I was looking at the description of the book Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse. All it says is “Title has strikethrough on “badly drawn.” Is this all that T. L. McBeth’s book is? Just a book with the words “badly drawn” with a slash trough it? It does not even mention the fact that “badly drawn” is replaced with a red, capitalized BEAUTIFUL! It does not mention that Randy tells the story or the fact that Randy is well, less than a traditional looking horse (Randy is the representation of what a good child artist would do). It does not mention that Randy learns that they are beautiful; that to be yourself is the way to go.
You might say that “ignorance is bliss” (Randy is proud of who they are until it is pointed out that well, they might not be “beautiful” after all), but that is not true. Randy knows the truth: no matter what they look like (a cartoon, big eyed brown horse) you are a lean muscular thoroughbred.
I am glad I did not read this description before picking up the book. What makes me enjoy this book, is that Randy was not “normal.” I had no allusions to what I was getting into. The cover tells you almost all you need to know about the illustrations and the tone of the book. But like the story there is more to them. This is a pleasant book. It might not become a classic, but it is worth the attempt to make it so. And if you like Randy #1 there is a second book this summer, Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse – and Dandy, Too!
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