Where Horses Run Free: A Dream for the American Mustang Book

She is the lead mare of a herd of wild horses that run the range. When people come to capture them, she leads the herd in a run for safety. But trucks and helicopters drive the horses into pens. Imprisoned behind barbed wire, the fire in the mare's heart is reduced to embers. Her spirit is almost broken—until a cowboy comes and promises to set the horses free. Joy Cowley's deeply felt story, with breathtaking illustrations by Layne Johnson, is based on the true story of Dayton O. Hyde, founder of the Institute of Range and the American Mustang, a nonprofit organization that owns the eleven-thousand-acre Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is a special place, where the wild horse is allowed to be wild.

Joy Cowley, author of more than three hundred books for children, is best known to young readers as the creator of Mrs. Wishy-Washy. Her other titles include The Rusty, Trusty Tractor; Mrs. Goodstory; and The Video Shop Sparrow. Ms. Cowley lives in New Zealand.

Layne Johnson has illustrated a number of books for young readers, including Ben, King of the River by David Gilfaldi, and On the Day His Daddy Left by Eric J. Adams. He lives in Houston, Texas.

The true story of Dayton O. Hyde, founder of the Institute of Range and the American Mustang, a nonprofit organization that owns the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota, is told with breathtaking illustrations.