Are you looking for a great horse story? No Small Thing, by Natalie Ghent, is one of the best and newest books on this subject. The protagonist, twelve-year-old Nat, has just read in the want ads about a free pony to be given away. He can't believe it! When he shows the newspaper to his older sister, Cid, and younger sister, Queenie, all three siblings become very excited! When they were younger, they had horses and knew how to care for them and ride them. But that all changed when their father left and their parents divorced. It seems that life has been bleak, tough and unhappy for the kids and mom. But, the children feel that now with this possibility of a free pony, their lives are about to change for the better.

When they see this young stallion, they can't believe their eyes. “Smokey” is completely white, except for his muzzle and three of his hooves. His tail and mane are “long and flowing”. And he is “...the most beautiful thing...” Nat has ever seen. The woman who placed the ad in the paper has decided to give the pony away because her two young children are afraid of him. She decided “Better to give him away to someone who will pay more attention to him.”

What great luck for these three children. They have no money to spend on a pony let alone on much of anything else. But, after seeing this beautiful horse, their excitement supercedes their predicament. Now, they need a place to keep it, food to feed it and equipment to care for it.

As they walk the horse along, they are able to work out all of these problems as long as they are able to put Smokey in a barn that's not too far from their home. Nevertheless, they have some very difficult problems to overcome as soon as they become the owners of this pony. The obvious one is that their mom doesn't know anything about it. This dilemma is problematic because she can barely make ends meet at the end of each month as it is. Another problem ensues when Nat places young Queenie on Smokey as they walk to the barn in which they hope to house Smokey. A large dog suddenly attacks the horse and Queenie eventually falls hard on the ground. Now, they have two things to show mom: Smokey and Queenie's lump on her collarbone.

How will they ever manage to convince their mother to keep this horse? Obviously, their mother relents. I tell you this because what I just described to you takes place in the first 28 pages. There is so much more that takes place in this heart-rending story. Ms. Ghent has written a story that is rich in character, eloquent in style and wise in family dynamics. I only wish that the author hadn't used the few swear words found in the story. The story would have been very effective without them! This is a wonderful book for ages 11 and older.