''The Fire Pony'' is a children's novel written by

Rodman Philbrick Rodman Philbrick (born January 22, 1951) is an American writer of novels for adults and children. He has written popular children's books such as ''Freak the Mighty'', Max the Mighty, The Last Book on Earth and has written other mysteries and thr ...

, first published in the United States in 1996 by

Blue Sky Press Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

. It is titled ''Fire Pony'' in the UK, where it was first published in 2005 by

Usborne Publishing Usborne Publishing, often called Usborne Books, is a British publisher of children's books. Founded by Peter Usborne in 1973, Usborne Publishing uses an in-house team of writers, editors and designers. One of its sales channels is Usborne Books ...

Plot summary

11-year-old Roy and his big brother, Joe, are on the run from the authorities when they fetch up at the Bar None ranch. Their shared passion for horses soon wins them great respect, and Roy is offered the chance of a lifetime, to break in a wild pony that runs like the desert wind. He is even promised that if he can ride Lady Luck, he can keep her – a dream come true. But Roy knows that Joe has a dangerous secret... a dark obsession that could explode at any time and send Roy's dream, and their whole world, up in smoke.

List of characters

*Roy: The protagonist and narrator *Joe-Dilly: Roy's older "brother", who loves horses but has a dark obsession *Nick Jessup: Owner of Bar None ranch *Rick Valdez: Jessup's foreman, who looks Mexican but was born on the ranch *Mr. Molton T. Mullins: A rider that Roy races against, who owns a ranch that borders the Bar None ranch

The horses

*Lady Luck: A horse that Roy trains and rides in a race *Showdown: A crazy horse which Joe must train *Pit Stop: Mr. Jessup's horse

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Pony 1996 American novels American children's novels Children's novels about horses 1996 children's books Blue Sky Press books