Black Diamond and Blake Review

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Black Diamond and Blake ReviewThis story opens like a burst of horses through the gate, then quiets as a formerly indomitable racehorse faces an uncertain fate as age and injury take their toll.
Deborah Blumenthal's opening sets the stage for the book's bittersweet nostalgic tone, while captures the thrill of horseracing:
"Once there were crowds, and clinging jockeys, and horse to ride against in the razor-fine seconds it took to be first accross the finish line. Black Diamond covered the ground like a shock wave, winning races again and again."
"Razor-fine seconds..... like a shock wave...." THis is no ordinary writer, and Blumenthal writes with grace and detail, creating memorable characterizations of Black Diamond and the horse's caregivers.
Th plot turns on the indifference of Black Diamond's owner once she stops winning. A new program that teams retired horses with prison inmates prevents her expected demise, providing rehab. for the convicts and a new life for the horse. While one inmate is blase and another cruel, there's one man who truly loves for her: Blake, a young man whose only crime was stealing bread to feed his hungry family. (Quelle Miserable!) The two could very well be the poster horse and man for the program, and when Blake is released, he acts like he doesn't love Black Diamond--to dull the pain of leaving her.
There's a sentimental shampoo-commercial reunion (Black Diamond and Black actually break out "into a full-out run " towards each other and Blake "pressed his forehead against Black Diamond's quivering neck.") that's a bit over the top, but otherwise the prose is top-notch. The illustrations--all classic California/Art Nouveau nottled golds, blues, tangerine, and purple--evoke a dusky light, but almost every picture is at dusk. 'Black Diamond' is illustrated with an eye for children; namely the eye of the horse, which is overly large and expressive and conveys very human-like emotion. It's overdone and unneccesary, because kids can fill in their own emotional content, but the anthropomorphism does give the horse a Disney-like appeal. Although a small matter, the illustrations also have some continuity problems.
Overall, this is a fine book for small fry, leaning heavily towards a glossy story but with enough gritty realism for an early elementary school audience (for example, some prison guard carry guns, a few inmates look surly, and Black Diamond seems to have a very dim future). The pictures are big and pretty, although some variation in tone would have helped. The late 1920's-early 30's setting give the story a classic quality.
Note: The author provides a very interesting endnote about horse (and other animal) rescue programs, working for the mutual benefit of human and horse.
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