The Turnip Top Pony

Alison Mews is co-ordinator of the Centre for Instructional Services at
Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Set in a Newfoundland outport, this story portrays the bond between a
young girl and her family’s working pony.

When Kit repeatedly breaks free of her summer pasture to return home
and the neighbors’ turnip tops are leveled, it is believed she’s the
culprit. Susan, noticing the unusual hoofprints and droppings, knows it
isn’t Kit, but no one listens to her. After Susan’s father agrees to
keep Kit at home, Susan sees a young moose munching in the neighbor’s
garden. Her laughter brings out the neighbors, who join in and so
startle the moose that it bolts through a clothesline and trots off with
a pair of drawers flapping from his antlers. They realize that the
“turnip top pony” is actually the moose.

The author has employed a good use of the Newfoundland vernacular and
fabricates a fictional outport of times past. She uses a repetitive
structure that reinforces the grown-ups’ lack of attention to Susan.
She also makes allusions to two Newfoundland songs: “Tickle Cove
Pond,” about a horse named Kitty, and “Aunt Martha’s Sheep.”
Joanne Snook-Hann’s illustrations depict a somewhat idealized outport,
with its tidy yards and lack of cars. Her pictures are bright and
attractive, and she varies their size and placement on the page;
however, her figures seem awkward and frozen in time. Despite Susan’s
lack of empowerment, this is a warm family tale, with a strong sense of
community. The humorous ending will delight children and they will share
in Susan’s unstated “I-told-you-so” glee. Recommended.