About the author
One of a family of ten children, Mary Casanova grew up in St Paul, Minnesota, with parents who were “masters of benevolent neglect.” She was, she said, “always outdoors. In the winter, we had our own ice-hockey team, and in summer a ready group for playing tag off the pontoon boat. I water-skied, sailed, camped, and rode my horse everywhere. We had every kind of animal over the years, including a Shetland pony who loved to dump his least favorite riders (not me), and a killer Canada goose who protected his turf by leaving welts on our legs.” She now lives in a northern Minnesota village with her husband Charles, three dogs and two horses. She writes, travels, and shares her love of reading and writing with the children she meets.
Her books cover children of all ages, and her one horse book (so far) was selected for the Iowa Children’s Choice Book Award 2002-2003 Master List.
Finding the book
This book is very easy to find in the USA. It was not printed in the UK.
Links and sources
Mary Casanova’s website
Many thanks to Lisa Catz for the photograph.
Bibliography (horse books only)
Stealing Thunder
Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 1999, 136 pp
Scholastic Inc, pb, 1999
Libby has always wanted a horse of her own. For her, looking after her neighbour’s horse Thunder is the next best thing. She makes a terrible discovery – Thunder is being abused, Libby knows she has to rescue him. It’s difficult for Libby in a world of adults who think they know best, but Libby manages to find her own voice as she stands up for what she believes in.
