SIGNED BOOKS AVAILABLE
Cruelty to London’s 10,000 cab horses was of no great concern to the public in the 19th century --- in those days, horses in the city were like taxis, and their owners often treated them badly, working them seven days a week until they collapsed. When Anna Sewell wrote ”Black Beauty” in the 1870s, she had a political purpose: to “induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding of the treatment of horses.” Her book was an instant bestseller, and it continues to be. “Black Beauty” has sold fifty million copies worldwide, and has become, it’s said, “the sixth best seller in the English language.
For Sewell, “Black Beauty” is a political book with a moral. But that’s not the enduring reason for the popularity of “Black Beauty.” As Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley has written, “When I first read ‘Black Beauty’ at age ten, I did not read it for the story --- I read it for the horse, for the chance to possess the thing that I otherwise could not have.” That appeal is eternal. For young readers, “Black Beauty” is simply the best book about horses. It has everything: danger, cruelty, and a plot that never ambles when it can race.
An abridged edition will be welcomed by parents who read books aloud to young children --- and to children who regard horses as friends and will be riveted by a story that tells them how hard a horse’s life could be. For those young readers and many others, “Black Beauty” is simply the best book about horses. It has danger, cruelty, a plot that never ambles when it can race --- and Paige Peterson’s intense, colorful illustrations.
ABOUT THE EDITOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
Jesse Kornbluth (editor)
As a magazine journalist, Jesse Kornbluth has been a Contributing Editor at the New York Times Magazine, New York, and Vanity Fair. From 1997 to 2003, he was Editorial Director of AOL. Since 2004, he has edited a cultural concierge, HeadButler.com. He has published four books of non-fiction and two novels: “Married Sex” and “JFK and Mary Meyer: A Love Story.” He has recently completed “The Next Dalai Lama,” a novel about the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in Merrick, a Long Island suburb of New York City. In collaboration with Paige Peterson, he has abridged “A Christmas Carol” and “Black Beauty.”
Paige Peterson (illustrator)
Paige Peterson is the author of “Growing Up Belvedere-Tiburon.” She Illustrated “Blackie, the Horse that Stood Still,” which she co-authored with Christopher Cerf. As an illustrator, she has collaborated on “A Christmas Carol” and “Black Beauty,” adapted by Jesse Kornbluth. As a painter, she is represented by Gerald Peters Gallery in New York and has been honored by The Guild Hall Academy of the Arts in East Hampton. As a photojournalist, Paige has reported extensively about the Middle East. As a journalist, she has contributed to Marin Magazine, New York Social Diary and the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations. She is the Author and Artist in Residence at Literacy Partners, a Board Member of Catmosphere, National Council on U.S. Arab Relations, and Safari West Wildlife Foundation. Raised in Belvedere, California, Ms. Peterson has two grown children and lives in New York City.
PRAISE
Judy Collins: "I love this book. I want to send it to my two great-grandchildren and all my friends. The beautiful drawings vividly bring back my childhood, when I fell in love with Black Beauty. Now the memories are refreshed, and time stands still as I look and read Paige Peterson and Jesse Kornbluth’s new rendition of this old classic. Time is kind to this horse --- he is so beautiful that he remains in our minds for a lifetime. To experience ‘Black Beauty’ today is to connect with all your dreams and wishes.”
Harry Benson CBE: “When I read Black Beauty as a youngster, I didn't realize the groundbreaking novel would bring awareness and ultimately help to end the inhumane treatment of horses in England. For Paige Peterson and Jesse Kornbluth to bring fresh insight to the novel and open the door to a new generation of readers is a great accomplishment."
Joan Ganz Cooney: “When Jesse Kornbluth and Paige Peterson abridged ‘A Christmas Carol,’ it was a gift to children at Christmas. Now they have abridged ‘Black Beauty’-- a gift to children who love horses every day of the year."