My Champion Susan Carnes Secure Transaction or call toll free 1(800)247-6553 Price: $22.95 Shipping & Handling Rates Shipping and Handling Rates ------------------- Standard - $4.50 + $1.00/item Ground - $6.00 + $1.00/item 2nd Day - $14.00 + $5.00/item 1st Day - $35.00 + $10.00/item INTL. FC - $12.00 per item INTL. PM - $26.00 per item Paperback | 48 pages ISBN: 978-0-9718600-7-0

Summary

“We just aren’t good enough, Star,” Tess grumbles to the big black workhorse she rides. She doesn’t say out loud what she really means-“if only I had a better horse to ride.” Tess, Star and Rusty the dog live at Ramshackle Farm. Tess is envious of the neighbors who have elegant new homes and prizewinning horses. An adventuresome ten year old, Tess rides Star along a secret trail behind their old island farm to Spring Water Pool, where they make a discovery! Watching bubbles dance with reflections, they realize her daydreams magically appear in the pool waters. While Tess dreams she rides champion horses, Star watches sadly. Star is older and wiser then Tess, and does not need to win contests of speed, style or grace. His one dream is to win her heart. In the spring, Tess and Star venture along a stream outlet that takes them to Driftwood Cove. Tess discovers her own creativity and is transformed by delight with what she can do with Star’s help. In this “School of the Wild”, watched over by an eagle, they create a dream home by the ocean out of driftwood and castaway treasures. On a blustery fall day, Tess, Rusty, and Star are puzzled by a vision from olden times reflected in Spring Water Pool. Star sees his proud ancestry and he is stunned by the realization. That day Tess rides her plow horse out to challenge the storm and the sea in a life and death contest only a champion could win. Winter brings the seasons full circle, but now Star and Tess are secure with their own unique identities, “good enough” just being themselves. My Champion is a story every child who has wished upon a star or built castles in the sand understands. Lavish illustrations, and an audio tape performed by master story teller Ernest Pugh, create a book all ages will treasure. Set on an island in the Pacific Northwest, this picture book catches the spirits of the wind and the sea, the power of dreams, and the mystery of the tides of the moon.

About the Author

Susan Carnes grew up on a northern Wisconsin dairy farm, riding horses and exploring the wilderness. Her first art show was at age nine. She received a B.S from Iowa State University, married and co-managed a thousand acre cattle and horse ranch overlooking the south shore of Lake Superior. While raising three sons, she obtained two Master’s degrees in art and counseling and worked in school and hospital settings in the Duluth/Superior area. Later, Susan worked as a school counselor and artist in Oregon, and then moved to Washington’s San Juan Island where she found a wilderness of amazing beauty reminiscent of her childhood. As a 4-H Coordinator, she helped showcase the achievements of children. Susan created My Champion out of pieces of her life. She painted images of the wilderness in all its power and majesty while telling of a little girl who learned to appreciate what she had.