I was on the lookout for early reader books (that are not twaddle, please!) for my son when I heard about Billy and Blaze from Ambleside Online. We then decided to get the entire Billy and Blaze Collection from Beautiful Feet Books.
Today, I’ll be sharing some photos and thoughts about the book series. 
Billy and Blaze
“Billy was a little boy who ‘loved horses more than anything else in the world.’ Imagine how happy he was when he got his very own pony for his birthday! From that day on, Billy was seldom seen without his new friend, Blaze.”
This book series follows Billy and his pony Blaze on their different adventures together. Originally written in the 1930’s by Clarence William Anderson, the Billy and Blaze books are recommended for ages 5-8 (Kinder to Grade 3) and are wonderful early reader books.
Each page contains around 2-5 sentences with one full page drawing beside it.
Why We Love Billy and Blaze
There are so many things to love about the Billy and Blaze books but here are some of our personal reasons why:
- Timeless classic: Sweet, wholesome and charming stories. I love that they show you the pure friendship between the two characters and all the fun, simple adventures they have together.
- Beautiful Illustrations: The traditional black and white drawings are gorgeous. I love that they are not distracting (like a lot of children’s books today) and that they instead, complement the story very well.
- Easy to read: Great for emerging readers and something that new readers can read independently as well. I use these books for reading practice where I ask my 6 year old to read them out loud so I can check and guide him on words that are unfamiliar.
- Great for sensitive children: I have a child who is very sensitive to stories that he calls “stressful” or “scary” (basically, if the story involves someone getting lost, sick or dying). These books get his seal of approval and are some of his favorite books to read before bedtime!
But I believe that the best review can only come from the kids who these books were written for. So I’ll leave you with what my son said after spending around an hour reading through the titles one by one when they arrived: “Mommy, are you going to do a review of Billy and Blaze? Because you should. And tell people it’s very nice. You can tell them that I said it’s very nice!”
I have a feeling that these books will stay with us for years to come. 😉
Beautiful Feet Books
Beautiful Feet Books publishes and provides guides, books, and other products with a literature-rich approach. They started with history sets but they also have sets for music, character and geography.
The founder based the concept on Charlotte Mason’s approach of learning through living books. Charlotte Mason advocates the use of beautiful books instead of relying on dry textbooks. As a home educator following CM principles (I mix CM with Classical,) I am with them on this one!
See related reviews that I’ve done on their books: “D’Aulaire’s Biographies” and “Around the World in Picture Books 1 and 2”
You can get the entire set of Billy and Blaze from their website.
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Disclaimer: Beautiful Feet Books provided me with the D’Aulaire set for review. However, all opinions are unbiased and completely my own.
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RELATED POSTS:
- Year 1 Curriculum Picks for Luke (2021-2022)
- Curriculum Reviews (link to all our reviews)
- Around the World in Picture Books Part 1 and 2: Curriculum Review
- D’Aulaire Biographies from Beautiful Feet Books
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