Mary Margaret Meets Her Match

Children's Literature - Sheryl O'Sullivan

Middle grade readers who do not already know of Mary Margaret will be happy to meet her in this new addition to the "Mary Margaret" series. They will surely identify with the irrepressible heroine who makes most of her own trouble, but good-naturedly gets herself out of it, too. This time, Mary Margaret's family has decided to take a trip to a dude ranch where Mary Margaret can fulfill a lifelong dream of riding a horse on the open trail. It is not quite as easy as all that, though, and when she gets to the dude ranch, the trail to the trail is fraught with setbacks. She overcomes a recalcitrant horse that refuses to do what Mary Margaret wants, a trail boss named Kansas who refuses to let Mary Margaret out of the kiddie corral, and a wild ride on a horse named Twister that refuses to let Mary Margaret stay in the saddle. Finally, Mary Margaret learns enough to realize her dream, and along the way she makes friends with Kansas. The story is told almost completely through realistic and engaging dialog, and the charming heroine will remind many readers of Beverly Cleary's Ramona. A delightful book that is sure to engage young readers.

School Library Journal

Gr 3–5
In her third appearance, the spunky nine-year-old chatterbox vacations with her family at a dude ranch. The eager girl loves horses; she is allowed to explore on her own and hang out with staff, but has to convince the instructor, Kansas, that she is skilled enough at riding to get out of the kiddie corral. Mary Margaret is too busy talking to listen to advice and blames the gentle horse for problems with her performance. When Kansas shows up to spend the evening with her 13-year-old brother, Mary Margaret makes a bad choice, which nearly results in disaster for her, one of the horses, and her brother's athletic career. The protagonist's preoccupations with her fancy red boots and with impressing Kansas are right on target, and there are some laugh-out-loud moments. MacLean writes with a sense of humor and tenderness that fans of Megan McDonald's Judy Moody (Candlewick) and Paula Danziger's Amber Brown (Putnam) are likely to enjoy.
—Sharon R. PearceCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

What's endearing about Mary Margaret, MacLean's effervescent but obstreperous heroine, is that she knows how she's supposed to be behaving, but just can't control herself well enough to pull it off. In this, the third installment of the series, Mary Margaret travels with her family to the Lazy K dude ranch, where she's certain that she'll be an ace trail rider within days. Her match comes in the person of Kansas, a prickly young stable hand that Mary Margaret immediately takes to and wants to befriend. But although Mary Margaret pulls out all the stops, her efforts backfire, so much so that it seems like Kansas hates her. Nor is Mary Margaret able to control Terco, her assigned mount, well enough to be allowed out of the kiddie corral. It's a frustrating situation MacLean milks it for all it's worth, generating laughs, suspense, poignancy and a pointed life lesson as Mary Margaret's patience is stretched to the snapping point. A delightful ride and one that is sure to make young cowgirls cheer. (Fiction. 7-11)