Kizzy is a girl who would love to have a pony of her own. She has pony pictures in her room, she thinks of ponies all the time, but she never expects to discover a pony snacking on donuts in her grocery store! She seizes the day and claims the pony as hers, rather than have the store owner call the authorities. Now, after sneaking her new pet - now named Donut - into her 12th-floor apartment, she has to figure out how to keep Donut a secret from the super and figure out how to gently break the news to her mother. Oh, and how to keep the grounds clean, because when Donut has to go... it's pretty stinky. Her best friend Pawel tries to talk some sense into Kizzy, but it's hard to be heard over the joyful shrieks of his younger twin sisters, who are firmly in favor of keeping Donut. 

Polly Faber has created a sweet story about a girl finding out that getting what one wishes for isn't always all it's cracked up to be. It's a light, fun, happy story with a kind characters and a sweet, snacky pony, that animal fiction fans will love. Black and white illustrations throughout up the cute factor. It's a good book to introduce chapter book readers to longer, slightly denser books. Set in the UK, Kizzy and her family are brown-skinned, Pawel and his family are Polish. Pony on the Twelfth Floor is a good fit for the Imagine Your Story Summer Reading theme this year: imagine what would happen if you discovered your dream pet in the supermarket? In the park, or walking down the street?  This could work for a book group or a series of readalouds, too.

Kizzy has wanted a horse for eleven years but she lives in the city and there are no horses there. Until the day she finds a pony in the supermarket happily gobbling up all of the donuts, that is. This is the opportunity Kizzy has been dreaming of.

She names the pony Donut and sets out to take care of her new equine friend. The only problem is that Kizzy lives on the twelfth floor of an apartment building and there’s no way her mother would let her keep him if she knew. Enlisting the help of her best friend, Pawel, Kizzy learns just how difficult it can be to hide a very hungry pony in a city.

Young readers who, like Kizzy, adore horses and dream of the day when they can adopt one of their own will delight in Donut’s adventures.

Parents of said readers will not necessarily be impressed with the lies that Kizzy tells (with very few consequences) to try to keep her new friend just a little bit longer. They may also be creeped out a little when Izzy goes to a secluded place alone with an acquaintance to see something that needs to remain a secret; this is entirely innocent but my alarm bells rang just the same.

Thankfully this is not a sad animal story. Donut spends plenty of time eating and pooping, and finds his very own happy ending.

Sarah Jennings’ illustrations are as cute as the story, with an emphasis on Donut’s rotund stomach and sometimes messy adventures.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read this book.

This book will be a fairy tale come true for its intended audience.  Many kids go through a "horse crazy" phase.  That has clearly been the experience of Kezzy in this chapter book with illustrations.  Imagine her amazement and delight when she sees a horse eating donuts in the grocery store...and even better, there is no owner in sight.  So, you can guess what Kezzy does.


Young chapter book readers who are fond of ponies will very much enjoy seeing what happens next.  They will most likely be turning the pages rapidly until they reach the very end.  What will the reader think of what happens to Donut the pony?  Hopefully, they will agree with the ending after having followed the story to get there.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title  All opinions are my own.