Nikki and the Rocking Horse

Nikki longs to own the beautiful rocking horse in the toy shop more than anything else.It has a tasselled mane, a sweeping swishing tail and, best of all, it gallops so fast that the whole toy shop seems to go flying past.So when Nikki’s Mum tells her that the rocking horse is too expensive, Nikki is terribly disappointed. Then Mum has an idea; she joins the toy maker’s woodwork class and makes Nikki a rocking horse of her very own. But to their dismay this rocking horse just won’t gallop, until the toy maker works his magic on it – and Nikki’s dream comes true at last!

PreS-Gr 2-Nikki wants the rocking horse at the toy shop more than anything, but her mother cannot afford to buy it. Thus, while the little girl dreams, her mother takes a woodworking class from the shop's owner and makes one for her. There's just one problem-it doesn't gallop. In the end, the toy maker fixes the horse and Nikki's mother goes to work for him. This sweet story of a resourceful mother's love for her daughter shows the bonds of a family: grandmother baby-sits while Nikki's mother is at woodworking class and the child truly appreciates her mother's hard work and love. The watercolor illustrations bring a sparkle to this warm story, and Nikki's rides on the rocking horse are sheer flights of fancy.-Susan Marie Pitard, Weezie Library for Children, Nantucket Atheneum, MA

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