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Since the publication of Misty of Chincoteague in 1947, Misty has been one of the best-loved equines in children’s literature. While based on a real pony, author Marguerite Henry spun the tale in her characteristic way of combining historical fact with imagination, starting a series of books that have endured through generations. In 1946, Ms. Henry, an avid animal lover, went to Chincoteague Island in Virginia to witness the annual July pony-penning and adoption of the wild Assateague Island ponies. Each year, volunteers dubbed “saltwater cowboys” round up the ponies and swim them a quarter-mile across the channel so healthy foals can be auctioned. A centuries-old tradition, the round up was started by the volunteer Fire Department as a means of raising much-needed funds and to allow for humane maintenance of the wild pony herd. During Marguerite’s trip, she befriended the Beebe family, owners of Misty, a palomino-and-white Chincoteague pinto filly. It is the Beebe family and their ponies that became the central characters in Ms. Henry’s series of books, starting with Misty of Chincoteague. Misty and her mother, The Phantom, fulfill the Beebe grandchildren’s dreams, in turn teaching them about love, hard work, and responsibility. The book was an instant success and received the Junior Book Award Medal of the Boys' Clubs of America. To this day, it remains a children’s classic.
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