The book entitled ‘Bright Star’ by a children’s author Louise Poole tells a story of a close and sincere friendship of a little girl and a pony. She was inspired to write this book after visiting Shropshire with her little daughter. The girl showed a remarkable interest in the grazing horses and asked about their origins. After returning home, Louise began doing her research on the Botai culture. It is well-known that it was during this period that people first tamed horses and that this historic event took place in Kazakhstan.
“This intrigued me and I felt oh do I do a little bit more research and then a little story started to come into my mind and I’ve started researching Kazakhstan, the tamed ponies, where they came from, how they evolved, and then I started looking at the nature of Kazakhstan, the people,” shared the writer.
The book’s protagonists are 12-year-old Raushan and a pony named Bright Star. The author said that the story of a strong friendship will be mainly interesting for children between the ages of seven and 11. At the same time, the writer is sure that adults will also find something to learn from this kind story. Louise is an artist by profession, so she made all the illustrations for the book herself.
“I’ve funded the book and also I helped with supporting her with her creative activity about the book and research,” noted Steve Poole, an entrepreneur.
“I’ve never been to Kazakhstan but I would love to go to Kazakhstan. And just the culture, the history, the people, just to see the apples growing and all the cave paintings from the prehistoric people,” said Louise Poole.
So far, the book has only been published in hardcover. However, in the near future, the author plans to present an electronic edition of her book. Also, Louise doesn’t exclude the possibility that the story will be continued, so will the adventures of Raushan and the Bright Star.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
