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| King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian | 
| Author: Marguerite Henry
Creator: Wesley Dennis
Publisher: Aladdin
Category: Book
List Price: $5.99
Buy New: $2.15
You Save: $3.84 (64%)
New (42) Collectible (1) from $2.15
Avg. Customer Rating:  62 reviews
Sales Rank: 40093
Format: Illustrated
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.5
ISBN: 1416927867
EAN: 9781416927860
ASIN: 1416927867
Publication Date: December 26, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Late Childhood Should Always Include Books This Special September 5, 2005
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
The Christmas I was nine, I got a boxed set of Marguerite Henry novels and while I loved all of them and read them day and night during the break from school, I think this one goes down as my favorite. A few years after I first read this novel, my family moved and I discovered it was also, by a nice coincidence, one of the favorite books of a girl I met in our new neighborhood, who went on to be my best friend to this very day. That connection, too, makes this a special read. However you might come to possess this wonderful book, I think you'll agree, it's one to be cherished.
King of the Wind is the story of a mute boy named Agba, who lives works in the royal stables in Morocco during the eighteenth century, where the Sultan has perhaps the finest collection of horses on earth: maybe the greatest ever in history. Among the animals Agba cares for is a colt who has long been Agba's favorite. This horse was born with a mark called the wheat ear, that is regarded among Moroccans as so unlucky, custom mandates that any foal possessing it be destroyed at once. However, this colt also is marked by a sign of extraordinary good fortune, which reprieves the death sentence and is there to battle the wheat ear in the animal's life: the good in constant yin/yang conflict with the bad.
As a gesture of goodwill, the all-powerful Sultan elects to send a shipment of his finest horses to his friend and ally, King George of England. As the horses chosen for the journey are prepared, Agba is given the chance to accompany these prized animals by ship to the far-off Christian kingdom. One of the colts hand-picked by his Excellency is none other than the omen-marked horse Agba has grown to love. The journey northward upon the ocean is undertaken, but an unscrupulous sea captain has shortchanged the Sultan's agents and not provided food for the equine passengers. Therefore, the cargo of fine desert steeds who are unloaded in England appear little better than half-starved nags, and never find their way to the royal court.
Cast out among beggars and in a strange, cold nation where he knows no one and does not understand the language, Agba refuses to leave his beloved horse's side and the happenings that come to pass in the life of the desert stable boy and the fine, though seemingly run-down stallion, form the basis of a delightful novel that is simultaneously a tale of a boy and his extraordinary horse, and a history lesson in eighteenth-century equine lore. In Miss Henry's story, fact and fiction meet as Agba's horse becomes the celebrated Godolphin Arabian, from whom roughly one-third of all modern thoroughbreds can trace descent.
I guess you can tell I really like this book, and I think almost anyone would as well!
One of my absolutely favorite books from childhood. August 24, 2005
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
All of Marguerite Henry's books are classics, but I think this one, recounting the life of the Godolphin Arabian, a founding father of the American thoroughbred, is my favorite. I bought it for my own children and as I read it to them, I was taken back to the day I first read the story. Even after thirty two years, Sham and Agba still make me cry.
It's writing is simple, the words easy for a child to understand, but the story is so full of awe and respect for the great horse that you can't help but be moved. The illustrations are also some of the finest in children's literature. Wesley Dennis painted watercolor masterpieces for many (all?) of Marguerite Henry's books, but I think the works in this book are particularly inspired. Both the writing and the artwork are true treasures I am honored and delighted to be able to share with my children.
 I'm a man of means, by no means. King of the Wind. August 22, 2005
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
Uh-oh. A horse book. As a kid, I always avoided horse books. They were the kinds of titles plucked up by fellow girls for the purpose of indulging their pony-laden fantasies. I never read "The Black Stallion" or "Black Beauty" or any of the classic equine titles out there. I read "Equus", but I don't think that counts. Then I decided to read all the Newbery award winning books I could get my hands on. That meant getting my hands on a copy of "King of the Wind". Fortunately, I've found that the older I get the more prejudices acquired during my youth are sloughed off with every book I read. With "King of the Wind" you get a thrilling one-horse history based on a true story. Though not the most satisfying of children's novels, kids reading the book will find themselves rooting steadfastly for this, the original underdog.
Quiz Question of the Day: Where in early 18th-century were some of the finest horses in the world raised and bred? If you answered Morocco then you are correct. At the time of this story, a mute stableboy by the name of Agba witnesses the birth of a most unusual foal. Born with a white spot on his foot (a good sign) and a wheat ear (a bad), the horse is named Sham by the boy and under the child's care grows healthy and strong. The horse is so impressive that it is only one of six sent as a gift (with horseboy Agba in tow) to the King of France himself. Unfortunately, this marks the true beginning of Sham's troubles. A malicious sea captain starves the animals and they end up looking very poor gifts indeed. Sham becomes an unruly workhorse. Then he's separated from his boy and given to an uncommonly cruel man. Boy and horse are reunited (and a cat comes along as well) only to pass from a kindly Quaker to a thoughless innkeeper. Our heroes together weather jail, banishment, and all sorts of ills until Sham's talent is finally discovered at long last... sort of. Though Sham never runs a great race (as any normal horse book would have him do) he sires some mighty-fine offspring who win all the races they're entered into. Happy ending for all.
Well, maybe "happy ending for all" is a bit much. The book's focus, should anyone forget it, is not supposed to be the Muslim boy, Agba. Author Marguerite Henry's choice of making him mute isn't too surprising when you think about it. After all, the fact that no matter what country he ends up in he manages to understand the language is shaky ground at best. If he can't talk then he can't suddenly burst into fluent French when the moment calls for it. Also, he can't get out of tricky situations (like his unfair jail time) and is a perpetual victim as a result. What struck me as particularly odd, however, was the end of the book. Agba's fate is reduced to a single sentence. After Sham's death Agba goes back to Morocco. End of story. Guess we know who the real hero in this tale is, huh? This is especially frustrating when you consider that you've been rooting for this kid for roughly 173 pages. To just drop him at the end without further to-do is harsh, to say the least. I mean, we're talking about one of the first Muslim heroes in children's literature. Surely that counts for something? Consider, after all, that this kid is banished from a beautiful home at one point and forced to practically starve in a cold scary fen at another. Then, at the end, the horse's newest owner tells the boy that all is forgiven and no hard feelings for making you live like a common thief, eh? Why the boy doesn't end up just the tiniest bit bitter is beyond me. I wonder if a kid of European blood would've been treated in a similar manner? Methinks, not so much.
And while I'm thinking about it, the ending's a little odd as well. That, however, I'm a bit more lenient with. Since this is based on a true story, Henry was limited in what she could or could not embellish. Most books in which a racehorse is ignored for his true talents end with that horse winning a big race at the tale's end. Not so here. Sham never wins a single race (aside from unofficial ones in Morocco). Instead, he simply sires more and more fast horsies, thereby "winning" by indulging in a most natural horse-like activity. Still, if that's what actually happened then who am I to complain?
I enjoyed this book thoroughly (in spite of my petty snipes). Henry knows how to write a gripping tale, full of soaring highs and truly awful lows. If you've a child with an affinity with horses, make sure that they won't feel too out of sorts when they see Sham beaten continually and abused in consistently awful ways. Animal cruelty aside, "King of the Wind" is one of those Newbery winners that kids (if they skip the Prologue chapter) will get into immediately. Consider pairing it with another boy-tending-a-great-horse book "The Star of Kazan" by Eve Ibbotson.
this is a collector's edition? August 2, 2005
I don't think I need to tell you why this is a wonderful book. I am writing this for anyone else who may be looking a nice copy of this classic.
Wesley Dennis' illustrations made Marguerite Henry's stories treasures to look at as well as read. I grew up with my mom's old books, and I can't stand to see the beautiful color paintings rendered in black and white as they are in the paperbacks. Some paintings can be suffered to undergo this treatment, perhaps, these cannot. I bought this deluxe edition for myself, assuming the color pictures would be printed in color; I was wrong. The book itself deserves as many stars as you can give it, but I gave this edition only 4, for not being what it should be.
I love horses!Especially the ones by Marguerite Henry! April 4, 2005
King of the Wind is an exciting story!I love Marguerite's ideas.She must love horses verryy much.My mom grew up on a farm, and she had a horse named,King.He was her baby.She loved him very much.When i was born my mom introduced me to a horse,and I fell in love with it.When I moved I thought that all of my friends were left behind,along with the books about the animals I love.My friend,Kourtney,knew that I loved horses and she told me to read Misty of Chincoteague(probobly spelled it wrong)and I loved it! Then I started looking for more of her books.I found King of the Wind.I just read it ,and did a book report about it.It was a Real Joy!Marguite really knows what horses really are about.She is a effectionate person Who loves to Write about horses,and I support her.She needs to keep her dream alive,just like her stories!I love Horses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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