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Greg Vigdor's Reviews > Coal Dust and Dreams: The Story of a Girl and Her Pit Pony in the Coal Mines of Wales
Coal Dust and Dreams: The Story of a Girl and Her Pit Pony in the Coal Mines of Wales
by
by
Enjoyable and Educational
An enjoyable tale about a family- and a horse- working in the coal mines in Wales. I was expecting a grim tale and thought the book about to go there every time a miner coughed or the mine shaft shook. But it proved to be a far more upbeat book than I imagined possible.
The central character is a young girl who finds herself working in the mines after her father is injured. His job is to guide a horse that pulls coal through the dark, dangerous and rat filled mine corridors. She is the only one who can get the horse to get back to work and be productive after his injuries, though it is illegal for her to be working in the mine. She and the horse deal with many challenges throughout the book- but far be it from me to be a spoiler of the details.
My surprise was I learned a slice of history: the role of horses in mining. As the book went on, this historic niche expanded beyond the timeline of the immediate story to a much longer historical perspective on the topic, and this was appreciated.
The characters were well developed, and likable. Even some of the antagonists. The setting was described well, and the book was very readable. I didn’t think a bleak coal mine would be the setting for an uplifting book. Congratulations on a well written, researched and thoughtful book.
An enjoyable tale about a family- and a horse- working in the coal mines in Wales. I was expecting a grim tale and thought the book about to go there every time a miner coughed or the mine shaft shook. But it proved to be a far more upbeat book than I imagined possible.
The central character is a young girl who finds herself working in the mines after her father is injured. His job is to guide a horse that pulls coal through the dark, dangerous and rat filled mine corridors. She is the only one who can get the horse to get back to work and be productive after his injuries, though it is illegal for her to be working in the mine. She and the horse deal with many challenges throughout the book- but far be it from me to be a spoiler of the details.
My surprise was I learned a slice of history: the role of horses in mining. As the book went on, this historic niche expanded beyond the timeline of the immediate story to a much longer historical perspective on the topic, and this was appreciated.
The characters were well developed, and likable. Even some of the antagonists. The setting was described well, and the book was very readable. I didn’t think a bleak coal mine would be the setting for an uplifting book. Congratulations on a well written, researched and thoughtful book.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
February 12, 2025
– Shelved
