Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Schultz
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Inspiring horse story has small but mighty heroine.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
NATIONAL VELVET, by Enid Bagnold, tells the story of thin, sickly 14-year-old Velvet Brown and how she beats the odds to become an internationally regarded horsewoman. Velvet is a dreamer whose love of horses occupies her waking and sleeping thoughts. Her three older sisters also love horses, but their father, a butcher, can't afford to own animals that don't earn their keep. Mr. Brown's patience is tested when Velvet -- in a couple of surprising ways -- comes to possess several horses that once belonged to neighbors. Velvet's mother, however, was a great sportswoman in her younger days and is quietly supportive of Velvet's dreams. So, Mrs. Brown is taken into Velvet's confidence when the girl and her father's assistant, Mi (short for Michael), come up with a plan to give a fiery horse its chance to shine in the world's greatest steeplechase, the Grand National.
Is It Any Good?
Enid Bagnold's National Velvet is written in a somewhat unusual way; frequent shorthand dialogue conveys the intimacy of a close-knit family, but could be difficult to follow for very young readers. However, Velvet's miraculous story is suspenseful and inspiring, and will be especially entertaining to horse lovers.
Velvet's older sisters are very well-drawn at their different stages of maturity, and the youngest of the Brown children, preschool-age Donald, is an adorable, enfuriating toddler, who adds comic relief. This is an entertaining, motivational novel about a young girl's great love for horses, and the way she challenges widely held gender prejudice.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how National Velvet compares with more modern horse books you may have read. What would be different about the plot if the book were written now?
Check out the film version of National Velvet. Which do you like better? How are the book and film different?
How is Velvet like her mother, and how is she different?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Animals
- Topics : Animals , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Dover Publications
- Publication date : January 1, 1935
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 14
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Paperback, Hardback
- Last updated : December 4, 2025
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