Murray the Race Horse — Gavin Puckett

Hilarious underdog story (about a horse) named Murray.

Murray the horse dreams of winning big races just like the rest of his family, but he has one problem - he's just not that fast! When horse Ned Plumb twists his ankle at the start line, his jockey spots Murray in the crowd and says, "Fancy a race?" Murray finally gets his chance to shine and beat the neigh-sayers with a rather unusual race technique...

Written in verse, the accessible writing in Murray the Race Horse will charm boys and girls age 7-11 (and horse-lovers of all ages), and is complemented by Tor Freeman's hilarious illustrations, and has a great message about believing in yourself and following your dreams.

This series is a great step up from picture books - for readers who want to build their confidence, but are not quite ready for chapter books.