This is a very touching and moving book for children and their adults that is based on a true story. I rate it highly! The illustrations are warmly appealing and add resonance to the story. Lois Szymanski tells the reader about Surfer Dude, one of the Chincoteague ponies. Those who know Chincoteague may have read books like Misty of Chincoteague. For those who don't know, Chincoteague is a special place where wild ponies live. In this book, the reader watches Surfer Dude from the time he is named as a pony until he dies twenty-three years later. The depiction of his death is quite beautiful and is well incorporated in the story. The reader comes to care deeply for Surfer Dude and his family. There are several resources in the book; one about the wildlife on the island while the other is about the ponies and names and talks about many of them. I give this book a five star ***** rating, something that I do only rarely. Take a look at it. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher.

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Absolutely loved it! This sweet and charming book about a gentle, loving stallion will melt your heart. I loved this story so much and the artwork was drop-dead gorgeous. I also loved the little game at the back and the information on the herd members and animals. I highly recommend this book for all ages. 5 Stars!

This is a delightful, child friendly, romanticised version of a true story. Surfer Dude was a wild stallion who grew up and lived for twenty three years on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. This beautifully illustrated book relates his story from growing up there to being a celebrity horse who most visitors recognised. He grew up to lead his own group of mares and this story pays tribute to this much loved horse who died in 2015.

The superb combination of text and fantastic illustrations help bring the story to life, showing the landscape and wildlife in the area. Many of the images are particularly helpful in identifying the different species as well as individual ponies. The story is targetted at children aged 5 - 8 years old and will be particularly loved by any who are horse lovers. It is a lovely story and I suspect the book will be treasured by horse-loving youngsters and could encourage others to become interested in horses, too!

I requested and received a copy of this novel, via NetGalley, with no obligation. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

***This book as reviewed for Schiffer Kids via Netgalley

Surfer Dude is a beautifully illustrated children's book that tells the story of a real horse, a stallion named Surfer Dude who lived on Chincoteague. With a beautiful brown coat, pale blonde mane and tail, and a most unusual blue eye, this gentle horse became beloved of thousands who visited Chincoteague and Assateague. He was so mild-mannered that he tolerated his son staying within his herd for longer most stallions would. Like lions, stallions rarely tolerate competition, especially younger competition. Even more extraordinary, was the transition between father and son when Surfer Dude neared his death.

The artwork in this book is just wonderful. I loved the different animals drawn into each scene. At the end, there is a guide telling what each of these animals are, and another guide telling about other horses in the herd.

Though it is meant for younger readers, many of my older cubs enjoyed this book too. There are several who love horses. C’mon, who doesn't? I found the story sweet, if a little romanticised. It’s quite true that Surfer Dude was loved by many, and this is a children's book. It's allowed that. Besides, the author acknowledges this in the afterword, and gives a more factual accounting of Surfer Dude and his life, cliff notes style.

📚📚📚📚 A great gift for any youngling who loves horses

So as a non-parent, I don't typically read children's books, but when I had the opportunity to request a copy of this book, I was very excited to receive the chance to review it. Assateague Island is one of my favorite places on earth, and I have been able twice to take part in Pony Penning activities, and also go camping among the wild horses on the Maryland end of the island. Surfer Dude was legendary, and I remember how sad I was to learn of his passing. I later heard stories of how the members of his horse family behaved atypically prior to his passing to "say goodbye." This is a children's book and the story is romanticized, as the author acknowledges, but it is also based on the real facts concerning Surfer Dude's life as the most famous Chincoteague stallion. The story warmed my heart and made me cry as I remembered him and I think your children will like and learn from this book as well. The illustrations are lovely and really convey the beauty of the Chincoteague herd, and the attention to detail is especially noteworthy. If the Assateague herd is special to you, or you have fond memories of Pony Pennings past, buy this book for a child in your life to pass along the magic (along with the Misty of Chincoteague books, of course) or keep it on the shelf for yourself and enjoy the lovely illustrations.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely and meaningful book, a great story for horse lovers everywhere!!!

A wonderfully written book based on the horses found in Chincoteague. Surfer Dude is a special horse that positively affected those that are from or visit this region of the United States. Written especially for children in grades 3-5, readers will enjoy this heart-warming story. It will motivate them to want to visit the setting of this book. The illustrations are beautiful paintings on canvas.

Not a review. Unfortunately, I cannot view the book due to its availability in acsm format.

This romanticized story of Surfer Dude, a beloved Chincoteague stallion, is sure to appeal to young horse lovers. It describes the annual round up and the life of the herd in a way that's easy for young readers to understand. The accompanying illustrations are very well done and serve to bring the story to life.

Along the shores of Maryland and Virginia lies Assateague Island, a barrier island of salt marshes and sand dunes, home to hundreds of types of birds and one type of feral pony. The birds have lived there for millennia, the ponies for about five centuries. They are known as Assateague or Chincoteague ponies. Birds flock to the island and it's no mystery how they arrived, but how the ponies got there is rife with speculation. Some say the ponies were survivors of Spanish ship wrecks in the 15th century who managed to swim to shore to safety. Others believe they were let loose on the island by settlers in the 17th century. The beginning of their story is lost in the mists of history, but it continues on to today.

The ponies were brought to the attention of the world by Marguerite Henry's beloved classic, "Misty of Chincoteague." Henry told the story of the annual Pony Penning Day, which started in 1924 as a way to raise money for the Chincoteague Fire Department. The fire department owns the ponies and Pony Penning Day has become a hugely popular event. The ponies are rounded up off the island and swim a short distance to the mainland, where they are penned up, and then each pony is assessed whether to return it to the herd or sell it in the pony auction. As the island can support only 300 ponies, reducing the size of the herd is very important in maintaining its well-being, so young stock that is not chosen for breeding is sold.

Each pony is known and named. Each is a distinct individual, and many have become known and loved by the people who monitor and manage them, and the thousands of visitors who come to the Pony Penning event annually. Occasionally one will achieve almost a super-star status, a celebrity who everyone knows. The beautiful stallion, Surfer Dude, was such a horse. Author Lois Syzmanski has written a delightful book to tell his tale.

Surfer Dude was a chestnut with a flowing golden mane and tail, four white feet and a blaze, and a bright blue eye, whose beauty and personality captured the attention of the ponies' caretakers, and they decided to keep him. When he grew old enough, he gathered his own herd of mares and soon there were little Surfer Dude foals scampering through the dunes and marshes. Through them Surfer Dude lives on.
Each year of his life, Surfer Dude made the swim to the mainland. He dazzled the crowds with his looks and charm and he eventually had thousands of fans. He was much loved by the ponies' caretakers, too. Lois Syzmanski has helped to keep his memory alive with her wonderful book, "Surfer Dude." From his birth in an island meadow to his passing in old age (with a remarkable ending), it is a sweet and loving tribute to a most beloved pony. Like "Misty of Chincoteague", this story will appeal to all generations of horse and especially Chincoteague pony lovers.

The book is charmingly illustrated with paintings by artist Linda Kantjsa of the ponies and native wildlife. Glossaries describe the individual ponies and birds and animals. There is also a Facebook page, I Love Chincoteague Ponies, with lots of photos and conversation.

And of course, if you are a horse lover, you can never see enough horse pictures or read enough horse books. Don't stop at Surfer Dude! Ms. Szymanski has many more books about the Chincoteague ponies that are just waiting for you to read them.

As a child I loved reading Misty of Chincoteague and other books by Marguerite Henry. When I read this story, it brought back those memories. This story is for a younger audience than these other ones and therefore the story is a bit romanticized, as the author discusses in the afterward, but it describes the situation on Assateague Island well for younger children.

Surfer Dude is a beautiful foal with one blue and one brown eye. The daughter of one of the Cowboys falls in love with him and names him. The story follows his life as he grows, gets expelled from the herd, finds friends during his bachelor life, develops his own herd, and finally dies with his son taking over his herd. There is descriptions of the yearly round up, swim to Chincoteague, horse auctions and more. This is all done in a child friendly way. At the end of the book there are short descriptions of other horses mentioned in the story as well as animals that live on the islands. This story is based on a true animal which is also nice. I absolutely loved the illustrations. They were beautiful water colour pictures that depicted very realistic horses, colts, foals, mares and stallions. If you have a child that loves horses, then pick up this book. It would also be a good one to teach about eco-systems.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy I received in exchange for an honest review.

On the one hand, I am clearly not the target audience for this book, as it is mostly a children's picture book. On the other hand, if there were a secondary audience for this type of book (and there is) I would be part of it.

I loved Marguerite Henry as a child, I even have a copy of Misty of Chincotegue signed by Maureen Beebe from a trip we took to Assateague when I was a teenager, so while I don't usually request children's books, I clicked on this one, hoping to recapture the magic of those stories.

Unfortunately I was largely disappointed. The illustrations (clearly paintings) were charming, but the story itself was not well written. It does mention in the afterword that the events were romanticized and that is very true, but that is not the main problem. The writing style is a bit of a mess between infodump and unlikely anthropomorphisms.

The true target audience (very young children) probably won't mind, though the parents reading to them may struggle to find natural pauses in the story to catch their breath. Luckily it is short enough, and the paintings distracting enough that you don't have time to truly be angry at the poor storytelling, just a bit wistful that it wasn't done better.

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review

To be honest, this is the time of horse book that I normally hate. There is a bit too much romanticism to be honest, and the ending sequence is bit too sugary.
Yet, and it is a big yet.
Yet, this is actually pretty good. Part of this is the afterword where Szymanski acknowledges that the story is romanticized This furthered not only by a summary of actual facts but also a page identifying the other horses, each with a brief biography. There is even detail about other animals on the island with a challenge presented to find them in the illustrations. These last few pages carry the book from a 3 or 4-star book to a 4 or 5.
The basic story is that of Surfer Dude, a stallion on the island of Assateague. He was popular among residents and tourists because of his good looks. His life is a little atypical, in particular in regards to one of his sons.
The artwork is quite lovely and fits the story quite well. The animals are well drawn, and the ponies look like ponies as opposed to well-groomed thoroughbreds. It is quite easy to imagine prints of the illustrations on a wall.
Despite the sometimes-romanticized tone, Szymanski doesn’t shy away from horse herd behavior, in particular the rejection of older colts by stallions.

An excellent story that was hilarious and excellently drawn. Great job.