Come on, Seabiscuit! by Ralph Moody

Master storyteller Ralph Moody tells the thrilling story of a plucky horse who refused to quit, a down-on-his-luck jockey who didn’t let horrendous accidents keep him out of the saddle, and a taciturn trainer who brought out the best in both. During the Great Depression, Seabiscuit captured the hearts of Americans from the streets to the White House, winning more money than any horse at that time and shattering speed records across the country. In this real-life story Moody captures the hoof-pounding excitement of the explosive early races to an unforgettable showdown with the feared Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Moving and inspirational, Come on Seabiscuit! is a reminder of the qualities that make a real American champion. (http://www.amazon.com/Come-Seabiscuit-Ralph-Moody/dp/0803282877)

Ages: 9+

Positive elements:
Seabiscuit is a very intelligent horse, and is very eager to please.  He responds and tries to obey his jockey and trainer every time.  In return, his jockey, owners, and trainer take very good care of him.  Every time Seabicuit is injured, his trainer takes very good care of him, and has him healed in a matter of weeks (sometimes even days).  Seabiscuit's owner, Mr. Howard, always puts Seabiscuit's well-being above his money winning possibilities.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Howard love Seabiscuit and take very good care of him. 

Spiritual content:
There is a lot of reference to the 'Sun Beau jinx'.  Sun Beau was the highest money winning race horse in history, and every time Seabiscuit tried to break Sun Beau's record, he was injured. 

Sexual content:
There is reference to horse breeding. 

Violent content:
As a racehorse, Seabiscuit gets injured quite a bit.  Each injury is described and explained, but none of it is graphic.  Seabiscuit's jockey, Red, while riding another horse, is injured severely.  His leg is shattered and just like Seabiscuit's injuries, it is explained.  None of it is graphic. 

Drug and alcohol content:
None.

Crude or profane language:
None.

Other negative elements:
Newspapers and railbirds accuse Seabiscuit's trainer, Tom, of tricking them by training Seabiscuit when none of them are watching.  Tom explains, however, that he was only trying to trick Seabiscuit into training harder.

Conclusion:
This is actually a better book than I thought it would be.  It's considered a 'classic' and immediately, that put thoughts of dull and boring stories into my head.  But from the very first line it had me hooked.  It's very intriuging (for a horse-lover) and is really clean.  As you can see, there is no profanity, sexuality, or drug/alcohol content.  I really, really liked this book and will definitely be reading it again. 

Happy reading!
~Thalia