A Horse Named Seabiscuit is a biography about a race horse named Seabiscuit who learns to persevere when challenges seem impossible. Seabiscuit was physically different from most race horses; he was small, had crocked legs that caused him to run odd, and had a temper. Seabiscuit began to race but never won for two years. Everyone thought that he was a failure; all but Tom Smith. Tom Smith was a trainer and decided to purchase Seabiscuit because he knew that Seabiscuit was special. Tom Smith got Seabiscuit into good racing condition which led to his first win. With many races to follow, Seabiscuit became well known to all the people and was even a symbol of hope during the Great Depression. Seabiscuit ran a practice race that ended in a tragedy; his leg was injured in a way that would most likely cause him to never race again. But the injury did not cause Seabiscuit to give up; he ran one more race a year later and won. The story of Seabiscuit goes on to tell that he was one of the most successful race horses in history.
I would use this story in my classroom to talk about the meaning of perseverance and how it became a symbol during hard times in America. Perseverance is easily depicted in the story about Seabiscuit because he was never supposed to be a successful race horse but he proved otherwise; he gave hope to Americans.
