April Family Book Review – perfect book for before Derby

The Tails of Windy Meadows by Ellen Troutman and illustrated by Debra K. Leet is a heartwarming horse lovers story, written by a local author who also owns a horse farm, in LaGrange, KY.

Since we are on the cusp of the Kentucky Derby around here, I thought this book would be a timely fit. I read the book aloud to my kids a couple of weeks ago. My older daughter really enjoyed it; my youngest hardly sits still long enough to eat any more so he took off after the first few pages! The story is really geared for an older age; I would say 5 and up would sit through the whole story.

Windy Meadows is a neat locally owned horse farm and the connection with the horses who live on the farm as the characters throughout the book is interesting. It really brings the story to life. The story is charming and reads aloud very well. It is a longer picture book so it becomes a nice bedtime story to read over a few days as well. I loved the soft, pastel-like illustrations. My kids and I really enjoyed the character names, the day to day life of the horses who live on the farm, and the fact that we can go meet these horses in person some time since they live in LaGrange!

Windy Meadows was recently featured in the LouFamFun post about family fun on farms. If you have a child who is absolutely in love with horses, this book is for them. You can order this book directly from the local publisher here. After reading the book together, take a ride with your family over to Windy Meadows and let them meet the horses from the book and spend some time learning about horse care on a real working farm. They also offer horseback riding lessons. You can schedule a free tour of the farm and make an appointment to meet the horses here. Windy Meadows is located at 1309 Bluegrass Parkway in LaGrange, KY 40031; 502-608-6179.

By guest contributor: Erin