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One Whole Day
Wild Ponies
Children join the noted naturalist-artist as he spends a day watching a splendid herd of wild ponies on Assateague Island off the mid-Atlantic coast. Youngsters see the ponies romping in the surf, heading for the dunes where they munch on sea grasses, and wading through the mudflats of the nearby bay. A young foal rests with its mother in the shade of a tree, then starts to play hide-and-seek with a baby deer. Jim Arnosky' s beautifully detailed paintings and lyrical text convey his love for these creatures and his sense of wonder at observing their free spirit up close.
26 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2002
1 person is currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Jim Arnosky
164 books76 followersJim Arnosky was born in New York City, NY Sept 1, 1946. He was raised in Pennsylvania. Jim graduated from high school in Philadelphia and joined the US Naval Reserves. His active duty took him to Maryland and Bremerhaven, Germany.
In 1976 Jim and his wife Deanna moved to Vermont with their two daughters where they have lived in an old farmhouse for the past 28 years. 17 of those years were spent raising sheep.
Jim is self taught in writing, art and the natural sciences. He has written and illustrated 86 books on nature subjects and has illustrated 46 other books written by various authors. He has been awarded the Christopher Medal, Orbis Pictus Honor, ALA Gordon Award, and Outstanding Science book awards from National Science Teachers Associations.
Jim loves to fish, boat, and play his guitar. In his work, he uses a Betacam SP video camcorder with a 1600 mm lens to record the wildlife he and Deanna find all across the country.
In 1976 Jim and his wife Deanna moved to Vermont with their two daughters where they have lived in an old farmhouse for the past 28 years. 17 of those years were spent raising sheep.
Jim is self taught in writing, art and the natural sciences. He has written and illustrated 86 books on nature subjects and has illustrated 46 other books written by various authors. He has been awarded the Christopher Medal, Orbis Pictus Honor, ALA Gordon Award, and Outstanding Science book awards from National Science Teachers Associations.
Jim loves to fish, boat, and play his guitar. In his work, he uses a Betacam SP video camcorder with a 1600 mm lens to record the wildlife he and Deanna find all across the country.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 28, 2021
Prolific picture-book author/artist Jim Arnosky, whose books focus on the natural world, turns his attention to the wild ponies of Assateague Island in this engaging work for younger children. In rhyming text he describes one day in the life of this herd - walking and running on beach and dune, grazing, playing in the water - and concludes with an author's note about the beauty of this equine community and its island home...
When I think of the wild ponies that live on the barrier islands off the coast of Virginia and Maryland, I always think of Chincoteague, no doubt because of classic works of children's literature like Marguerite Henry's 1947 Newbery Honor Book, Misty of Chincoteague . The ponies, of course, actually live on nearby Assateague, and Arnosky captures the wild beauty of their days in this lovely picture-book. The text is very simple - a sentence of two per two-page spread - but it is descriptive, and the accompanying artwork, done in acrylic paint using an oil technique, is gorgeous. There is no list of further reading, which is a drawback in a title like this, I think, but then, I suspect this is intended for a much younger audience. Recommended to young horse lovers, and to picture-book readers interested in wild pony herds. It could be paired with a book like Sandra Markle's Race the Wild Wind: A Story of the Sable Island Horses , about the ponies on Canada's Sable Island, or Dutch author/artist Renne's The Ice Horse , about a herd of Icelandic ponies.
When I think of the wild ponies that live on the barrier islands off the coast of Virginia and Maryland, I always think of Chincoteague, no doubt because of classic works of children's literature like Marguerite Henry's 1947 Newbery Honor Book, Misty of Chincoteague . The ponies, of course, actually live on nearby Assateague, and Arnosky captures the wild beauty of their days in this lovely picture-book. The text is very simple - a sentence of two per two-page spread - but it is descriptive, and the accompanying artwork, done in acrylic paint using an oil technique, is gorgeous. There is no list of further reading, which is a drawback in a title like this, I think, but then, I suspect this is intended for a much younger audience. Recommended to young horse lovers, and to picture-book readers interested in wild pony herds. It could be paired with a book like Sandra Markle's Race the Wild Wind: A Story of the Sable Island Horses , about the ponies on Canada's Sable Island, or Dutch author/artist Renne's The Ice Horse , about a herd of Icelandic ponies.
August 31, 2012
pb11: I felt this book was very interesting. Growing up I loved anything about animals. This book was easy to ready and the pictures were very detailed. I would easily buy this book to put on my children's bookshelf.
June 14, 2012
This is a true story about the wild ponies living on Assateague Island off of Maryland and Virginia. The book is beautiful and makes me want to visit the island just to watch how the animals interact with one another.
February 8, 2021
Really enjoyed Arnosky's beautiful illustrations and lovely verse. This would be a great book to check out when we read Wild Horses of Sweetbriar for FIAR!
July 19, 2023
Adorable picture book about the wild ponies of Assateague Island. The illustrations are beautiful. A perfect story for horse-obsessed kids.
June 8, 2025
The text of this little children's book is excruciating, done in rhymed verse. The information given isn't always right, either. It's the lead mare who leads the herd, not the stallion. And each day is not "exactly the way it should be" since Assateague often gets hit by hurricanes.
Pony life is not "peaceful", either. Plenty of fights go on. Just this week, a wild pony colt named Donner on the Outer Banks (not Assateague, but similar conditions) had his neck broken in a fight. It's normal for fights to end in severe injury or death.
The text is crap, but the full-color paintings aren't half bad, which is why this book gets two stars rather than one. There's no indication if the illustrations were based on actual Chincoteague ponies, which annoys me. They seem to be based on photos of Chincoteague ponies, but given new colors.
Pony life is not "peaceful", either. Plenty of fights go on. Just this week, a wild pony colt named Donner on the Outer Banks (not Assateague, but similar conditions) had his neck broken in a fight. It's normal for fights to end in severe injury or death.
The text is crap, but the full-color paintings aren't half bad, which is why this book gets two stars rather than one. There's no indication if the illustrations were based on actual Chincoteague ponies, which annoys me. They seem to be based on photos of Chincoteague ponies, but given new colors.
November 20, 2012
Notes:
short rhyming story
beautiful illustrations
day in the life of assateague ponies
short rhyming story
beautiful illustrations
day in the life of assateague ponies
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews