The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Palacio, R.J. Pony. Alfred A. Knopf, 2021.

R. J. Palacio’s novel, Pony, is a first person narrative told through the lens of Silas Bird as he venture on a journey to find his father. As Silas travelled through the Woods, he was forced to come of age quickly and the delineations between his childhood and adulthood blurred. At the outset of the novel, the protagonist, a twelve year old boy, lived with his father and a ghost named Mittenwool. He was largely sheltered from the hardships of life and delighted in reading mythology and conversing with his father and ghostly friend. One night, a group of ruffians, led by Rufe Jones, visited the Bird’s home and Silas’s idyllic childhood was shattered. The outlaws abducted Pa, and Silas was left to fend for himself. When a bald-faced pony appeared on the lawn the next morning, Silas interpreted the horse as a sign to pursue the ruffians and rescue his father.

When Silas ventured into the Woods after the strange men, his self-confidence was rattled. He heard the voices of ghosts amongst the trees and tried to return home. However, Pony bolted deeper into the Woods and carried Silas forward on his journey. In the forest, the narrator met Enoch Farmer, a U.S. federal marshal who was pursuing a band of counterfeiters. Silas reckoned that the marshal wa looking for the same men who took his father and asked to join the marshal’s quest. They set out deeper into the forest, with Mittenwool in toe, and eventually wended their way to the top of a canyon. Silas discovered the mouth of a cave in the cliff wall below and the travelling companions decided that it must be the counterfeiters’ lair. When Marshal Farmer jumped over the ravine, to get closer to the cave, he slipped and was injured by the fall.

Silas made his way to Rosasharon to find the sheriff and rally a posse. However, when he arrived at the country jail, the lawmen did not know Marshal Farmer and were skeptical of the young boy’s story. Sheriff Chalfont decided that they would proceed to help the injured marshal but did not gather a larger group because he wanted to assess the situation. Mittenwool informed Silas that he went into the cave and saw Pa shackled and being forced to work for the bandits. Silas led Sheriff Chalfont and Deputy Beautyman to the cave. After they captured Seb and Eben, the lawmen told Silas to wait behind and made their way to the hideout in disguise. Silas did not want to be left alone and decided to follow the deputy and sheriff.

When he approached the cave, Sheriff Chalfont and Deputy Beautyman were engaged in a standoff with the ruffians. Silas fired his gun at the bandits and saved the sheriff’s life. During the chaotic gunfire, lightning strikes, and rolls of thunder, the lawmen breached the cave and apprehended the outlaws. However, Martin Bird was fatally shot during the exchange and Silas sat with his father as his spirit left his body.

Sheriff Chalfont asked Silas to stay with him in Rosasharon and he, and his wife Jenny, became surrogate parents to the orphaned boy. Silas continued his coming of age in the new town and realized that his parents’ love still protected and guided him after their deaths. He attended school, built friendships, and became a brother before leaving Ohio for university. Before he went to school, Silas visited his mother’s childhood home and uncovered the gold his father buried on the property years before. While at the Morrow estate, Mittenwool remembered the day he died. He recalled Elsa, Silas’s mother, attempting to save his life when he drowned in the fountain. Later on, Silas used the gold and estate to start a school for orphaned children.