Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

1948 Newbery Honor
Finished 12-9-06

Paul and Maureen live with their grandparents on the island of Chincoteague. Not too far away, on Assateague Island, bands of wild horses roam. Every year on Pony Penning Day, the men of Chincoteague round up horses to sell for the benefit of the fire station. This year, Paul is resolved to catch an elusive horse named “Phantom”. He and Maureen are so confident that he will be able to accomplish this that they begin to save up money so they can buy Phantom at the sale. But a small surprise throws a wrench into their carefully laid plans.

I won’t deny that this is a lovely book for some. But I have to question how wide its appeal is. For me, the plot ended up being sort of ho-hum because it centered around the love that Paul and Maureen had for horses. I wasn’t able to relate to that at all. Add to it that I felt that one essential part of the plot was unrealistic and the ending was stereotypical, and it wasn’t the best read for me.

However, as I said, it could be a really good book for some. It’s quite likely that if it were put into the hands of some young horse enthusiast, he or she would end up loving it to death. For someone who isn’t into horses, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.