The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy
     Readers won't expect The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy to be more than a horse story, but its setting during World War II (and the lesser-known fact that the Nazis relied on a horse breeding program to supply them with the mounts they used to carry out their European campaigns) lends it the value of a historical novel and the allure of a story that leisure reading horse fans will relish.
     The tale centers on the life of Witez, a Polish horse stolen by the Nazis and brought to Czechoslovakia for their breeding program. A local non-communicative, autistic village boy, eleven-year-old Teodor, is assigned to be the horse's groom. And then the magic begins.
     M.J. Evans portrays not just an unusual piece of World War II history but probes the sentiments about autism and mental conditions during an era where little was understood about either. Evans carefully portrays the sentiments and perceptions of the autistic boy who becomes tasked with an extraordinary job: "Teodor watched the tiny world go by, a world into which he had been born but had experienced very little. He neither desired, nor was given the opportunity, to interact with it."
     Much as Teodor finds himself unexpectedly responsible for and fostering a large animal's re-entry into a different world, so he himself is carried, by this relationship, into new territory in a world which is transforming and reinventing itself around him. The post-war milieu which emerges is one in which Teodor and Witez both find an extraordinary place as they are rescued, sent to America, and become part of a bigger picture than either could have dreamed.
     The reflections on this relationship are very nicely presented and specific: "No one knew how hard the boy struggled to control his emotions with all the changes and upheaval he was facing. His very survival depended upon order and routine . . . of which little was to be found. He lost himself, or perhaps it would be better to say that he saved himself, in caring for Witez."
     The result is a powerful evolution that moves from Nazi-occupied Europe to America; from captive breeding programs to the show horse circuit; and from the confined, repressed world that Teodor is familiar with to a winning relationship that changes horse and boy alike.
     The exquisite blend of historical facts and intricate details about autism are wound into a novel replete with much attraction, making for a highly recommended pick that libraries should profile for any young reader interested in horses and the remarkable impact they can make in therapeutic situations. 
Dianne Donovan, Editor, BookWatch