Title: The Starlight Stables Gang (The Starlight Stables Gang #1)
Author: Esme Higgs
Author: Jo Cotterill
Illustrator: Hannah George
Release Date: 30th March 2023
Publisher: Puffin Books UK
Genre: MG (8 – 12 year olds)
Summary:
Summer has always loved horses but she never thought she’d be able to learn how to ride them – not with money being so tight at home. Then she discovers the Starlight Stables where she meets a new gang of friends and learns how to ride in return for helping-out with the horses. It’s a dream come true!
Summer falls in love with life at the stables and especially with Luna, a beautiful dapple-grey pony. But one day, Summer arrives at the stables to find that Luna has been stolen in the night. It’s up to the Starlight Stables Gang to follow the clues and rescue Luna before it’s too late!
Full of fun, friendship and and mystery, this is the first book in the brand-new Starlight Stables Gang series. Beautifully illustrated by Hannah George.
Author Information
Esme Higgs
Esme Higgs is one of the biggest social-media content creators in the equestrian world with over 1.5 million followers. She’s a writer, presenter, video producer – and a horse-mad ordinary girl.
Her online videos are a mix of tutorials, horse-care videos, and vlogs about her horses (Mickey, Joey and Casper) and her life. She is also a proud ambassador for the Brooke charity and a patron to her local charity riding stables – Team Tutsham.
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thisesme
Instagram: http://instagram.com/this_esme
Tiktok: http://tiktok.com/this_esme
Facebook: http://facebook.com/thisesme
Jo Cotterill
Jo Cotterill is a multi-award-winning author with over forty books for children and young people. Her novel A Library of Lemons has sold into twelve countries and her superhero-comic strip series Electrigirl has encouraged many reluctant readers to enjoy reading. She has written stories for Disney and Doctor Who, and her background in acting and teaching makes her a hit on school visits. Jo lives in Oxfordshire with her daughters, one of whom is a massive Esme fan!
Instagram: http://instagram.com/jocotterillbooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jocotterillbook
Extract
There are two routes to school. One goes along pavements and across roads. The other is twice as long and involves going down a little alleyway and round the back of the houses. For maybe fifty metres, the path borders a couple of fields. In one of the fields there are two ponies. One of them is a small chestnut gelding who stays at the other end of the field, but the other is a dapple-grey mare and she always, always comes to the fence to say hello.
When we first moved here, I was miserable – until I discovered the path behind the houses, and now I visit the grey mare on my way to and from school. She’s my best friend, which is either amazing or very sad, depending on how you look at it.
This morning I leave the house extra early so I can spend even more time with the pony. She makes this funny sound when she sees me – they call it ‘nickering’: it’s like a cross between a snort and a purr. She trots over and nuzzles me. I used to give her an apple, but then a sign appeared on a fence post saying PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE PONIES’ so now I pull up handfuls of grass because I figure she eats that anyway. And I check to see that no one else is around, in case I get into trouble.
‘Hello,’ I say softly this morning. I don’t know what her name is, but I call her Pebbles because the markings on her back look like pebbles in a stream. I rub her velvety nose and she tips her head and bumps it against mine. ‘How are you today, Pebbles? Have you eaten any nice dandelions recently?’ I place my hand against her neck, feeling the muscles
underneath. She’s warm and solid and has this smell that I can’t describe – like biscuits and friendship.
I tell her about the video I watched this morning where a girl my age was talking about the three ponies she owns, and about the different tack she uses, and Pebbles nods like she understands. I think Pebbles is a Welsh Cob, according to the pictures I’ve looked at on the internet. She’s the most beautiful pony I’ve ever seen.
Even though I’ve got to the field early, I’m nearly late for school because I always lose track of time when I talk to Pebbles. I would spend all day talking to Pebbles if I could. Even simply resting my head against hers makes me feel … I can’t explain it. Calm. At peace, like all my worries and fears have gone away. I wave goodbye and have to run the rest of the way, arriving at school breathless ten seconds before they close the gates.
