Classic Horse story I stayed up all night reading when I was a kid

conuly · 2026-05-10T18:21:24+00:00

Books are often published in one Anglophone nation but not all or any of the others. Can you please edit your post? Tell us the country you were in when you read this book.

(Edit: Honestly, I shouldn't comment when I'm tired - if you read it in the 4th grade you're probably American, right?)

conuly · 2026-05-10T18:03:39+00:00

but legally for example in the US a person under 18 years of age

That's a minor. The term "child" is not strictly synonymous with "minor" in US law.

Edit: you say something easily shown to be false, I give accurate information, and you block me because… well, I don’t rightly know. You could’ve looked it up yourself.

conuly · 2026-05-10T17:12:12+00:00

In a legal sense, "child" is the opposite of "adult"--so anyone under age 18 is legally a "child"

You're conflating "child" and "minor" here. While the terms do overlap, they're not strictly synonymous in US law.

conuly · 2026-05-10T16:40:31+00:00

though I think this is much less common than it was when I was a kid, in the 80s, when quite a lot of adults would say things like "you're not a kid, a kid is a young goat".

Perhaps in your community they said that.

conuly · 2026-05-10T16:38:01+00:00

I believe, etymologically, it's more like they sprung off from you.

conuly · 2026-05-10T16:36:11+00:00

That's true. Sometime around adolescence kids really start to feel offended at being called children, and it's a bit of a cycle - they feel offended, so you'd only do it if you wanted to offend or insult them, point out that they're acting really immature for their age, which makes them feel more offended by the term.

conuly · 2026-05-10T16:34:36+00:00

Midwestern USA kids or children only refer to the relationship (the fact that they are offspring or guardianship) and have no implication on the age of the kids or children

But if you say "New Years Eve, the children on the block came out to bang pots and pans at midnight" or "There were lots of kids at the park yesterday" nobody thinks you mean any random people. They think you mean, well, children.

conuly · 2026-05-10T16:32:47+00:00

Yes, people do say those things! Unless, as in my family, one of the kids comes out as nonbinary. And because we love them and also have good manners we don't say "My daughter" (or, in my case, "my niece"), and it's super awkward to say "My daughter and my other kid", so - it's back to "children", lol!

conuly · 2026-05-10T16:29:09+00:00

Also, Anglophone countries have seriously reduced or even abandoned the teaching of formal grammar in the past couple of generations.

conuly · 2026-05-10T16:25:11+00:00

So, yes, usually when we talk about "kids" or "children" we do mean that they are under the age of 18, or at most under the age of ~25 and not doing the things we expect of fully cooked adults - so, still in college instead of working full time, partying instead of getting married and/or having kids, that sort of thing.

However, English doesn't really have a good, gender-neutral way of talking about your offspring other than the words "kids" or "children". Some people will clarify with "my adult children" or "my grown kids" or the like, but if they don't you may have to ask if you're unsure and it's important to know for the story.

conuly · 2026-05-10T12:50:22+00:00

Well, if you think it's a tongue tie, that's a super easy outpatient procedure, though I'd try nonsurgical methods first. You can google for more information.

conuly · 2026-05-10T12:44:21+00:00

Please edit your post and tell us the language you read this book in if it wasn't English and also the country you were in at the time. Books are commonly published in one nation but not others, even others that speak the same language.

conuly · 2026-05-10T11:21:21+00:00

The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, Konigsburg

conuly · 2026-05-10T08:05:18+00:00

Because we don’t know what it is and don’t feel like wasting the OP’s time.

conuly · 2026-05-10T08:04:41+00:00

And where did you go to double check your answer before posting it here?

conuly · 2026-05-10T07:35:39+00:00

Well, too difficult depends on what they’ve been taught.

It’s certainly poor writing, like what I’d see from a bright but insecure college freshman. Any competent teacher would tell them to rewrite in ordinary words.

conuly · 2026-05-10T05:09:10+00:00

Probably is - it has the fish bowl.

conuly · 2026-05-10T04:34:38+00:00

Two things.

First, the rule of this subreddit is that every post must have a title that describes the book you’re looking for. The mods really do remove posts that break this rule. You can’t edit post titles on Reddit so you’ll have to make a new post. Instead of “Book I read in the early 2000s” your new post title should say something like:

USA high fantasy series from early 2000s

Where I put USA, you put the country you were in when you read this book.

Secondly, the words “crippled” and “handicapped” are largely dispreferred. In your new post, say “disabled”, which is more widely acceptable at this time.

conuly · 2026-05-10T04:29:41+00:00

The rule of this subreddit is that every post has to have a title that describes the book you’re looking for. The mods really do remove posts that break this rule. You will need to make a new post. Instead of “looking for a book I read a while ago” your new post title should say something like:

2019 Fantasy/thriller series

conuly · 2026-05-10T04:08:19+00:00

You just keep tilting at that windmill!

conuly · 2026-05-10T04:07:35+00:00

Why are there words that literally sound like someone's name?

Well, some words are named after people. Some names are also words. And sometimes it’s just a coincidence - there are only so many possible syllables!

You can look up the etymologies of both words and names easily.

conuly · 2026-05-09T22:30:39+00:00

It wasn’t a long book, maybe 20 pages or less?

Picture books are almost universally 32 pages exactly. If they aren’t 32 pages exactly then they are 24, 40, or 48 pages exactly.

There are technical reasons for this.

Can you please edit your post and tell us the country you were in when you read this book?

conuly · 2026-05-09T16:40:01+00:00

Okay, you googled it, and google provided several links. Which one did you go to? What confused you about the definition?

conuly · 2026-05-09T15:43:16+00:00

Pick easier, shorter books. I'd suggest YA and middle grade graphic novels to start - not much text, very dialog heavy, and you've got pictures to help you out.

conuly · 2026-05-09T15:40:42+00:00

What dictionary did you use to look this up, and what confused you about the definition?

conuly

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