National Velvet

National Velvet is the tale of a twelve-year-old girl namedVelvet Brown. Living in England in the 1920’s, Velvet’s family is very loving, but they live by the rules. Velvet has a horse named Pi, and she loves him very much. Although others consider Pi useless, Velvet and her friend Mi, the stable boy, believe Pi can win the biggest horse race in England—the Grand National!

“National Velvet is a great movie about one thing—faith. Each character learns that faith and love can take you places.”

—Eleni K., age 10

“I liked this movie because it was so funny. I didn’t like that it finished just when I wanted to see more. I also wish it wasn’t so old fashioned.”

—Malysha S., age 10

“I liked it when Mi had a chance to steal money from the Brown’s yet he didn’t. I learned never to take advantage of others and not to take things that don’t belong to me.”

—Eric B., age 11

“This movie has action, bravery, excitement, and courage. It is a great movie for families to see together.”

—Keisha T., age 11

“The characters treated each other with respect, but sometimes they got out of control and had to apologize to each other. I learned that when you want to achieve your dreams you have to risk something, like Velvet did when she cut her hair so she could race.”

—Christine D., age 11

“The part I didn’t like is when Velvet cut her hair off. If I was Velvet I would have kept it long and I would have been proud.”

—Cydney F., age 11

“This is a movie about following your dreams and not giving up. Families can learn from this story that if you put your heart in it, your dreams can come true.”

—Thomas K., age 10

To do before the movie:

Talk about your favorite animal or pet with your family or friends

Talk about what you want to be when you grow up.

Have you ever done a good deed for someone less fortunate than you? Talk about that time. Watch for how the characters show kindness in the movie.

After the movie:

Write the name of a character from National Velvet on as many pieces of paper as you have members in your family. Now fold them up and pass them out. Take turns sharing about how each of the characters changed and became a better person.

Do you have a dream like Velvet?

Reviewed by students at Sacred Heart School, Massachusetts.

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