In the past, pit ponies hauled heavy loads through the dark tunnels of coal mines, where they also slept. But once a year, they were taken outside to frolic, eat grass, and breathe fresh air. This story tells of Polonius, a pit pony who escapes and joins a family of Travellers, to the delight of the eldest daughter. Compared with Cushy and Thor, the family's work horses, Polonius is small and weak, but he's accustomed to working in darkness. When fog sets in one morning, he proves his usefulness, guiding frightened Cushy as they pull a wagon together. Brought up in a Romani family in northeast England, O'Neill is a professional storyteller who has written several picture books. The few Romani terms used in the text are defined before the tale begins. Creating a folk-art look, the mixed-media pictures illustrate the narrative with warmth and expression. This appealing picture book reads aloud well, while celebrating the surprising courage and usefulness of the little guy, a theme sure to resonate with young children.

In this warm story by a Romani storyteller, based on true events, a coal-mining pony escapes the drudgery and joins a family of British Travelers. Polonius saves the day when the family's truck breaks down and he helps to bring a load of handmade wooden stools to the dock to be shipped to the U.S. Mixed-media illustrations show the various types of caravans, both motorized and traditional horse-drawn ones. Includes a note on Traveling culture.

A coal-mining pit pony takes to the Traveling life.Polonius works and lives day in and day out underground save for a two-week stint aboveground when the mines shut down. Seeing horses grazing untethered and unfenced with a Traveling family, Polonius takes his chance and escapes, following them to their next camp. Though initially Grandad is unwilling to take him, Lucretia persuades him that Polonius will "be useful somehow." Indeed, though he's more a well-loved pet than anything else, one day he proves his mettle by guiding draft horses Cushy and Thor through a dense fog so the family can get its wares to the port for shipping. Romani storyteller O'Neill gives readers a classic story of an undersized hero who makes good. His Traveler family is a tightknit, loving group that works hard even as it pursues an itinerant life. The sparing introduction of dialect further cements the family's cultural specificity; while outsider readers may not know exactly what Daddo means when he tells the family they'll "set off early and stop halfway for some habben and a besh," the general concept is clear (and an unobtrusive opening glossary enlightens them fully). The equines' ability to talk to one another further underscores their importance within the culture. Thomas' delicate illustrations depict an early-20th-century industrializing English countryside; Lucretia and her family display a range of skin tones from pale to brown.A sweet family story. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)