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"The Phantom ain't a hoss. She ain't even a lady. She's just a piece of wind and sky."
Very unusually, given that most prologues are dreadful, the prologue of this book, which details how shipwrecked Spanish ponies came to the island of Assateague, is one of the best parts of the book. It's vivid and immediate, and tells a great story in a very few words.
Several hundred years later, it's become a tradition on the island of Chincoteague to round up the wild ponies of Assateague, make them swim across, auction off some of the younger and trainable horses, then swim the remaining ponies back to Assateague. Paul and Maureen, a young brother and sister on Chincoteague, have their heart set on buying the near-legendary wild mare, the Phantom.
There's some beautiful descriptions and great horse-related moments in this book, but the Paul-and-Maureen story is incredibly aggravating. Paul is constantly getting on Maureen's case for being a stupid useless girl, and no one ever stands up for her. She never gets in on any of the heroic action, and the one time she actually gets offered some respect--the kids break a wishbone to see who gets to ride in a race rather than just automatically having Paul ride--OFC Paul wins and Maureen admits he'd ride better anyway.
Copyright 1947 and honestly, considering the number of horse girl books from that time, retrograde even for then.
Misty is adorable but I can see why I didn't hang on to this book, or remember much about it.
Misty, who is a filly (female), is called Phantom's son on the back cover of my edition, which is a modern one with a different cover than pictured. Scholastic, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Very unusually, given that most prologues are dreadful, the prologue of this book, which details how shipwrecked Spanish ponies came to the island of Assateague, is one of the best parts of the book. It's vivid and immediate, and tells a great story in a very few words.
Several hundred years later, it's become a tradition on the island of Chincoteague to round up the wild ponies of Assateague, make them swim across, auction off some of the younger and trainable horses, then swim the remaining ponies back to Assateague. Paul and Maureen, a young brother and sister on Chincoteague, have their heart set on buying the near-legendary wild mare, the Phantom.
There's some beautiful descriptions and great horse-related moments in this book, but the Paul-and-Maureen story is incredibly aggravating. Paul is constantly getting on Maureen's case for being a stupid useless girl, and no one ever stands up for her. She never gets in on any of the heroic action, and the one time she actually gets offered some respect--the kids break a wishbone to see who gets to ride in a race rather than just automatically having Paul ride--OFC Paul wins and Maureen admits he'd ride better anyway.
Copyright 1947 and honestly, considering the number of horse girl books from that time, retrograde even for then.
Misty is adorable but I can see why I didn't hang on to this book, or remember much about it.
Misty, who is a filly (female), is called Phantom's son on the back cover of my edition, which is a modern one with a different cover than pictured. Scholastic, you should be ashamed of yourself.
