“It’s been a tough few weeks for the entire Beebe family. That's some incredible riding skill.PC: Beebe Ranch Facebook Page (file photo) Both sister and brother would race The Phantom attired with only the wickie. They ride bareback and sometimes the pony won't tolerate a bit so they ride with a wickie rope-a root that the kids dug up that could be knotted to fit a pony's head like a halter or just around the nose and even be used for reins. Something special of note is how the people featured in this story ride. And the drawings of her by Wesley Dennis are adorable. Misty is the one all people and The Phantom protect. The premise of the story is that the siblings saved enough money to buy The Phantom, but oh no! She has a new filly! They can't be separated. However, as an adult and having reread the story, I see the symbolism. Why not Misty of Assateague? Initially that seems more accurate since she was born on Assateague Island, not Chincoteague-the answer here is at the end of the book and would be a spoiler here.

Why wasn't the book called The Phantom? Sounds marketable enough. Misty is a minor character compared to her infamous and page-hoarding mother, The Phantom. It always bothered me that the novel is titled Misty of Chincoteague. Again, no trauma or backstabbing like a surprising number of animal stories, including children's fiction. I love Henry's versatile narration and dependable, kind characters. It's a trauma-free, good horse story mostly told through incredibly self-sufficient-by today's culture-and amicable brother and sister, Misty at one point, and an omnipotent voice at the beginning for the origin story of the Chincoteague ponies.

This book comes with more than nostalgia.

As an adult I had flashbacks to what I assume was a movie for this book, which I had watched with my childhood best friend once upon a time. It had seemed like any other small town save for some geographical differences between coastal Virginia and my hometown in western Colorado. I could buy a box set, but first I must reread the copies available at the library and find out how much I enjoy them as an adult.Īs a kid I never realized the book was written and took place in the 40s. They, among my Animal Arc and The Saddle Club books, were meant to be stored and never given away because I knew I would love to reread them or in the off chance later in life I have relations with a kid that liked what I liked as a kid, I could share and bond with such a kid. Growing up I had a large collection of Marguerite Henry's horse books: Misty of Chincoteague Sea Star Stormy, Misty's Foal Black Gold Justin Morgan Had a Horse Twilight and others.

Misty of chincoteague 1947