Custer

The author-illustrator of Cloudy here presents a gentle, fact-based tale of friendship and selfhood. Custer is a colt, the son of the finest stallion in the county. But he has no ambition to rise to his heritage, preferring instead to roam the countryside with the cattle--``he thought he was a cow, and he had been very happy being a cow and didn't want to be a horse at all.'' When he's sold to a riding school, he languishes, pining for his bovine companions. Even after he is taken to live on a seaside farm, Custer feels no sense of belonging. But the colt's life changes when he befriends Minto, a wild mare brought to the farm. Through their growing friendship, the terrified mare learns to trust others and Custer learns to run free. In the process, he finds his identity as a proud stallion. The story of the real-life horses is told in a direct and affecting style, but the book's great strength is King's sweeping artwork, which chronicles Custer's transformation from a fat, listless colt to a magnificent stallion. Particularly noteworthy is the chromatic shift from the dull grays and browns of Custer's early life to the pastel hues of his first wild run at dawn. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)