Cassie and Jasper to the Rescue - (Range Riders) by Bryn Fleming (Hardcover)

About the Book

Time is short. A horse is in danger. Can cowgirl CASSIE and her sidekick JASPER rescue the horse from the owner's villainous son? Or will the mare go to the local auction and meet a bad end? The ranch kids, raised on rodeos and cattle drives, resurrect the dilapidated corral and barn of an abandoned homestead to house the soon-to-be-rescued mare. The kids hide, sneak, and spy on the neglectful horse owners. Then, in a desperate night ride, Cassie and Jasper attempt to lead the rescued horse to safety. Danger trails close behind them on a roaring four-wheeler. Jasper musters his courage and risks all for the horse and his friend. Along the way a new friendship and understanding develops as Cassie and Jasper help the neglected horse's elderly owner to care for her properly. At the abandoned ranch, the pursuer reappears, forcing Cassie into a dangerous game of hide-and-seek in the old ranch buildings. She's trapped in the old barn, along with the mare. Will Jasper return in time? Are the kids' cowboy skills enough to save them all?

Book Synopsis

Time is short. A horse is in danger. Can cowgirl CASSIE and her sidekick JASPER rescue the horse from the owner's villainous son? Or will the mare go to the local auction and meet a bad end? The ranch kids, raised on rodeos and cattle drives, resurrect the dilapidated corral and barn of an abandoned homestead to house the soon-to-be-rescued mare. The kids hide, sneak, and spy on the neglectful horse owners. Then, in a desperate night ride, Cassie and Jasper attempt to lead the rescued horse to safety. Danger trails close behind them on a roaring four-wheeler. Jasper musters his courage and risks all for the horse and his friend. Along the way a new friendship and understanding develops as Cassie and Jasper help the neglected horse's elderly owner to care for her properly. At the abandoned ranch, the pursuer reappears, forcing Cassie into a dangerous game of hide-and-seek in the old ranch buildings. She's trapped in the old barn, along with the mare. Will Jasper return in time? Are the kids' cowboy skills enough to save them all?

Review Quotes

The authenticity of Bryn Fleming's book, CASSIE AND JASPER TO THE RESCUE, rings true on many levels. She sets her story in the John Day country of Central Oregon where she lives. Her feeling for the land is something she shares with us as someone who knows what life in the West is really like. The story is populated by folks from a hard-scrabble part of Oregon who are as real as the juniper and sagebrush. A deeper level of authenticity is in her understanding of the secret life of children. We can all remember when it was necessary to lie to our parents to protect some things adults wouldn't understand. Children seem to come into the world with a heightened sense of idealism, justice, and the way of animals. They're aware of the power of mythology. This book has a mythic tree which casts a faint but ominous shadow. Like all good children's books, this one has something for adults. Fleming has skillfully designed a rousing adventure story that can rivet the attention of any grownup. What the book also has for us is an aching reminder of the trials of childhood. What voice we should listen to remains a quandary into adulthood but seems a harder choice when encountered at a less sophisticated time of life. The choice made by Cassie and Jasper seems reckless, but it's one we have to admire for their courage to do what they see as right. By the end of the book, we see Cassie tempered and matured, maybe not less idealistic, but able to better tell how idealism can serve common wisdom. Fleming has a sharp eye and an understanding heart that come through in this story as truth about both people and animals. I found that truth itself to be moving. CASSIE AND JASPER TO THE RESCUE deserves to become a classic. It's the sort of book that might even bring children back to the written word for thrills and entertainment. -Les Thomas

Cassie and Jasper try to save an abused horse in this tense and heroic little adventure. Twelve-year-old Cassie doesn't always do what she should, but she follows her heart. She finds school tedious, and her sass often gets her in trouble. Her passion is working the ranch with Pa, although Cassie is still raw from the passing of her mother two years before. Then Cassie's friend Jasper, takes her to see an older horse, Glory, that's being starved and neglected by a cruel rancher. Intensely empathetic Cassie cannot resist her desire to save Glory: "All my life I'd felt like that, like an animal's pain was my own." They hatch a rescue plan, but as brave as their efforts are, they don't pause to consider other options, which lands them in a very dangerous situation. Set in an unspecified time uncluttered by cellphones and the Internet, this compassionate adventure plays out, its underlying theme of the value of education helping to change Cassie's attitude. Paced at a smooth canter and tugging at the heartstrings, this slim tale is a call to action for middle-grade animal lovers. (Adventure. 8-12) -Kirkus Reviews

An action packed, brilliantly written story with an awesome climax that young horse lovers will thoroughly enjoy . . . certainly the best horse book I've ever read. -Declan Gregg, the first ASPCA Jr. Equine Angel, youngest ASPCA Equine Welfare Ambassador, ASPCA Humane Kid of the Year, and founder of Children 4 Horses

Breathless, I galloped through the exciting suspense as Cassie and her friend Jasper risked their lives for the abused horse, Glory. Bryn Fleming's crisp writing style perfectly suits Cassie's rough-and-tumble personality. Yet Bryn's description has an eloquence only Cassie could reveal for her beloved ranch lands. -Award-winning author and UCONN Creative Writing adjunct professor, Pegi Deitz Shea

Contemporary Western ranch kids, Cassie and Jasper, plan and execute a daring rescue of a neglected horse. I held my breath at the courage of these two kids and can't wait to read more of their thrilling adventures. -Vijaya Bodach, author and ICL instructor

About the Author

Bryn Fleming was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Portland State University with a degree in English. She taught creative writing classes at Portland Community College, and has been published in Highlights, Cricket, and numerous poetry journals. Bryn volunteered at a wildlife care center as a teenager, worked in seven different National Parks, traveled and worked in Australia, New Zealand, and the Caribbean where she crewed on sailing yachts and worked at the Oregon Zoo for ten years. She now lives in Central Oregon with rescue dogs Bandit and Pippin, shelter cats Amber and Angel, horse Sky, and an adopted wild burro Biscuit and mini-mule, Mercy. She is currently employed as a fish biology field technician helping to restore endangered wild steelhead to Oregon rivers.