Pickles for Christmas

​OH NO! PICKLES IS FOR SALE! Matthew loves ponies. All ponies. But when he starts riding Pickles in his weekly lessons, the two become best friends. When Matthew learns that Pickles is for sale, he is devastated. He knows his parents will never buy him a pony. What will he do without Pickles? More importantly, what will Pickles do without him? Matthew has to make sure that Pickles gets all the love he deserves. This story about a pony and a boy captures the sweet longing of loving something that is just out of reach. . . . Or is it?

Kathy Simmers always wanted to live on a farm with horses. When she was twelve years old, she started taking riding lessons. At nineteen she bought her first horse. It seemed like she was well on her way, but life doesn’t always go in a straight line. Though Kathy faced many obstacles she never gave up on her dream. Today Kathy & her husband live on a farm in North Carolina with horses, llamas, a small herd of goats, cats, a dog, and some chickens. Kathy’s journey is the inspiration for her stories. The girl with the long blonde hair is her daughter and the true story that Jump the Moon is based on unfolded before her eyes. Living it was initially exciting, at times heartbreaking and ultimately one of the most inspiring experiences she has ever known. 

Marjorie Van Heerdan was three months old the first time she "rode" a horse. Her best friend as a child was her horse, Billie Boy. She grew up on a farm on the southernmost tip of Africa, where she drew what she saw around her: animals and people and dragons and monsters and fairies. Today they appear in her more than 120 children's books. Her award-winning work has been translated into thirty-five languages and has been published in Africa, England, Europe, the United States, China, and Malaysia. 

• IBPA Silver AwardWinner 2025