books, especially childrens classics as these are easy for her to read. Thank you publishers, a really great book.

i read this as a child, but didn't really appreciate it much. And usually i'm not one for the classics, since i tend to find them rather overrated. However, when i reread Black Beauty, i was so impressed. Sewell brilliantly tells the story from the point of view of Black Beauty himself, and his life in various stages, and all the things he learns about humans and other horses. He goes from loving, gentle owners, to some who mistreat him near to the point of death. The author does an amazing job of conveying their distaste with those who mistreat animals, without being too preachy.What i find so sad is that so many of the issues raised in this book are things that are still issues today, animal cruelty, bad use of animals for fashion, overworking etc. It's sad that in the many years since this was written, things may have changed, but not improved.definitely worth a read for adults, as it really hammers home some heartbreaking points, but is still a beautiful story.

My 9 year old daughter was keen to read black beauty and this book was easily read by her and wrote in a way that meant we struggled to put it down each night as was so keen to know what happened next. A beautiful classical story.

This wonderfully illustrated version of the classic horse story is well worth buying for its art work alone. The illustrator has clearly done his research well as the painting of Pulteney Street, in Bath was instantly recognisable by a native of the town. The line drawings as well as the full colour illustrations capture wel;l the emotions of the text. If buying this as a "special" present, I can highly recommend it.

A brilliant book. I read it a couple of times as a child and had remembered the opening chapter well. It is a book drawing attention to animal welfare at the time, and is as relevant today many ways. Written from the view of Black Beauty it is in parts heartbreaking and joyous in others. It must be at least 55 years since I last read it and wanted to share it with my 9 year old granddaughter. I found myself skipping over a few of the most harrowing scenes and really wondered how I'd coped when reading it at a very young age! It is very well written and a joy to read at any age.

Illustrations are not as good as other books in this series (Alice In Wonderland), but not a bad take for a children's version of this classic.For people like me who're wondering, the adult version has a description of Ginger's death which children may find upsetting. This version skips that.Not a bad book to read. A bit heavy on the class divide, but kids who love horses will probably enjoy it.

I was in tears at the end! A sentimental old story for a sentimental old fool! Black Beauty was written as a manual of horse husbandry, and polemic against cruelty to animals in general. Anna Sewell intended it for adults, although it's now regarded as a children's classic. I had an illustrated edition with heavily edited text as a child, so this was yet another regression to childhood for me, and it won't be the last!

Love;y little story book about the horse Black Beauty as told from the horses point of view. You learn alot about how to look after horses and there are lots of adventures with different owners . A delightful book and should be read by all horsey people.

A listener who phoned in to a Radio book program a while back explained how he came to read this book. He was a middle age man, and said that a woman once suggested he read this book to learn why a woman falls in love. So he read it, and discovered what a good book it is.I must concur. Mind you, it is not a conventionally dramatic novel--it's a gentle quiet read. But those who can gear down to its quiet tone and pace will find that it is written with great insight. The author (a19th century woman) knew horses intimately, how they think and feel, how they act and react, how they view us humans.This edition is valuable for another reason--the introduction is written by the great California horse trainer Monty Roberts. It turns out his mother read the book to him when he was a child, and this was a great inspiration for him.

For the sad fact is that it's as pertinent now, as it was back when it was produced by Anna Sewell as a "cry for help" for the horses of her time.Do a bit of research ... how many horse and pony sancturies are in your country? Visit them (online or in person) and check out the state in which some of their residents arrive at that place of care and safety. It'll touch your heart.The book itself is beautifully written, though perhaps not for the under 10's - for in places it'll bring tears to the eyes. It's interesting though - and A.S. has captured a horse's "take" on life with humans well. Indeed Black Beauty and his friends often show quite a touch of that "horse sense" we humans talk about! We are of course glad for Beauty that his own story has a happy ending, with him living out his old age in love and safekeeping. But for many horses, ponies, donkeys, it's not so - this is 2009, and that is a disgraceful fact.As with all Collector's Library books, this is a compact size and a lovely presentation of the story, with occasional good quality line drawings. Well worth a place on your bookshelf - for all all ages to read, and learn from.

I've read this book before, easily one of the best I've ever read, I decided to re-read it, so I downloaded it here, expecting no problems, only for the ebook to be terrible, within the first couple of pages I had to stop, things like"we used to gallop all together spherical and spherical the field", how does that even happen, this happened several times in the first few pages and now I'm annoyed and looking for the book elsewhere. I would suggest you do the same

If there was a zero star I would have chosen that. I ordered the paperback version - This book is poorly printed and full of misprints. I don't just mean the odd typo, there are random characters throughout the text making the book impossible to read (nearly every page!). There are also no page numbers, the pictures are of bad quality and look like they've been photocopied into the book.Shame on Amazon for selling this but at least they refunded straight away.

As soon as I saw this on the list even before I had my kindle I had to have it,What can I say about Black Beauty all time classic I have in hardback, paperback tooLove it from when I was a child the only book that brings tears to my eyes and I cannot watch the film version.The story starts off with Beauty being born and he as to be sold on and ends up in a varous hands some cruel some nice and also for his friend Ginger who being highly strung ends up in the wrong hands many times. This book is seen through the eyes of Black Beauty he even goes to war become a carrige horse.If you havent read this book it is thoughly enjoyable whatever ageClassic

I read several reviews before selecting this version, thinking I was getting the original text. It looks like someone got hold of a thesaurus and changed words at random, to the extent that it did not make sense.The same reviews appear to be added to different versions of this book so it's pot luck what you get.Very disappointed.

The description on the website says 'This masterfully illustrated classic'. There are no illustrations. There are no page numbers, and it looks as though it was printed on a home computer. On the back it says 'Printed in Great Britain by Amazon'. Waste of money.