From Pulitzer Prize-nominated New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir, the author of the memoir Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman in Love with an Animal, comes the third book in her Once Upon a Horse series of middle-grade novels inspired by real horses and the people who love them—illustrated by Laylie Frazier

Lights . . . Camera . . . Giddyap?

Billy is a Norwegian Fjord horse—short as horses go, but with the natural star power of a Hollywood celebrity. Lori Allegra is a horse-loving seventh grader as awkward as she is tall for her age, who finds refuge from her shyness on her family farm with her best friend: Billy, the Fjord.

Their peace is shattered when Billy is “discovered” by Marlowe Narang, superstar kid actor, and given the opportunity of a horsey lifetime—to star in a film! And with that, the chance for Lori and her mom to save their struggling stables. Lori tearfully agrees to send her horse to a new life across the country on the set of Marlowe’s newest Hollywood production, a Western set in a real ghost town.

But Billy’s star turn is cut short when a mountain lion stalks the desert set and sends him fleeing into the Mojave. When word gets back to Lori, she runs away too—to find her Billy! Lost in the endless desert, as horse and girl make their way to each other, Lori and Billy both find they are not alone. Joined in their search by a cast of characters including wild donkeys, a sassy teenage cowgirl, a plucky service dog, and even the world’s biggest kid actor himself, The Star Horse is a story about finding your herd—human and horse—and along the way, finding your voice.

Once Upon a Horse series

The Flying Horse (#1)

The Jockey & Her Horse (#2), written with Raymond White Jr.

The Star Horse (#3)