Having for years faithfully followed all the fantastic feats of the famous black stallion and his owner-rider, Alec Ramsey, we find it difficult to believe that Alec would be careless enough to let his $100,000 horse-barn burn to the ground the very night he discovers his insurance on said barn has lapsed. Be that as it may, Mr. Farley uses it [in "The Black Stallion's Courage"] as an excuse (as if he needed one) to let the Black run again to glory…. Marjorie Burger,...

["The Black Stallion and Satan" is a] nicker-a-page thriller, and all Black Stallion fans had best start looking for a quiet afternoon when they can let their favorite horse breathe fire down their necks…. The crescendo of final action, as well as the chain of physical and emotional twists throughout, make the implausibilities of the story fade magically away and help the lessons in responsibility to be painlessly taught.

Walter Farley has varied his plot in ["The Horse Tamer"]…. The Black Stallion's trainer tells a story about the experiences of his older brother as a horse-tamer before the days of horseless carriages. Negligible story; stereotyped characters; poor format. Practical psychology involved in taming and training difficult horses and a plea for kindness comprise a major portion of the book. Allie Beth Martin, "Junior High: 'The House Tamer'," i...

I am overwhelmingly prejudiced in favor of horseflesh, and I must admit to enjoying [The Black Stallion's Ghost] immensely. It opens with a stunning description of an exhibition of dressage and proceeds through a series of genuinely horrifying adventures in the Everglades involving a fetish called the Kovi. The Black Stallion is clever, brave, and good-looking, and as far as I can judge, honest, reverent, and clean…. [In] his artless horsey way he seems to me to carry on the satisfactory tradi...

A regular thriller, honest in its use of Hawaiian sports and possible submarine hideaways, ["Larry and the Undersea Raider"] begins with surfboard riding so vividly reported that it makes the muscles ache as well as the nerves tingle…. [Larry decides] that surfboard riding is the king of sports and easy to do, and [learns] the fallaciousness of that second statement, all before the opening chapters are over. They introduce him to a handsome Hawaiian aristocrat of his own age…. [S...

[The title character of "The Great Dane Thor"] is the pet of a writer who lives an isolated life in the country with his wife and son, Lars. A solitary boy whose friends are woodland creatures, Lars dreads the undisciplined strength of the Dane—until poachers' guns are aimed at the wild-running dog. In that violent, deadly climax, father and son find their true relationship to each other and to Thor. Mr. Farley is concerned with spelling out the inner conflicts of his characters&...

[In "Son of the Black Stallion"] we meet the foal of the Black Stallion which, sent to Alec Ramsay by the Sheikh Abu Ja Kub ben Ishak, reveals the same savage tendencies his sire exhibited. At the very outset the colt presents a problem to Henry Dailey, erstwhile trainer of the Black. Appropriately named Satan, he turns Dailey against him by throwing and injuring Alec during a training session…. This and many other problems faced Alec before he could race Satan—but race him he di...

In each Farley stallion story, the material has become more adult, and the style more tense and emotional. The plots are all about the same…. ["The Black Stallion Revolts" is] a thriller, packed with excitement and violence, dominated by the idea of Alec's legendary power over his beloved wild horse. Some readers of under twelve would have bad dreams after such fare, but now most of the Farley fans are over twelve, and can take it. A boy wanted for murder wins a race (and what a ...

["The Black Stallion Mystery" is] a rather sinister story of revenge and the resurrection of a horse. This book rounds out Walter Farley's baker's dozen of very readable horse stories, but the melodrama is overdone. This reader hopes Mr. Farley's next volume will be more cheerful. Marjorie Burger, "Mission to Spain: 'The Black Stallion Mystery'," in The New York Times Book Review (© 1957 by The New York Times Company; reprint...

["The Island Stallion"] is the first of a series of stories about wild horses in a lost valley on a little-known Caribbean island. That is enough to make most young people reach for it, and they won't put it back on the shelf until they have heard the last hoofbeat. (p. 40) Steve's adventures with Flame, and what Pitch found in the subterranean Spanish fortress make exciting reading.

Your old friend, Alec Ramsay, who must be quite a man by now, is curious about Bonfire, the second son of Black Stallion [in "The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt"]. A casual visit to watch the three-year-old in night harness racing on Long Island involves Alec in Bonfire's problems, and leads us deep into the excitements, dangers and techniques of harness racing…. [The Hambletonian] is described with thrilling reality and, of course, Bonfire wins…. [Farley's] nin...

When Walter Farley brews a mixture of boy, horses, mysterious island, and Spanish treasure, he has fare irresistible to 10-14-year-old readers: "The Island Stallion" will be just as popular as his "Black Stallion" tales. Since childhood Steve Duncan has longed for a horse. He goes with his archaeologist friend Pitch, to a lonely Caribbean island because he hears there are wild horses, descendants of those left by Spanish Conquistadores, for anyone to capture…. How Steve wi...

For the boy in search of a wartime melodrama ["Larry and the Undersea Raider"] is just about as up to date as it is possible to find. Its time is the late Fall of 1941, its setting Hawaii, where Larry Wilson, visiting his father, an American naval officer, is learning to ride a surf board…. Obviously this isn't a book to improve the mind, but it can certainly be recommended for a couple of hours of vicarious suspense and hair-raising adventure of contemporary flavor.

It is easy to see why Walter Farley is such a favorite with boys and girls everywhere. This enthralling book [The Black Stallion and Satan] has in it a real knowledge and love of horses, action, courage and suspense woven into a perfectly credible story that can be read independently of the earlier books. It will, of course, be especially welcomed by children who already know the famous black stallion and his son, Satan. Jennie D. Lindquist, "Early Fall Booklist: 'The Black Stalli...

The atmosphere of the paddock is so vividly re-created [in The Black Stallion's Filly] that I found myself adding sugar lumps to my grocery list against the chance that I might run across a stray horse or two before the day was out. Mr. Farley knows his field well and he tells a good, swift story. Margaret Ford Kieran, "New Books for Children: 'The Black Stallion's Filly'," in The Atlantic Monthly (copyright © 1952, by The Atlantic Monthly Compan...