With this book, Wild Heart Ranch Books brings children another charming and melancholy story about horses and their quest for freedom.
In this story, the author makes a connection between the Pegasus constellation and a time long ago when “the earth was full of wild horses that thundered across vast plains.”
It is the story of a noble wild stallion named Eclipse and his fight to protect his pack from hunters. It is also a story of friendship. It is with the help of an enemy stallion named Golden Earth that Eclipse is able to save his herd from a wild chase. In addition to Golden Earth, the earth and the moon also help in their own magical way, as these are the “Spirits of Liberty”. The author uses myth, fantasy, and even a bit of magical realism to add depth to the story.
Unlike I Sea Horses, a similarly themed title from the same publisher that is aimed at younger children, The No More Night Mares has fewer illustrations and longer, more complex text. The illustrations, however, are photo-like and rich in detail, bringing the beauty and strength of these animals to life on the pages.
This is a good book for parents to read to children who love horses, or for those who want their children to understand the meaning of freedom and the damage that man has inadvertently done to these intelligent and magnificent creatures.
No more night mares
a dream of freedom
By Dawn Van Zant
Illustrated by Kim McElroy
Books Wildheart Ranch
ISBN: 0-9761768-1-5
Copyright 2004
Illustrated children’s book
Pocket book
