From the book jacket: Carrie can’t believe it—she has a horse of her own and is only weeks away from being adopted by the most loving family she’s ever known. But Bandit is harder to manage than she first imagined—and the adoption might not go as smoothly as she thought either. When a bad decision jeopardizes everything, Carrie learns what it means to be forgiven and truly loved.
Carrie and Bandit is the second book in the Sonrise Stable series, heartwarming stories of an extended homeschooling family as they live, learn, and love together. Mixing adventure, life lessons, and realistic horse experiences, the series is a must for readers who enjoy family values, Christian faith, and, of course, horses!
My Review: I received this book (Carrie and Bandit, #2) to review and had not read #1, so I quickly read up on the first book in the series, Rosie and Scamper. Carrie and Bandit is a continuation of book #1 and picks up where the book 1 leaves off. 
This book is pure delight! It's such a charming children's book, refreshing in it's wholesome quality and beautiful depiction of children's love for their animals. I loved the relationship that Carrie has with her horse and how God places such empathy and caring in the lives of our small children. There is a clear message of trust and dependence and a shining message of building relationships on trust and integrity, two of God's humbling tributes for us in this secular world.
It's nice to have refreshing reads for home-schooled children without having to worry about content and inappropriate wording. This book is a great read for young, pre-teen age girls (ages 7-10 is most perfect!) and would even make a great book collection set to keep through-out the years. Move over, Dr. Suess ~ make room on the shelves for this absolutely darling little girl and horse book series!
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The Christian Women's Review Crew.
About the author: It all began when a neighbor offered me my first ride on the back of her palomino Quarter Horse. That was the only time she ever took me for a ride and I'm sure she never knew the impact that it had on me.
I was eight years old and from that moment on I became obsessed with horses. I read every book about horses at our school and in our small town's library. I dreamed about horses and drew pictures of them. I wanted one so badly it felt like a physical ache.
I still remember my surprise when my dad came home one day with a beautiful dappled pony named Cricket. He had bought her at an auction and she came with a black saddle with a red, stitched seat. The only problem was that Cricket was not trained. I never was able to ride her. Every time I tried, I got bucked off and Cricket would take off down the road. It didn't diminish my love of horses in the least.
Shortly after that, we moved and to my delight, one of our new neighbors had several horses and ponies. He offered to teach me to ride and eventually took Cricket and one of my dad's pigs as a trade for one of his well-trained ponies, Dolly.
That was when the fun really began with 4-H, horse shows, fairs, parades, and trail rides over the years as I was growing up. When I had three daughters of my own, we also enjoyed riding together.
Through the influence of Christian horse trainers, John Lyons and Lew Sterrett, I began seeing that the relationship we have with our horses is, in many ways, similar to our relationship with God. God kept after me to do something using our horses to teach young girls about Him.
In 2002, my daughters and I started a group that we called the Christian Cowgirl Club. During the summers we invited a group of girls over once a week. We taught them about horses and riding, and included lessons about God, illustrated through experiences we had with our horses. Those experiences and lessons eventually evolved into the Christian Cowgirl website which has Christian horse devotionals, a member forum and various horse activities and articles.
The books in the Sonrise Stable series are fictional, but they draw heavily on the experiences I have had with horses over the years. My goal in writing the books was to help children learn about horses and draw closer to God!
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