King of the Wind

The Story of the Godolphin Arabian

172 pages

English language

Published Nov. 1, 1990 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

ISBN:
978-0-02-743629-7
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After a opening chapter at a race course in Windsor, Ontario, in 1920, this novel is a fictionalized biography of the Godolphin Arabian, one of the three stallions who started the thoroughbred breed. Its human hero is the mute horseboy Agba who is present at the birth of the foal in the Sultan's stable in Morocco and names him Sham (Sun). He is chosen to go with the horse as part of a gift to the King of France. The spirited horse suffers many misfortunes and survives only through Agba's faithfulness, but comes at last to glory through the achievements of his sons.

23 editions

Review of 'King of the Wind' on 'Goodreads'

My favorite book from childhood, still magical today

As a child, I read this book several times, along with most of the rest of Marguerite Henry's horse books. I was reminded of it recently and thought I'd see how it held up 50 years later. It seemed much shorter than I remembered :) but was every bit as magical. I had to choke back tears in places and felt my face almost hurt from grinning with joy in others. While the book is clearly aimed at younger readers, it's not dummed down or overly-simplified.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves horses. It is filled with rich descriptions, interesting characters and realistic emotions, and from the bibliography at the back, it is also a very well researched book. Its a great gift for the horse-lover in your life.

Subjects

  • Animals - Horses
  • Classics
  • Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Horses
  • Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction
  • Fiction
  • Horses
  • Juvenile fiction
  • Children: Grades 4-6