Marguerite Henry (April 13,1902-November 26,1997) was an American writer. Henry inspired children all over the world with her love of animals, especially horses. The author of fifty-nine books based on true stories of horses and other animals, her work has captivated entire generations of children and young adults and won several Newbery Awards and Honors. Among the more famous of her works was Misty of Chincoteague, which was the basis for the 1961 movie Misty, and several sequel books.

Biography

It is exciting to me that no matter how much machinery replaces the horse, the work it can do is still measured in horsepower ... even in the new age. And although a riding horse often weighs half a ton and a big drafter a full ton, either can be led about by a piece of string if he has been wisely trained. This to me is a constant source of wonder and challenge. ~ This quote was from an article about Henry published in the Washington Post on November 28, 1997, in response to a query about her drive to write about horses.

Born to Louis and Anna Breithaupt, the youngest of the five children, Henry was a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Because of her illness, Henry wasn't allowed to go to school with other children because of her weak state and the fear of spreading the illness to others. While she was confined indoors, she discovered the joy of reading. Henry's love of animals started during her childhood. Unfortunately, Henry was stricken with a rheumatic fever at the age of six, which kept her bedridden until the age of twelve.Soon afterwards, she also discovered a love for writing when her father, a publisher, presented her with a writing desk for Christmas. On the top of stacks of colored paper her father wrote, “Dear Last of the Mohicans: Not a penny for your thoughts, but a tablet. Merry Christmas! Pappa Louis XXXX.”

Henry's first published work came at the age of eleven, a short story about a collie and a group of children, which she sold to a magazine for $12. Henry always wrote about animals, such as dogs, cats, birds, foxes, and even mules, but chiefly her stories focused on horses.

In 1923, she married Sidney Crocker Henry. During their sixty-four years of marriage they didn't have children, but instead had many pets that inspired some of Marguerite’s stories. They lived in Wayne, Illinois.

In 1947, she published Misty of Chincoteague and it was an instant success. Later, this book—as well as Justin Morgan had a Horse and Brighty of the Grand Canyon—were made into movies.

She finished her last book, Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley, just before her death on November 26 1997 at the age of 95.

Misty of Chincoteague

Awards

Henry received the Newbery Honor for two of her books, Justin Morgan Had a Horse in 1945 and for Misty of Chincoteague, in 1948. She received the Newbery Medal in 1949 for King of the Wind.

Works

• 1940 Auno and Tauno: A Story of Finland
• 1940 Dilly Dally Sally (illustrated by Gladys Rourke Blackwood)
• 1942 Birds at Home
• 1942 Geraldine Belinda
• 1943 Their First Igloo On Baffin Island
• 1944 A Boy and a Dog
• 1945 Justin Morgan Had a Horse (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1945 The Little Fellow
• 1945 Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman
• 1947 Always Reddy (also published as Shamrock Queen)
• 1947 Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1947 Misty of Chincoteague
• 1948 King of the Wind (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1949 Little-or-Nothing from Nottingham
• 1949 Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1950 Born To Trot (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1951 Album of Horses (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1953 Brighty of the Grand Canyon (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1955 Wagging Tails: Album of Dogs
• 1956 Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1956 Misty, the Wonder Pony, by Misty, Herself
• 1957 Black Gold (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1959 Muley-Ears, Nobody's Dog (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1960 Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio (also published as The Wildest Horse Race in the World) (illustrated by Lynd Ward)
• 1962 All About Horses
• 1962 Five O'Clock Charlie (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1963 Stormy, Misty's Foal (illustrated by Wesley Dennis)
• 1964 Portfolio of Horse Paintings
• 1964 White Stallion of Lipizza
• 1966 Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West (illustrated by Robert Lougheed)
• 1969 Dear Readers and Riders (Also published as Dear Marguerite Henry)
• 1971 Stories from Around the World
• 1972 San Domingo, The Medicine Hat Stallion (also published as Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion) (illustrated by Robert Lougheed)
• 1976 A Pictorial Life Story of Misty
• 1977 One Man's Horse
• 1984 Our First Pony
• 1989 Herds of Thunder, Manes of Gold (contribution)

• 1992 Misty's Twilight (illustrated by Karen Haus Grandpre)
• 1993 Album of Horses: A Pop-Up Book

• 1996 Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley (illustrated by Bonnie Shields)
• My Misty Diary

Pictured Geography Series

• 1941 Alaska in Story and Pictures
• 1941 Canada in Story and Pictures
• 1941 Mexico in Story and Pictures
• 1941 West Indies in Story and Pictures
• 1943 Argentina in Story and Pictures
• 1943 Brazil in Story and Pictures
• 1943 Chile in Story and Pictures
• 1943 Panama in Story and Pictures
• 1946 Australia in Story and Pictures
• 1946 Bermuda in Story and Pictures
• 1946 British Honduras in Story and Pictures
• 1946 Dominican Republic in Story and Pictures
• 1946 Hawaii in Story and Pictures (illustrated by Kurt Weise)
• 1946 New Zealand in Story and Pictures
• 1946 Virgin Islands in Story and Pictures

Movies

Bibliography

• Collins, David R. (1999) Write a book for me: The story of Marguerite Henry, Morgan Reynolds, Inc. 112 pp.
• J. Murray
• "Marguerite Henry 1902-1997." Publisher's Weekly 15 December. 1997:27.
• Mooar, Brian. "Marguerite Henry Wrote 'Misty of Chincoteague'." Washington Post thirty eight Nov. 1997, national ed.:106.
• "Chincoteague Island Homepage" http://www.chincoteague.com/ Accessed 3 May 2001.
• "Titles by Marguerite Henry" http://www154.pair.com/redgroup/MargueriteHenry.html Accessed 26 May 2001.
• Contents also from an essay written by a student of Susan Davis at St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, MD.

External links

• Chincoteague Homepage - As the name says, the homepage for Chincoteague Island. More information about the island, as well as a schedule for Pony Penning, and pictures of past Pennings.
• Horse Tails: Misty of Chincoteague - the web site has some good black and white photos, including Marguerite with Misty
• Chincoteague Pony Association - includes a membership form, contact information, and a form for registering ponies with the Association.