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Terrible Horses
In a relatable tale about two siblings at constant odds, a child discovers that expressing himself through stories can help resolve conflict and generate understanding.
My sister is cooler than me.
I want her friends to be my friends.
I want her things to be my things.
For one little boy and his older sister, fights are always waiting to happen—when he takes something without asking, jumps on her bed without asking, even wanders off without asking. And when they fight, they don’t use words: it’s all push, pull, hurt, hide. To cool off after, the boy retreats to his room to write and draw stories—stories about terrible horses trampling and galloping, while he is a lone pony unable to compete or speak or sleep. One morning, the boy wakes up to find his sketchbook missing, taken by his sister. What now? Will this make things worse, or could it help them to finally understand each other? With empathy and simplicity, Terrible Horses has much to say about using creativity to rein in anger, reflect, and see life through someone else’s eyes.
My sister is cooler than me.
I want her friends to be my friends.
I want her things to be my things.
For one little boy and his older sister, fights are always waiting to happen—when he takes something without asking, jumps on her bed without asking, even wanders off without asking. And when they fight, they don’t use words: it’s all push, pull, hurt, hide. To cool off after, the boy retreats to his room to write and draw stories—stories about terrible horses trampling and galloping, while he is a lone pony unable to compete or speak or sleep. One morning, the boy wakes up to find his sketchbook missing, taken by his sister. What now? Will this make things worse, or could it help them to finally understand each other? With empathy and simplicity, Terrible Horses has much to say about using creativity to rein in anger, reflect, and see life through someone else’s eyes.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2024
1 person is currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Raymond Antrobus
17 books122 followersRaymond Antrobus is a deaf poet and teacher. He has won the Ted Hughes Award and became the first poet to be awarded the Rathbones Folio Prize. About Can Bears Ski?, his first picture book, he says, "It's the book I could see myself reaching for as a child, and I can't wait to have it exist in the world.” He lives in England.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 22, 2024
Oh, GOD, my heart.
July 22, 2024
It is not necessary to realize that the younger brother is deaf, but knowing so does deepen the appreciation, imo. Most siblings will identify with the rivalry shown here, but of course 'we don't use our words' makes more sense when the younger sibling doesn't have access to as many words as readily as the older.
July 26, 2024
A wonderful story of siblings who go through a hard time to finding common ground to communicate until they discover something in common
September 5, 2024
Very cute book! It has a great story that talks about sibling rivalry which is very common. It is an important lesson that can be taught to young children about using words and finding a source of letting out feelings in a positive way. I really enjoyed the illustrations of this book!
August 11, 2024
One of the most beautifully expressive picture books I’ve read in a long, long time. Everyone knows I love good illustration work (this has great illustrations!) but I can’t decide if I love the words even more. Can’t wait to share it aloud with young readers!
June 11, 2024
An interesting take on sibling rivalry and strife within the home. The young boy is pictured next to his older sister. He wants to be with her, share her things, have her attention, play with her, and be with her. But all of this annoys her to the point of quarreling.
The young boy is an unusual child in that he takes to "pen and paper" and begins to write and draw a story about horses. It is about a little pony and lots of big aggressive, fast-trotting, pushy horses - Terrible Horses. Each time the boy has an argument with his sister, he writes in his book.
Later the sister finds the book and it moves her to console and pay loving attention to him.
An interesting take on sibling rivalry.
I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.
The young boy is an unusual child in that he takes to "pen and paper" and begins to write and draw a story about horses. It is about a little pony and lots of big aggressive, fast-trotting, pushy horses - Terrible Horses. Each time the boy has an argument with his sister, he writes in his book.
Later the sister finds the book and it moves her to console and pay loving attention to him.
An interesting take on sibling rivalry.
I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.
November 13, 2024
A perfect picture book for siblings of any age.
A young boy and his sister do not always get along. They sadly use their hands instead of their words to communicate. This causes hurt feelings between them. The young boy decides to take to his room and draw. He draws the horses running and playing with one lone pony in the distance away from them.
With each fight he has with his sister the young boy retreats to his room to sketch out his feelings. Then one day he finds his book of terrible horses missing.
His sister appears with his book in hand and a smile on her face. She gives him a hug and they start to sketch together.
This is such a lovely story about sibling rivalry and communication. I know my children can definitely relate to it and I plan on having this story on our shelves for easy access on those tougher days.
A young boy and his sister do not always get along. They sadly use their hands instead of their words to communicate. This causes hurt feelings between them. The young boy decides to take to his room and draw. He draws the horses running and playing with one lone pony in the distance away from them.
With each fight he has with his sister the young boy retreats to his room to sketch out his feelings. Then one day he finds his book of terrible horses missing.
His sister appears with his book in hand and a smile on her face. She gives him a hug and they start to sketch together.
This is such a lovely story about sibling rivalry and communication. I know my children can definitely relate to it and I plan on having this story on our shelves for easy access on those tougher days.
June 7, 2024
A well-written story about fights and conflict between a big and little sibling. Younger sibling wears hearing aids and is an artist, expressing their feelings about fights with their big sister through a tale about being a pony in a world of terrible horses. Sweet reconciliation between the siblings at the end of the story.
Themes: Siblings, Fighting, Social Emotional Learning
Age range: Toddler-Early elementary
Themes: Siblings, Fighting, Social Emotional Learning
Age range: Toddler-Early elementary
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April 3, 2025I thought this picture book did a great job of capturing the unique dynamic between siblings (in this case, a boy and his older sister) as well as the frustration of feeling excluded. I also enjoyed that the main character has cochlear implants but that it's never brought up in the narrative. We need more representation like this, where those who are different aren't seen exclusively through the lens of their differences.
June 18, 2025
A brother and sister have a combative relationship. Each time they fight the brother retreats to write and draw about "terrible horses"; but in his stories, he is a pony, left behind by the horses. After a particularly bad fight, the boy loses his terrible horses book and worries what his sister will think of it if she finds it. He need not have worried.
A beautiful story of sibling rivalry, reconciliation and understanding.
A beautiful story of sibling rivalry, reconciliation and understanding.
May 2, 2024
How I love everything about this book! Not your average siblings book. This title does deal with how difficult it sometimes is between siblings. But then they discover a commonality! A heartwarming book with some of the most wonderful horse drawings I have ever seen in children's literature. A must read, must own!
May 9, 2024
Terrible Horses is about two siblings, one who appears to be hard of hearing, and their lack of communication. They argue physically, not by using their words, and the book is about the boy illustrating his feelings as horses to get them out creatively. This would be good for any sibling troubles and to show communication issues and empathy to children.
May 25, 2024
👦🏻 reviews: I feel like this book is about me and my older sister. We push and pull and we fight about petty things. We would usually compete and argue like there’s no tomorrow, but at the end of the day we patch things up because we only have each other. This awesome book is definitely about sibling rivalry and love, and it is ok if we do not see each other eye to eye. Great illustrations!
July 20, 2024
Issues about siblings, a child with hearing aids, lots of drawings and scribbles of horses. Really? I found it disappointing. I feel discouraged when it is clear from the illustrations that the younger child has hearing problems...but the story really isn't about hearing problems...but it does make the book eligible for awards to do with people with special needs. Maybe I'm jaded.
September 11, 2024
This is exactly how my younger brother and I were.
PUSH PULL HURT HIDE. We’d fight and not use our words. But the LOVE was always there, it just took us a while sometimes to appreciate our togetherness.
TERRIBLE HORSES is a heart-wrenching and heartwarming story of a boy who just wants to be with his older sister and her friends, touch her stuff, jump on her bed.
PUSH PULL HURT HIDE. We’d fight and not use our words. But the LOVE was always there, it just took us a while sometimes to appreciate our togetherness.
TERRIBLE HORSES is a heart-wrenching and heartwarming story of a boy who just wants to be with his older sister and her friends, touch her stuff, jump on her bed.
March 23, 2025
This book seems to have missed the mark. Clearly the little boy has hearing problems, but it never really (specifically) touches on that. Lots of sibling rivalry going on throughout and references to ponies/horses in his drawings. I didn't love it. Also, the ending felt very abrupt. (Diamond 25-26)
June 3, 2024
The horse drawings are lovely, but the story is confusing and overly metaphorical, and it ends abruptly. This will appeal more to adults who are recollecting their childhoods than to kids who are actively dealing with sibling rivalry and conflict.
June 23, 2024
This story made me tear up. I figured out immediately what the 'struggle to communicate' was all about and immediately knew that this was another great book to use in a classroom or as a teachable reading moment.
I hope children and families discover this book ❤️
I hope children and families discover this book ❤️
June 24, 2024
I like the book. I love how we see only his view of the sibling relationship. I also really like the story of his deafness that the words barely touch but which you can see in the pictures.
But terrible horses vs. a pony? The analogy doesn't work very well for me.
But terrible horses vs. a pony? The analogy doesn't work very well for me.
January 10, 2025
Beautiful and so heartfelt! Boy wears hearing aids and doesn’t speak. Sibling squabbles are exacerbated by communication challenges. Brother writes a book that captures his struggle, sister reads and understands. Kid-friendly language. Feels authentic.
July 24, 2025
I really liked the artwork in this book - the ponies and horses are colorful and beautiful. This book may resonate with siblings who fight sometimes and maybe can spark conversations about how to co-exist and get along better.
May 7, 2024
sibling-havers i empathize
July 8, 2024
Sibling squabbles are brought to the page and examined in their fullest, most emotional form in this gorgeously illustrated picture book.
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July 9, 2024A young sibling fights with their sister and cools off from the fights by drawing horses.
August 13, 2024
Beautiful tale of siblings who don't get along.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews