This strongly reminded me of THE HUNDRED DRESSES by Estes. I thought it was really well done and pleasure to read aloud. The illustrations are wonderful, especially the twist at the end where you have to look carefully to understand.

Pair with EACH KINDNESS by Woodson to start a conversation about empathy.

Update: The more times I read this book, the more impressed I am by the first-person narration. Even without the gorgeous illustrations, the text stands alone as an exploration of literal truth versus meaning. Chloe is such a great character because she's the narrator *and* the villain. I think most readers will sympathize with her and at the same time realize she's being a bit of a bully.

I love picture books that leave spaces for the young reader to fill in. They invite children to make meaning from story. Does Adrian Simcox have a horse? I'm excited to share this with kids and ask that question at the end. ( )

Carle Museum horse exhibit

Adrian Simcox will tell anyone who will listen that he has a horse - a beautiful white horse with a golden mane and big brown eyes. This drives Chloe crazy, because she knows Adrian doesn't have a horse. At last, Chloe's mom takes her on a walk to Adrian's house, where he lives with his grandfather, and Adrian's imagination helps Chloe open her own. ( )

“Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse” is a great book that delivers a strong and powerful message – don’t judge a book by its cover, or don’t make a hasty assumption without looking at the whole picture. In this book, Chloe, the young girl, has trouble with letting Adrian Simcox’s lie go uncontested. She knows that her classmate’s claim that he has a horse is not true, and she wants everyone to know it. As the story goes on, however, the reader gets some background on Adrian Simcox’s home/personal life, as Chloe observes that he “gets the free lunch at school” and “his shoes have holes.” This all comes to light at the end of the story, as the plot is paced very well and covers a rising action, which is when Adrian goes around and tells his classmates that he has a horse, and then a conflict between him and Chloe, who believes that he is lying and won’t let him get away with it. The story develops from this point to a moment of realization on the part of Chloe and an overall resolution between her and Adrian. This plot and character development is engaging, which allows this story to effectively relay its main message, which is don’t judge a book by its cover and be kind and caring to those who are different. ( )

A young girl learns the value of kindness in this immensely moving picture-book, starting out with a concern for the facts, but ending up with an appreciation for the truth. Convinced that her classmate, the eponymous Adrian Simcox, could not possibly have a horse - after all, he lived in a small house in the middle of town, and came from such poor circumstances that he always had holes in his shoes - Chloe insisted to anyone who would listen that the horse Adrian was always describing was fictitious. Then one evening her mother led her and her pet pooch Chompers on a walk past the Simcox house, and Chloe, through playing with Adrian, and considering his feelings, came to see things from a different perspective. She came to understand that Adrian Simcox had just about the best imagination of any kid in our whole school..."

Like Jacqueline Woodson's excellent Each Kindness, another of my rare five-star picture-books, Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse is a powerful exploration of childhood social dynamics, and the importance of showing kindness to others. It drives home the all-important idea that sometimes (many times!) it is more important to be kind than to be right. This is a lesson many adults could benefit from as well! More subtly, it contrasts the ideas of factuality and truth. Factually, it's pretty clear that Adrian Simcox doesn't have a horse. But truthfully? Such is the power of his imagination, such is the strength and comfort it gives him, that perhaps he does have a horse, after a fashion. How lovely that, in a roundabout way, that horse brought him a real friend, in the form of his erstwhile taunter, Chloe. Just like Marcy Campbell's narrative, Corinna Luyken's artwork here, done in ink, colored pencil and watercolor, is absolutely beautiful, expressively capturing both Chloe and Adrian's emotional states.

It's astonishing to think that this is Campbell's debut, and only Luyken's second (her first being her own The Book of Mistakes). Well done to both - I will await their next projects eagerly! As for this one, I highly recommend it, to anyone looking for children's stories about the imagination, and about the importance of empathy. ( )

Just because Adrain Simcox doesn't have a real horse, doesn't mean he doesn't have an imagination.