A Horse Called Now
Ruth Doyle and Alexandra Finkeldey
Nosy Crow


Now, the white horse stands in a field enjoying the sights and sounds of the natural world: buds bursting forth, dragonflies dancing, the singing of the birds, the chattering of the crickets. Suddenly her peace is disturbed by a mother rabbit and her offspring, fearful of being chased by a fox. Then come Hen and her chicks, terrified by the possibility that the swooping bird is Magpie after her little ones. Sheep and her lambs are worried about New Dog, imagining him to be wild like a wolf.

In turn, Now allays each of their fears and then there comes a loud BANG! of thunder and down comes heavy rain.


Calmly, Now leads all the animals to shelter inside a barn but other creatures are already there so out they all dash leaving the horse to investigate. What she learns is then passed on to her fearful friends outside and having seen Fox, Magpie and New Dog for themselves

and listened to Now’s words of wisdom, ”When I am afraid, I breathe in … and out … and let the feelings come … and then let go.Nothing lasts forever”, they realise that the creatures they so feared are not as scary as they’d imagined.


Ruth Doyle’s sensitively written text is reassuring and full of warmth; she has clearly chosen every word with great care and Alexandra Finkeldey’s rustic illustrations portray the fearfulness and subsequent relief of the animals very effectively.


We’re all beset by fears from time to time but young children may find themselves unable to cope: reading this story with a supportive adult offers an opportunity for opening up about their own worries and a good starting point for talking about living in the moment.