It’s Thursday 2nd October and that means this beautiful book is finally out in the world! The Pony Whisperer is the fourth and final book in The Starlight Stables Gang series and *whisper* it’s the one I’m most proud of, because it nearly never happened!
Back in 2022, when I signed on to The Starlight Stables Gang, the publisher, Puffin, only commissioned three books. We knew right from the start there would be four core characters in the Gang, so even in the early days, Esme and I were muttering about doing a fourth. The Starlight Stables Gang (starring Summer) was published in March 2023. Jessie and the Star Rider followed in August the same year, and Ellie and the Pony Camp Mystery hit the shelves in February 2024. And the publisher still hadn’t decided whether to do a fourth book! It wasn’t until June 2024 that we finally got the go-ahead to tell Daniel’s story.
Daniel is the eldest of the Gang and although he’s not usually the one in charge (Ellie sees to that!) he’s the one most used to having a lot of responsibility. His dad is in prison for theft, and that’s been super-hard for Daniel, having to come to terms with a lot of things over the time his dad is away. He has five younger siblings, and they all come with their own challenges and strong personalities – and his mum is LOVELY but also kind of drowning in worry over money and organisation. Daniel helps out a lot at home, doing the laundry, helping put the little ones to bed, and so on. Going to Starlight is his escape, and being around horses helps him feel calmer and happier. He also really appreciates the girls in the gang who are fiercely protective of him and very encouraging.
In The Pony Whisperer, Daniel happens across a horse being mistreated, and that makes him very angry. Anger is something he struggles with, and his ten-year-old brother Alfie is having similar problems – only Alfie is at risk of being excluded from school because of his behaviour. Mum, who usually holds the family together, comes down with bronchitis and has to take time off work, which makes both her and Daniel very worried because without work she has no money, and that can make for a whole group of hungry kids.
Daniel, like many boys, worries about being seen to be weak if he asks for help, so he doesn’t share his problems with his friends until things start to get very bad indeed. But if we know anything about the Gang by now, it’s that they are BRILLIANT at supporting each other through tough times. The story takes us right up to Christmas, which was a really fun time to write about.
Esme and I were thrilled to be invited to do a joint event at Bath Children’s Literature Festival last Saturday – and they had early copies of The Pony Whisperer on sale! So many lovely people came to get their books signed afterwards. It was a real privilege to meet the fans of the series – and of Esme!
We had some extra help on the research for this book from Leanne at the wonderful Children Heard And Seen charity, which supports families impacted by having a parent in prison. Nobody knows exactly how many children are impacted by having a parent in prison because there isn’t a national list, but it’s estimated it could be around 200,000 children across the UK. That’s a lot of young people affected, and many of them don’t feel able to talk about it. Leanne explained how Daniel might be feeling, and – very importantly – how the prison system works: where Daniel’s dad might be, how he might communicate with his family, and what kind of relationship they might be able to have.
I’m also indebted to my wonderful parents, Sue and Philip Kenrick, who give me unwavering support in my writing career. This can be anything from extra child care to proof-reading ALL my books! Thanks, Mum and Dad – you’re the best 🙂
Esme and I really hope our readers love the final instalment in the SSG series! (And if you do, please leave us a review somewhere online, like Amazon, which helps other readers find our books!)
Jo Cotterill 