Two young people's books reviewed by yours truly (so you know it's good)

Thunder: The Mighty Stallion of the Hills [Mass Market Paperback] http://www.amazon.com/Thunder-Mighty-Stallion-Mike-Jahn/dp/B000HANLIG/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

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AND

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Thunder: The Mighty Stallion to the Rescue [Mass Market Paperback] http://www.amazon.com/Thunder-Mighty-Stallion-Mike-Jahn/dp/B000OK8Z2G/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

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SLIGHTLY EDITED VERSION OF THE REVIEW I WROTE FOR BOTH BOOKS:

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A pleasant memory from the past, January 5, 2012

By Lee T. Walker (Kosovo)

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[THESE BOOKS] are basically young people's books novelizing episodes from the 1977-78 NBC Saturday morning live-action series, "Thunder," later called, "Superhorse, Starring Thunder" or something like that. The story is of a ranching family in the present-day (1970s) American West. The father is a rancher, the mother is a veterinarian, and the daughter is a typical rural 'tween. She has a male sidekick with a mule, and the three of them get into typical adventurous problems. Thunder is a wild stallion with a heart of gold, who comes to the rescue (duh!) against threats, be they two-legged, four-legged, or simply natural accidents.

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I read both books as a youngster who remembered the series a few years before. The stories largely track episodes of the series, as I recall. They include typical messages of the time--the girl can do boyish things as well as the boys (YouTube has the tail end of an episode -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWCdkGzkiA4 -- about the girl being deprecated on her outdoor survival skills), we should try to preserve wildlife (one two-part episode centered around dealing with a mountain lion preying on cattle), people should play fair (one story involves cheating at a rodeo), and of course stopping the bad guys without (much) gunplay. But for the more conservative potential reader, they are not offensive or exceedingly PC. Indeed, the ranch has guns, and from what I recall from the book, some of those guns might not be legal in California anymore (I don't recall for sure whether it was set in California or Arizona).

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If you remember and long for the series, these are excellent books to rehash and remember those good times. If you are a young person interested in such books and stories, I absolutely recommend these to you. If you want some very simple and sweet stories for someone, say the elderly, who wants something far cleaner than the common fare today, then these are something to consider, especially at these prices!

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Personally, I find it sad that shows like these aren't on Saturday morning television anymore. In the 1990s and early 2000s, NBC did their "T-NBC," with shows like "Saved By the Bell" and "Hang Time," but they were not the same. Too much comedy. Shows like "Thunder," "The Red Hand Gang," and "Search and Rescue" were entertaining and character-building. And these books bring a little bit of that magic to our day and age.

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Something to SERIOUSLY consider.