Pony on the Twelfth Floor – Polly Faber

Illustrations – Sarah Jennings

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.

Once Upon a Blurb

Kizzy has always wanted a pony of her own. So when she finds a pony snacking on donuts in the grocery store, she instantly knows that she must have him – and what to name him. But there’s just one small problem: it’s not easy to hide a pony in an apartment complex!

Enlisting the help of her best friend, Pawel, Kizzy manages to keep Donut fed, ride him around the park, and even hide him in her school’s garden. But Kizzy is finding it harder and harder to keep Donut a secret. Will she be able to give him up if it means finding him a better home? A heartwarming story about following your dreams – no matter how far-fetched they seem.