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.

Pony on the Twelfth Floor by [Polly Faber, Sarah Jennings]What would you do if you wanted a pony so much? Then you found one at the supermarket? This was Kizzy. She found the pony in the donut section and knew they needed to be together. How would she keep it a secret in her apartment, though? With the help of her best friend, Pawel, she was able to feed, ride and hide him. What will she do as the pony becomes harder to keep.

This is such a good story about dreams, having them and following them even if they seem to be out of reach. I could see how young readers would enjoy this book however, as a parent who wanted her children to tell the truth, I do not know if I would want this to become a favorite. I also felt uneasy when she went some places, with a friend, that it may have been better for them to avoid.

Putting these issues aside, the story is cute and the illustrations are bright and inviting. 

I was given this book by NetGalley and Candlewick Press in exchange for my honest review.

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.

Kizzy never expected to adopt her first pony from a supermarket. But she found one there anyways. And in the donut aisle, nonetheless. Unfortunately, ponies don’t belong in the twelfth-floor of apartment buildings. That doesn’t stop her from trying anyways. She and her friend Pawel do everything they can to keep her pony, Donut, safe from prying eyes and suspicious adults. They feed him. Care for him. Hide him. And even try to find his forever home, wherever that is. Join Kizzy as she discovers the wonders and challenges of pony-ownership in an urban setting.

Kizzy lies to almost everyone in her desperate attempt to hang on to Donut. Pawel, her friend, and Pawel’s siblings all know. But she lies to her mom about missing lunch money. She lies to their landlord about the real reason she’s cleaning the lobby. They lie to Pawel’s GranPam about why they keep hanging out in the shed. Kizzy even lies to Pawel, her best friend who is sticking with her to the end.

To Kizzy’s credit, she does try to turn Donut into animal control as a stray. But the gal behind the counter talks way too fast, thinks that Kizzy is talking about a dog, and closes the counter before Kizzy can explain that it really is a pony.

Ultimately, Kizzy’s deceit exacerbates the situation, causing it to funnel out of control. She gets suspended and almost gets her family evicted. While I appreciated some sense of consequence, Kizzy mostly shrugs it off and just gets a “tongue-lashing” in the end. Lying was presented as if Kizzy had no other choice but to deceive everyone in her world.

Kizzy starts cleaning for her landlord, Mr. Newman, for some pony-food money. During one of her cleaning sessions, Mr. Newman, she asks Mr. Newman if he likes pets. He doesn’t. But after a pause, he mentions that there is one animal he likes – bees. He’s an amateur beekeeper. He invites Kizzy to go with him to the top of the building into a restricted area that is always locked. 
“Maybe you’d like to see my animals? You can’t tell anyone else about them, though.”
“Sure, I can keep a secret!” Kizzy says.
There is nothing about this situation that is ok. “Secrets” is a technique frequently used by child abusers. Furthermore, most child abuse happens by adults who know the child. Did something happen in this instance? No. Is wandering around locked corridors with a landlord something we should encourage? No.

With fast pacing, ridiculous situations, wonderful illustrations, and one hungry pony, this is sure to hold your reader’s attention. Pop culture references are kept to a minimum. The text is engaging. The jokes are tasteful. And the pony’s personality is straight-up adorable. Overall, I found this one incredibly entertaining. It has a lot of things going for it.

This is an incredibly funny book. Kizzy just gets into more and more of a mess. And Donut, the pony, is one of the cutest characters I’ve read in a while. The relationship between him and Kizzy is surprisingly touching. From a pure plot standpoint, this is ideal for early middle grade. 

Unfortunately, there are a few concerns that were a bit difficult to swallow. First, Kizzy lies to just about everyone to keep what she wants – a pony. It gets her into a bit of a mess, but I didn’t enjoy how easy it was to lie. Second, there is no sense that Kizzy learned her lesson. In the end, she got what she wanted. A pony. Well, technically three ponies and a horse. And now they live on a farm, but you get what I mean. Third, she lets her landlord lead her to an area behind a locked door alone. This is not a situation that I want to encourage.

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.