For Wiles Elementary School first-grader Caroline Chu and her classmates, the chance to meet the characters in a book was exciting stuff—and even more so because those characters were horses.

Chu was one of 1800 Alachua County students from 21 schools who visited the University of Florida’s Horse Teaching Unit as part of the Black Stallion Literacy Project sponsored by the Alachua County Public Schools Foundation. There she met ‘Big Red’ and ‘Little Black,’ characters from Walter Farley’s beloved series of Black Stallion children’s books.

“I liked that I got to see Little Black and Big Red,” said Chu. “They were in the story, and I liked the story.”

The visit to the farm was the culmination of a month-long literacy program for the first-graders. To kick off the program, each participating school had a visit from a horse and a horse-handler, all volunteers from the University of Florida, the Gainesville Police Department Mounted United and the Florida Park Service Rangers. Each child then received a copy of the book Little Black, A Pony, to keep, and teachers received curriculum guides related to the book to promote further classroom study.

“Something magical happens when you hand that book to a child after they touch the horse,” said Evelyn Jackson, a first-grade teacher at Terwilliger Elementary School. “It sparks the imagination of even reluctant readers. We see them carrying their new books around and reading them on the playground.”

During their visit to the UF horse unit, students got a lot more hands-on opportunities with the horses. They got to brush, feed, even read to the horses while experts talked to them about the animals.

“I’ve been learning about how horses act and stuff,” said Shell Elementary first-grader Austin Collins. “I liked seeing them.”

“You get to see the horses close up,” said classmate Tyler Mogle. “I loved it.”

Following their visit to the unit, every student also received a second Walter Farley book, Little Black Goes to the Circus to encourage them to continue reading about their new friends.

This is the fourth year the Foundation has provided the funding for the Black Stallion Literacy Project in Alachua County.

“This program is a unique way for teachers to motivate beginning readers,” said Chance. “Meeting the characters from a book can really hook kids on reading.”