MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE
By Marguerite Henry
Illustrated by Wesley Dennis
Aladdin, 1991 (original copyright 1947)
Category: Middle grade fiction (for horse lovers!)
I was a horse girl. I never had a horse of my own, or had much opportunity even to ride a horse, but every cell of my young body longed to sit bareback on a racer, knot my hands in its mane, and fly. Sigh. Everett wasn’t exactly horse country, and we weren’t exactly horse folk. Luckily, there were books.
I read and re-read NATIONAL VELVET, THE BLACK STALLION, and absolutely anything by Marguerite Henry. One of my all time favorite horse stories was Henry’s 1948 Newbery Honor book MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE. As this is turning into a summer for revisting childhood classics (Thank you, Bruce Coville), I have just finished re-acquainting myself with Paul, Maureen, the Phantom and Misty.
Paul and Maureen are brother and sister. They live on a pony farm where they help their grandfather break colts for buyers and dream of raising a horse of their own. Phantom is the most elusive horse in the wild Assateague Island herd … and Misty is her colt. When Paul is allowed to participate in Pony Penning Day, the annual roundup of wild horses from Assateague, he sets out to catch his dream. But will he? And if he does, will he be able to keep it? This is a beautifully-told adventure story and I will love it forever.
I can’t wait to read MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE to my own kids. (It is top of the post-Harry Potter craziness list.) In the meanwhile, I am planning our trip to Virginia. That’s right … I am taking the family to Assateague Island to see the wild horses of my childhood dreams. I can hardly sit still with the thought.