A Review by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle/Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing author Barbara Janet Cooper about her latest book, Jadon and Gabe: The Not So Saintly Horses.

I enjoyed reading it and wrote a review:

This enchanting book for children and families alike is written from a horse's point of view. It is illustrated with sweet pictures throughout. If you're looking for a book that will both entertain your child and teach worthwhile life lessons and good values at the same time, this is the book. Books like this are difficult to find these days. This one is a treasure for sure. The engaging chapters flow together with ease and many valuable life lessons are woven through the delightful and entertaining text.

Jadon and Gabe: The Not So Saintly Miniature Horses contains a spiritual element as well, while we watch the two horses look to God for direction and help as they navigate their lives through the challenges and the joys that beset them. Each new adventure or challenge played out in this book opens up opportunities for discussion between parent or caregiver and child. I highly recommend this wholesome and delightful book for your family!


Thank you very much for this interview, Barbara. Your newest book: Jadon and Gabe: The Not So Saintly Horses is a sweet children's story of adventure and seeking God for help as told from a horse's perspective. I really enjoyed reading it. Can you tell us why you decided to use Miniature horses to tell the story?
We always had at least one horse as part of our family since my children were very young.

In the early 80’s, we met and became friends with Sister Bernadette Muller. The Poor Claire Nuns, in Brenham, Texas raise miniature horses and Sister Bernadette introduced us to our very first mini. Although Sister Bernadette has since passed on, the sisters still raise the miniatures for their livelihood.

After a while we had a small herd - not all from The Monastery. They were not related to each other. I loved to sit in the barn or out near the pasture and just watch, for hours on end, these wonderful little horses interact with each other. Each horse has their own personality, but each horse, has the same goal as the other, which is pleasing their Master. Just like our human children, they may forget their manners from time to time, but their mothers, will help to lead them back on the right path.

When I decided to write this book, it felt it only natural to allow Jadon and Gabe, to tell their story and share their perspective on life.

What age range do you think your book will serve best?

I feel that Jadon and Gabe is a book that the whole family will enjoy.

Can you tell us about the writing process for this book? I understand that you have a co-author.
Yes, I do have a co-author, my ten year old grand-daughter, Brittany Jean. At the age of nine, she has won three story contests which were published, in our local newspaper. She also won a blue ribbon at a horse show when she was just three years old.

I feel blessed to have her as a co-author and the reader will receive the perspective of one of their peers.

That’s really wonderful. I’m sure it’s a blessing working with your grand-daughter on your book projects. What are your hopes for this book?
My hopes are that, Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses, will not only entertain, but also encourage the reader to reach higher in their efforts in settings a good example for their peers. I also hope that the words of Jadon and Gabe will remind the reader that it is much better to please God than to succumb to peer pressure.

Can you tell us about the illustrations?

Yes, Brittany Jean drew all the illustrations for this book. It is her way of introducing the characters to our readers. Her illustrations also help to tell the story. The cover of the book is an image of the real Jadon and Gabe, Jadon being the smaller of the two.

That’s very interesting. Do you have any plans for future books?
Yes, we do! Thank you for asking. Brittany and I are working, at the moment, on the 2nd in the series of the Jadon and Gabe books. I don’t want to give too much away. I can tell you that they will learn the hard way, that God gives us parents, to protect us from the evils of the world.

Jadon and Gabe: Missing in Action, will be available, late summer of 2010.

Well, I will certainly be looking forward to the next in the series. Finally, where can we purchase your book?

If ordering a signed copy, you may send a check or money order, in the amount of $7.00 plus $3.95 S/H to: B.J. Cooper-Schonert, P.O. Box 9077, College Station, Texas 77842

Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses is also available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

Also on my website at, http://wordsfromthehayloft.blogspot.com

Thank you very much for this interview, Barbara! Have fun writing the next Jadon and Gabe book. May God bless you and your whole family!

Book Contest Winner!

J.L. Haviland You are the Winner!

Please email me your mailing address so that I can send you your free signed copy of Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses!

Enjoy and God Bless!

Barbara

Book Contest Reminder

I would just like to remind you about the Book Contest that is going on right now.

If you would like a chance to win a Free Signed Copy of Jadon and Gabe:The Not so Saintly Horses, just scroll down to the Book Contest Post and leave a comment.

Only two weeks left before the drawing so hurry and leave your comment.

The Day of 1,000 Hoof Prints

The Day of 1,000 Hoof Prints

by Brittany Jean Schonert

I grab the reins and hold on tight
I hope my horse will not get a fright
She gallops and trots, whinnies a lot

I gaze to my left and see a canyon set against a pink sunset
I sit upon my western saddle and gaze at a southern sunset

My boots hurt my feet, after a long day in the saddle, I fear dark is drawing near, I head back to the house and put my horse in her stall

I enter the house and creep down the hall and hear the door knob creek
The door opens. I walk in and take off my hat
I kick off my boots
Then I lay down my head
I hit the sack

Colostrum Bank

This is exciting news!

Reo from the Miniature Horse Forum is starting a Colostrum Bank.

If you save colostrum or are in need of colostrum check it out---go to-

http://www.lilbeginnings.com

click on "Miniature Horse Forum" and look for post by Reo.

Ownership of a Beloved Pet

By LINDA LOMBARDI

Associated Press

Published Sunday, January 24, 2010 12:05 AM

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the levees broke, many who were forced to leave without their pets endured long searches to find animals that had been ferried to safety without them. You'd think that finding that their pets were alive and well after the storm would be pure joy, but for some, it was more complicated.

The recently released documentary Mine tells the stories of people who found their pets in new homes, with rescuers or adopters who didn't want to give them back.

"A lot of the people that I met just didn't know what they could do," says filmmaker Geralyn Pezanoski. "Their animals were out of state, they didn't have the resources."

But a few, with the help of good Samaritans as well as lawyers, fought to get their dogs back -- sometimes for years. One subject of the film, Jesse Pullins, was reunited with his dog J.J. only this past June, nearly four years after the hurricane.

Katrina may have been a one-time event, but it doesn't take a natural disaster to set up a conflict over ownership of a beloved animal. It can happen to anyone who is part of a couple, as Doreen Houseman of Williamstown, New Jersey found.

After their relationship of over a dozen years ended, she and her ex managed to share their pug, Dexter, at first. Then one day, her ex said he wasn't bringing Dexter back to her again. "It felt like someone told me my best friend died," she says, and the next day, "I woke up hoping it was a nightmare, but it wasn't."

At first, a judge refused to hear a case for enforcing the sharing arrangement. Instead, he awarded monetary compensation for Dexter and for other property that had not been divided.

Splitting the value of a house or car makes sense to most of us, but a dog? While we feel very differently about our pets, they are property in the eyes of the law, says Joyce Tischler, founder and general counsel of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, which has filed briefs in many similar cases.

"Judges can decide these cases very simply by awarding the animal to the person who appears to be the owner," she says. Factors considered include who pays the vet bills and walks the dog most of the time.

However, legal arguments can also be based on the existence of other laws that treat animals quite differently.

"Every state has an anti-cruelty law," says Tischler. "There isn't any anti-cruelty law for my rug or my toaster. The law recognizes that animals need special protection."

Under current law, then, what a lawyer can argue is that animals are a special kind of unique and irreplaceable property, and in Houseman's case, the New Jersey appellate court agreed. Such property, like an antique or a valuable painting, is treated differently under the law, so the case was sent back to the original judge for a new decision. He ordered shared possession of Dexter, five weeks at a time each.

Like the cases in Pezanoski's film, Houseman's fight was a long one, lasting two and a half years.

"What's really interesting is how important pets are to people and how far people will go," the filmmaker says, even though not everyone sympathizes. A lot of the resistance that her subjects encountered, says Pezanoski, was "people who asked, why don't you just get another dog?"

In fact, Houseman did just that when a co-worker knew of a pug that was looking for a home around the time of the first trial. But, says Houseman, "Getting her was in no way to replace Dexter, it was to comfort me." The two are completely different personalities, she says: "She's a little firecracker. He's very laid back."

The law is slowly catching up to our feelings about the uniqueness of our pets, says Gina Calogero, Houseman's lawyer. The New Jersey case continues a trend set by decisions in a handful of other states, and helps set precedent that can be used where courts have not yet considered the issue.

"I do think this was a good case," says Adam Karp, who practices animal law in Bellingham, Wash. "You had a court saying, dogs are unique, face time with a dog can't be cashed out."

Such precedent is valuable because lawyers see these cases increasing.

"Ten years ago I would have been laughed out of the courtroom," Calogero says. "Now in the last five years it's accelerating, and it's being taken seriously."

Book Contest

I am having a Book Contest.

Everyone likes to receive something for Free, right?

If you would like to win a free copy of my latest book, Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses, enter your entry below by leaving a comment.

All entries will be put into a drawing and a winner will be chosen on Feb. 14th, Valentine's Day. I will post the winner's name on Feb. 15th at which time, the winner will email me their mailing address to receive their free signed copy of "Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses."

Good Luck!