The Happy Hollisters at Pony Hill Farm (Happy Hollisters, #11) by Jerry West
Story starts out and an auction will take place nearby and the whole family goes. The kids want to get a hobbyhorse for Sue but Joey is around so they are on the case of where he could've hid it as it's not listed as available.
Grandson who's been missing is to earn all proceeds after bills are paid. He shows up and helps the kids with mysteries.
A relative shows up and invites the family to his pony farm where they all go for a few days. The are able to play tricks and stunts at the local show on horses.
One horse talks but he is stolen and they track him down to the swamp area and spend the night. So scary events for just kids. Sketches are drawn that depict what's going on.
Such a great story. Love how the kids donate their earnings to others.
Learn so much from these books. ( )

Los Hollister es la serie de libros que me inició definitivamente en la lectura. Recuerdo haber leído el primero y, con todo el dinero que había ahorrado por mi primera comunión y en todos los años anteriores, ir a por los 32 restantes, que costaban 600 pelas cada uno. Los compré todos en la feria del libro de Ceuta, lo recuerdo perfectamente, y volví a mi casa con dos bolsas y una mochila llenas de libros, que me duraron tres meses exactamente, para sorpresa/preocupación de mi madre.
Cada libro es el mismo, con aventuras algo diferentes, y con los mismo personajes, que no evolucionan nada en toda la serie. Pete, Pam, Holly, Ricky, Sue, puedo recitar sus nombres treinta años después sin consultarlo. Yo siempre fui de los Hollister, despreciando a quieres eran de los siete secretos, los Cinco o (puaj) Puck.
Junto a Mortadelo, los tres investigadores de Alfred Hitchcock y (a petición de mi padre) las aventuras de Guillermo, comenzaron a formar mi universo lector. Y por ello, aunque sean libros de lo más intrascendente, los considero fundamentales. ( )

The Happy Hollisters books are historical relics— they depict a perfect, middle-class white American (US) family from before modern ills came on the scene. The family includes five children (Pete, Pam, Ricky, Holly, and Sue) plus their parents. It also includes Zip, the collie dog, and White Nose, the cat. Mr. Hollister runs a small store called The Trading Post, while Mrs. is a full-time mom. Pre-teen children may still find the series enchanting, and teens, not so much. To adults, the books don’t withstand much scrutiny; but then, they weren’t meant to.

In each book of the series, the children solve mysteries, and often wind up aiding the authorities in capturing miscreants. In the present work, The Happy Hollisters at Pony Hill Farm the children acquire toy hobby horse that contains a secret; they meet a long lost-cousin who has just purchased Pony Hill Farm; solve the mystery of a talking horse; win prizes in a local equestrian competition; and chase down and capture a group of horse thieves. ( )

This book was among my favorite childhood stories. It tells the story of a happy little family, the Hollisters, with five children who go around solving mysteries. Although I believe my initial attraction to this series was the title (my mom's maiden name is Hollis) and the similarity of the Happy Hollisters to my own family, I soon loved the books for their own adventure and intrigue. I was never much into Nancy Drew or the Hardey Boys, so The Happy Hollister series became my mystery series of choice. The series was written in the 50s, which is fun because it has a softer sound and reveals the ideals of society at that time, such as the eldest son helping out his dad at the shop, while the mother prepares dinner at home. However, these books also were forward thinking, in that the mother and the girls did not only learn sewing and home-making crafts but also had important responsibilities and roles in society outside of the home. I particularly liked this book because it was about horses.