The Little White Horse

by Elizabeth Goudge

Maria Merryweather becomes an orphan at age 13, upon her father's death in 1842. She is sent to the Moonacre Manor somewhere in the west of England, accompanied by her governess Miss Heliotrope and dog Wiggins. There she finds herself in a world out of time. Her cousin and guardian Sir Benjamin Merryweather is one of the "sun" Merryweathers, and she loves him right away, as sun and moon Merryweathers do. Maria discovers that there is an ancient mystery about the founding of the estate.  An ancient wrong needs to be righted, and to do that, the Merryweathers will have to sacrifice their pride.
Audience
Children will love this more than adults.  It's for 3-5th graders.  There is some British speak in there that younger Americans might need help with.

Why I Love This Book

1) The story is intriguing.  It took me almost as long as Maria to put together the mystery
2) It has a strong moral center-right and wrong are very clear
3) I found the characters to be endearing

Cautions

1) This book is unashamedly Christian

2) The characters are a little flat.  Nice and funny, but flat

3) This book is very cheesy.  It made me happy though.

4) 'The Secret of Moonacre' based on this book, is different.  Some of the story is the same, but most of the characters are very different.