Marguerite Henry (' Breithaupt; April 13, 1902 – November 26, 1997) was an American writer of

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

, writing fifty-nine books based on true stories of horses and other animals. She won the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...

for '' King of the Wind'', a 1948 book about horses, and she was a runner-up for two others. One of the latter, ''

Misty of Chincoteague ''Misty of Chincoteague'' is a children's novel written by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis, and published by Rand McNally in 1947. Set in the island town of Chincoteague, Virginia, the book was inspired by the real-life story of t ...

'' (1947), was the basis for several sequels and for the 1961 movie ''Misty''.

Biography

Born to Louis and Anna Breithaupt, the youngest of five children, Henry was a native of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

. Henry was stricken with

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a streptococcal throat infection. Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful ...

at the age of six, which kept her bedridden until the age of twelve. She was unable to attend school with other children due to her weak condition and the fear of spreading the illness to other people. While confined indoors, she discovered the joy of reading. Henry's love of animals started during her childhood. Soon afterwards, she also discovered a love for writing when her parents presented her with a writing desk for Christmas. Henry later said, "At last I had a world of my very own – a writing world, and soon it would be populated by all the creatures of my imagination." Henry sold her first story at the age of 11. A magazine had solicited articles about the four seasons from children, and she was paid $12 (now about $250) for "Hide-and-Seek in Autumn Leaves". She often wrote about animals, such as dogs, cats, birds, foxes, and mules, but chiefly her stories focused on horses. She studied at Milwaukee State Teachers College. On May 5, 1923, she married Sidney Crocker Henry. During their 64 years of marriage they did not have any children, but instead had numerous pets that served as the inspiration for some of Marguerite's stories. They lived in

Wayne, Illinois Wayne is a village in DuPage and Kane counties, Illinois, United States. The eastern portion, in DuPage County, is in Wayne Township, while the western portion, in Kane County, is in St. Charles Township. The population was 2,431 at the 2010 c ...

. In 1945, Henry began a 20-year collaboration with artist

Wesley Dennis Wesley Dennis (born April 22, 1963, in Clanton, Alabama) is an American country music artist. A native of Alabama, Dennis previously held a job installing car windshields before he took to singing in bars. In 1995, he signed to Mercury Nashvi ...

. "I had just finished writing ''

Justin Morgan Had a Horse ''Justin Morgan Had a Horse'' is an American children's historical novel by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis and published by Wilcox & Follett of Chicago in 1945. It concerns the real figures of Justin Morgan and his bay stallion ...

''," she recalled, "and wanted the best horse artist in the world to illustrate it. So I went to the library, studied the horse books, and immediately fell in love with the work of Will James and Wesley Dennis. When I found out that Will James was dead, I sent my manuscript to Wesley Dennis." Henry and Dennis eventually collaborated on nearly 20 books. ''Misty of Chincoteague'' was published in 1947 and was an instant success. In 1961, it was adapted for film, as were ''Justin Morgan had a Horse'' (1972) and ''Brighty of the Grand Canyon'' (1967). ''San Domingo, the Medicine Hat Stallion'' was adapted for television as '' Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion'' in 1977. Henry's last book was ''Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley'', a 93-page novel published in September 1996, when she was 94 years old. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called it "Vintage Henry ...a lighthearted version of the old girl-meets-horse story; only this time, the horse is a mule." She died on November 26, 1997, at home in Rancho Santa Fe, California, after multiple strokes.

Legacy

''Misty'' features the annual

Pony Penning Pony Penning, sometimes known as Pony Penning Days or Pony Swim, is an annual event held in Chincoteague, Virginia on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July. The Chincoteague Fire Department conducts the event, which consists of a p ...

of feral horses from

Assateague Island Assateague Island is a long barrier island located off the eastern coast of the Delmarva Peninsula facing the Atlantic Ocean. The northern two-thirds of the island is in Maryland while the southern third is in Virginia. The Maryland sectio ...

, a two-day round-up, swim, and auction that Henry had been "sent to look at" by a hopeful editor. She created several ''Misty'' sequels including two more children's novels illustrated by Dennis, ''Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague'' (1949) and ''

Stormy, Misty's Foal ''Stormy, Misty's Foal'' is a children's novel written by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis, and published by Rand McNally in 1963. It was a sequel to ''Misty of Chincoteague'' (1947). Both novels are based on historical characters, ...

'' (1963). The beneficiaries of "Marguerite Henry's Legacy", as a ''Washington Post'' editorial termed local tourism, were the Assateague nature preserve and Chincoteague town."Marguerite Henry's Legacy". Within her lifetime Pony Penning itself drew about 25,000 visitors and their number was 40 to 50,000 according to a local estimate ten years later.

Awards

Henry won the annual

from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

in 1949, recognizing '' King of the Wind: the story of the Godolphin Arabian'' as the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". She had been a runner-up for ''

'' in 1946 and ''

'' in 1948. ''Brighty of the Grand Canyon'' was given the

William Allen White Children's Book Award The William Allen White Children's Book Award is a set of two annual awards for books selected by vote of Kansas schoolchildren from lists prepared by committee. As a single award it was established in 1952 by Ruth Garver Gagliardo, a children's l ...

in 1956. In 1960, ''Black Gold'' won the

Sequoyah Book Award The Sequoyah Book Award is a set of three annual awards for books selected by vote of Oklahoma students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The award program is named after Sequoyah (–1843), the Cherokee man who developed the Cherokee sylla ...

. ''Gaudenzia: Pride of the Palio'' was awarded the

Clara Ingram Judson Award The Clara Ingram Judson Award (officially: Clara Ingram Judson Memorial Award) is given annually to the most creative children's writing in the Midwest United States since 1960 by the Society of Midland Authors. It was named after Clara Ingram Ju ...

for children's literature in 1961. ''Misty of Chincoteague'' was named to the

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was an American literary award conferred on several books annually by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education annually from 1958 to 1979. Award-winning books were deemed to "belong on the same shelf" ...

list in 1961. ''Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West'' received the 1967

Western Heritage Award The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of A ...

for Outstanding Juvenile Book and the 1970 Sequoyah Book Award.

Works

* ''Auno and Tauno: a Story of Finland'', illus. Gladys Rourke Blackwood (1940) * ''Dilly Dally Sally'', illus. Gladys Rourke Blackwood (1940) * ''Birds at Home'', illus. Jacob Bates Abbott (1942) * ''Geraldine Belinda'', illus. Gladys Rourke Blackwood (1942) * ''Their First Igloo On Baffin Island'', illus. Gladys Rourke Blackwood (1943) * ''A Boy and a Dog'', illus. Diana Thorne and Ottilie Foy (1944) * ''

'', illus.

(1945) * ''The Little Fellow'', illus. Diana Thorne (1945) * ''Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman'', illus. Lawrence Dresser (1945) * ''Always Reddy'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1947); also published as ''Shamrock Queen'' * ''Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin'', by Henry and Wesley Dennis (1947) – about the artist

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

, * ''

'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1947) * '' King of the Wind: the Story of the Godolphin Arabian'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1948) * ''Little-or-Nothing from Nottingham'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1949) * ''Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1949) * ''Born To Trot'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1950) – about the

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...

line and specifically the mare Rosalind * ''Album of Horses'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1951) * ''

Brighty of the Grand Canyon ''Brighty of the Grand Canyon'' is a 1953 children's novel by Marguerite Henry and a 1966 film of the same name based on the novel. They present a fictionalized account of a real-life burro named "Brighty", who lived in the Grand Canyon of the ...

'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1953) * ''Justin Morgan Had a Horse'' (revised), illus. Wesley Dennis (1954) * ''Wagging Tails: Album of Dogs'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1955) * ''Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1956) * ''Misty, the Wonder Pony, by Misty, Herself'', illus. Clare McKinley (1956) – picture book * ''Black Gold'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1957) – about the horse Black Gold * ''Muley-Ears, Nobody's Dog'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1959) * ''Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio'', illus.

Lynd Ward Lynd Kendall Ward (June 26, 1905 – June 28, 1985) was an American artist and novelist, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books. His wordless novels have influenced ...

(1960); also published as ''The Wildest Horse Race in the World'' – featuring the

Palio di Siena The Palio di Siena (; known locally simply as ''Il Palio''), from Latin pallium, plural form: Palii, is a horse race that is held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the ...

horserace * ''All About Horses'', illus. drawings by Wesley Dennis and photos (1962) * ''Five O'Clock Charlie'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1962) * ''

'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1963) * ''Portfolio of Horse Paintings'', illus. Wesley Dennis, "with commentary by Marguerite Henry" (1964), * ''White Stallion of Lipizza'', illus. Wesley Dennis (1964) – about the Vienna

Spanish Riding School The Spanish Riding School (german: Spanische Hofreitschule) is an Austrian institution dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, based in Vienna, Austria, whose performances in the Hofburg are a ...

* ''Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West'', illus. Robert Lougheed (1966) – about Wild Horse Annie and American mustang conservation * ''Dear Readers and Riders'' (1969); also published as ''Dear Marguerite Henry'' * ''Stories from Around the World'', edited and with an introduction by Marguerite Henry (1971) * ''San Domingo, the Medicine Hat Stallion'', illus.

Robert Lougheed Robert Lougheed (May 27, 1910 – June 3, 1982) was a Canada-born American artist who has specialized in images of the American West. He was born and raised on a farm in Massey, Ontario, Canada. He became an illustrator for mail-order catalogues ...

(1972); also published as '' Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion'' (1977) and adapted for television under that title by Ed Friendly (1978) – set in

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pike ...

-era Wyoming, * ''The Little Fellow'' (revised), illus. Rich Rudish (1975) * ''A Pictorial Life Story of Misty'', drawings by Wesley Dennis (1976) * ''One Man's Horse'', illus. Wesley Dennis, "with famous paintings and prints by selected artists" (1977) – selections from ''Born to Trot'' (1950), * ''The Illustrated Marguerite Henry'', illus. Wesley Dennis, Robert Lougheed, Lynd Ward, Rich Rudish (1980) – biographical material about these four of her illustrators, with selections from their work, * ''Our First Pony'', illus. Rich Rudish (1984) * ''Misty's Twilight'', illus. Karen Haus Grandpre (1992) * ''Album of Horses: a pop-up book'', illus. Ezra N. Tucker (1993) * ''Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley'', illus. Bonnie Shields (1996) * ''My Misty Diary'', illus. Bill Farnsworth (1997)

Pictured Geography

Albert Whitman and Company of Chicago published the Pictured Geography series in the 1940s. Four sets of eight 28-page children's picture books about world nations and other territories were illustrated by

Kurt Wiese Kurt Wiese (April 22, 1887 – May 27, 1974) was a German-born book illustrator, who wrote and illustrated 20 children's books and illustrated another 300 for other authors. Background Kurt Wiese was born on April 22, 1887, in Minden, Germ ...

. Henry wrote the texts for the first and fourth sets. At least one library catalog record indicates a "preschool" audience. ''

'' observed in a brief contemporary positive review of the fourth series, "Third and fourth graders will find this a pleasant way to expand the confines of school geographies." ;First Series, 1941 * ''Alaska in Story and Pictures'' * ''Argentina in Story and Pictures'' * ''Brazil in Story and Pictures'' * ''Canada in Story and Pictures'' * ''Chile in Story and Pictures'' * ''Mexico in Story and Pictures'' * ''Panama in Story and Pictures'' * ''West Indies in Story and Pictures'' ;Fourth Series, 1946 * ''Australia in Story and Pictures'' * ''Bahamas in Story and Pictures'' * ''Bermuda in Story and Pictures'' * ''British Honduras in Story and Pictures'' * ''Dominican Republic in Story and Pictures'' * ''Hawaii in Story and Pictures'' * ''New Zealand in Story and Pictures'' * ''Virgin Islands in Story and Pictures'' Bernadine Bailey wrote the second, 1942 series; Lois Donaldson the third, 1944 series."Search results for 'Pictured Geography Kurt Wiese' "
WorldCat. Retrieved 2015-01-30.
Whitman, Wiese, and Bailey also produced a long series of U.S. state picture books entitled ''Picture book of Alabama'' and so on. See items 7 to 46 in this listing. The

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Cro ...

volume was reviewed briefly in the "New Biological Books" section of ''The Quarterly Review of Biology'': "A brief account of the historical, economic, and geographical features of the Virgin Islands. The illustrations are not particularly attractive to the reviewer, but the text should serve to introduce children to this little-known possession of the United States." Retrieved 2015-01-30 .

Notes

References

;Citations * Collins, David R. (1999). ''Write a Book For Me: The story of Marguerite Henry'', Greensboro, NC: Morgan Reynolds, Inc. 112 pp., * "Marguerite Henry 1902–1997". ''Publishers Weekly''. December 15, 1997. p. 27
Archives
available to subscribers.

Sally Lodge. ''Publishers Weekly''. May 13, 2014. * "Marguerite Henry's Legacy" (editorial). ''The Washington Post''. December 1, 1997. Page A24

at HighBeam Research (highbeam.com); full text available by subscription.
Chincoteague Island first official tourist page

External links

*
Search results: 'Marguerite Henry'
(page 1) at ''

''
Misty of Chincoteague Foundation
— Misty, Chincoteague, Assateague, Marguerite Henry, and Wesley Dennis * * ;Film adaptations * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Marguerite 1902 births 1997 deaths American children's writers American women novelists Newbery Medal winners Newbery Honor winners Writers from Milwaukee University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Novelists from Illinois 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers American women children's writers Novelists from Wisconsin