This morning I had the pleasure of reading Kathy Simmers’ and Marjorie van Heerden’s children’s picture book, Jump the Moon, about the mystical bond that forms between “the girl with the long blond hair” and the misbehaving pony she is charged with for a summer. The book is based on a true story involving the author’s daughter. I rode horses throughout my adolescence (was president of the riding team at my college), so the subject of Jump the Moon immediately spoke to me.

It’s eerie how much the girl on the front cover looks like my 10-year-old niece, who recently started taking horseback riding lessons and also has “long blond hair,” the only description the author gives of the main character. As I read the book, I thought of my niece and how connecting with horses has calmed the co-dependent anxieties she’s exhibited throughout her young life. I thought about how, throughout history, horses have demonstrated emotional powers to the extent that psychologists now use “equine-facilitated psychotherapy” to treat addiction, post-traumatic stress, and other anxiety disorders. I thought about the connection I once had with my own horse, and how my childhood seemed to die when he did.

After describing the strong bond that has formed between the girl and horse over the summer, the book proceeds toward their inevitable separation and the deep sadness it leaves in both of them. It is only after the girl grows up and gets married that they are united again, in a mystical and driven manner that leaves the reader feeling satisfied with the ways of the Universe.

Marjorie van Heerden’s expansive and detailed illustrations - there are 32(!)- give the feeling you are flipping through an artist’s portfolio. Young children will get most of the story from the illustrations alone, and I’ve no doubt they’ll enjoy flipping through them. This is good, because the narrative has a lot of words, most at the second-grade level, making it most suited to children grades 3-5, around the age of the girl in the book. Given their school curricula is moving them toward longer books without pictures, these kids will welcome the pictures on every page as they re-enforce their basic reading skills. Reading-challenged kids will welcome this picture book that doesn’t make them feel like babies.

Psychology Today states that  “horses can be an emotional mirror for humans. They respond to the feeling state we show.”  The words and colorful drawings in Jump the Moon portray this in a way that makes you want to ask your doctor for an equine-therapy referral. You should purchase this book for a girl in your life who rides horses, particularly if she has long blond hair. She will likely keep it on her shelf until she has a daughter or another young horseback-riding girl to share it with. I am certainly going to buy a copy for my niece - and maybe her grandmother, who rode horses for many years and would appreciate this true story.

Note: You can purchase Jump the Moon and related merchandise to accompany the book (plush horse, notecards, bookmarks, bling) at this link: https://www.readjumpthemoon.com/shop/.