A couple of changes afoot

Regular viewers may notice that I have been tweaking around with the blog. A couple more pony blog related links have appeared and a couple of new sections.

I decided to put the labels side on it, as obviously, due to the fact the sheer number of books they wrote, that it will be very time consuming in 2 years time to go through the number of posts to find a review about The Boy and The Donkey (aka The Donkey Race) for example. This is particularly true for Christine, who as well as being the most prolific of the sisters, has written tons of books, and it is her that I am leaving last (as well as the fact that my want list is longer for Christine that Josephine).

Also, if like me, when you were first starting to collect the P-T books (or any pony books), you think from childhood you have finished the series and read them all, only to find that there are tons more. This is particularly true for me about the Jackie books, my mother very kindly bought me the Knight/Hodder editions of the early 1990s, and for some strange reason they only published 6 books. Not the first 6, but (apart from Jackie Won A Pony) a random 6. I was most annoyed to find out that there are indeed 16!! Fortunately, except for the elusive Jackie's Steeplechase Adventure I have them all, albeit different editions. So I have rectified this problem, as every single book that belongs to a "series", I have labelled with an appropriate tag. Sometimes, I have found, that it is not obvious a book is part of a series: a book title with the words Phantom Horse would be obvious, but until it is pointed out or you read it for yourself, you wouldnt know that Riders On The March and They Rode To Victory were the same series. So quickly someone can click on the series title and find out which book belong to the series.

Speaking of Christine, Jane Badger has finally finished her Christine section on her website, she has very kindly acknowledged me, both in the article and in her blog. She has kindly done a section on the Black Beauty's Family series of books, which is very useful, it does pose a headache trying to work out what story is in what book. If only Knight published them all separately, then it would make life easier. But, now, with the exception of Black Raven and the Witch, Black Piper and Black Pioneer, it's a case of finding the edition you like the best, if you dont have them already in your collection.

I had a very fruitful pony book week. I received in the post the following books:-

Little Black Pony by Christine Pullein-Thompson
The Horse Sale by Christine Pullein-Thompson
The Best Pony for Me! by Christine Pullein-Thompson
Black Beauty's Family 1 by Diana and Christine Pullein-Thompson
Six Ponies (Fidra books edition) by Josephine Pullein-Thompson
Fly By Night (Fidra books edition) by K M Peyton
The Ten Pound Pony by Veronica Westlake


The Horse Sale is the lovely Sheila Rose edition, which you can see on the right. As previously said I prefer illustrated over photographic covers, though as far as I am aware of, there are only 2 editions of this book (for some strange reason I keep on thinking there are 3), both with illustrated covers. But this one stood out for it's sheer simplicity. Some of the pony books out there with illustrated covers have such busy backgrounds that it takes it's beauty away. That is why I was particularly impressed with the cover for Veronica Westlake's The Ten Pound Pony (I dont have a scan of that), as it is done quite simply too. There are times when illustrators go over the top. Sadly, with the exception of Anne Bullen, the P-T books dont have the same illustrators consistently, and some of them range from the superb (Anne Bullen) to the lesser quality (Peter Clover, he did The Best Pony for Me). Sadly, Anne Bullen died in 1963, so it is understandable that she couldnt do them (considering the sisters last published a pony book less than 10 years ago) all.

I have also planned out roughly when I am doing each book, of course, this is subject to change, as (shock horror!) I dont have all the P-T pony books. If, for some reason, I dont have that particular book, then of course, I will have to move onto another P-T book. But never fear, they will get done eventually. Plus, I dont have a crystal ball, if some misfortune occurs and I cant get online, then of course, I cant update the blog. I am undecided (this is when it comes to Christine), to do some of the books together: such as the Candy series (Candy Goes to the Gymkhana and Candy Stops A Train) or the Sophy series (I Want That Pony!, The Best Pony For Me!, The Pony Test and The Pony Picnic) as they are meant for the younger age group than what the majority of Christine's books were for, and they only take about 5 mins to read, as obviously, they have less pages and bigger (typeface wise) words than compared to say, Phantom Horse. There's not much you can say without giving the story away on those. But I will do them, never fear!

I'll probably tweak it again in the future, I am undecided at the moment whether the Blog Archive should come before or after the profile.

If anyone else knows of a pony blog or a suitable pony book related link, please send it to me, and I will consider it.

Some P-T/blog related thoughts

I have had some fruitful pony book parcels this week. I managed to acquire (many thanks to bevi who put me on the right track) the edition of the Black Beauty's Family which has that elusive Black Raven in.

Which got me thinking. As I was sitting on my bed last night, after helping Jane (of Jane Badger books) with her soon to be published Christine section, that how long it would take to get through every single P-T books I have (including those I have left on my wish list). So I started to write it all out. 104 books. Which means, that taking into account, that I am only doing one book a week, that it will take 2 years (since there are 52 weeks in a year). That is a long time, and I bet by the time it is finished, things will move on in my life. Of course, most of Christine's later books are for a younger age groups than most of hers, so that wont take as long to do, but it's one commitment. I just hope that I manage to find all the ones that are on my want list. I suspect that The Horse Sale will be the hardest, since I am after that lovely edition that Sheila Rose did the cover for (blue background), which is harder to find, than other edition of the same book. I must admit that I do prefer illustrated covers over photographic covers of books, illustrations seem timeless and have a certain charm. I had a look at my local county library's website, and they do have 20 P-T books, and fortunately one of them is on my want list, so hopefully I can request it if I am desperate (since it is not located at my local or the main library). Though sadly, with the exception of Fair Girls and Grey Horses, they do not have any of the author's adult titles.

I also managed to get hold of my last wanted Joanna Cannan book: They Bought Her A Pony. Which means now that I have all the Joanna Cannan pony books. I have not read any of her other non pony related titles, as again, like her daughter's adult works, my local library does not stock any (and there are none in the county, the nearest I got was May Cannan).

But it got me thinking: once about 2 years down the line: should I do Joanna? As it says on my first post, this is mainly about the P-T's. Sometimes, kind of like today, I will go off track and stray away from the P-T's but this will always be pony book related (and yes, shock horror!! I do have other pony books which arent by the sisters). But I think Joanna does have a rightful place here: if she was not born, then we would not have the P-T's. Also if it wasnt for Joanna encouraging them and the sisters seeing her writing throughout their childhood (had their mother been a housewife, then maybe we wouldnt have the lovely books we have today), then they would not have been tempted to start what is obviously a very successful and fruitful career, both for themselves and pony book sellers alike. I doubt that one pony book seller has not had at least 1 P-T book pass through their hands. I am sure Jane has plenty in her stock room!! Also, Vanessa at Fidra has definitely reprinted 2 of Joanna's works and Josephine's Six Ponies, if there wasnt a demand for P-T/Joanna Cannan books, then she wouldnt go down that route.

It als0 got me thinking: what is the most expensive pony fictional book (not just P-T books)? Previously, I would have said that Primrose Cumming's Silver Snaffles was the most expensive, being such a hard to find book in the first place, and definitely commanding a high price. However with the soon to be released Fidra books edition coming out, and for the maximum price of £15, I bet a lot of people will be going for that. Great if you are a buyer (myself included: I have ordered a copy), I suppose it is horrible if you are a bookseller. What was a nice little earner is probably sitting longer unsold than it did before, though there are some purists who want the original edition (and have the money for it!). I dont know the answer: the most I spent on a single book was £45 on an Caroline Akrill hb edition of I'd Rather Not Gallop (and it is signed to boot).

Anyway, here is my want list, if anyone is interested. I have not included titles which I have already and want to replace with certain editions, I'll leave that until later, as it is not something I am desperate for. If you have any of these, please let me know. Just one thing: I am not interested in hardback editions of books which are missing their dustjacket: I cant stand that. Though of course, if it is something with a pictorial cover (such as the Collins Pony Library series), I'll make an exception. Like I previously said, I prefer illustrated over photographic covers.

Josephine Pullein-Thompson

# Proud Riders
# Save The Ponies!

To make matters worse, there is an book also called Save The Ponies by Gillian Baxter as well as Josephine. They arent the same book: Gillian's was published in 1971, whereas Josephine's was published in 1983. You would think that the publishers would check there hasnt been a book with the same title, considering Gillian's was only published 12 years before. Anyway, I am definitely not after the Gillian Baxter edition.

Christine Pullein-Thompson

# A Pony In Distress
# Incredible Pony Tales
# Little Black Pony
# Magical Pony Tales
# Ponies In The Blizzard
# Ponies In The Forest
# Ponies In The Park
# The Best Pony For Me! (am now waiting for this one, but I dont count it being off the want list until it is physically in my hands)

Review: DIANA - The Hermit's Horse

The Hermit's Horse is one of Diana's harder to find books, not being really republished, except for 10 years later. Again, it is another one which the first edition is a paperback. It was first published in 1974.

The blurb reads:-

Matthew and Sophie are forbidden to go near the neglected, ivy-clad old house. The hermit that lives there is said to be mad or dangerous. But the unexpected arrival of a big bay horse begins a strange friendship between the children and the man with the mysterious past.

New hopes and happiness grows, especially with their plans for the Frinkley Horse Show. Then suddenly violence and fear strike! Can the hermit ever find peace now? And what is he afraid of? Will Matthew and his horse ever be able to prove themselves...?

Unlike most pony books, the emphasis is mainly on Matthew, which obviously is a boy.

This book is big on misconceptions, it is turns out the hermit is anything but mad, he just wants to be left alone. I suppose to an outside world, the friendship seems weird, considering the age gap, and if this was a modern world, he would be labelled a paedophile or something, definitely regarded with suspicion. But it proves that the unlikeliest of friendship can grow, and the added adventure of there being a horse is the most common factor.

It is also a tale of horse rescue and rehabilitation, since the horse was a rescue one. In a way, it is a story about rehabilitation of people too, as the hermit doesnt deal with the outside world, and what happens when he does. It is a quiet story, and often overlooked, but one of the best, as the hermit's character is really defined. The cover I feel lets it down, but I think this is one of Diana's gems, which has less publicity and generally less well known than her other books. If you can, I think you should read it.

Oh and some news about my want list. I have only got 2, possibly 3, Josephine books left on it to get. I say 3, because there is some doubt about whether Black Raven does exist. Certainly there is no sign of it on abebooks. Copac and the British Library dont have it in their records, however they are sometimes inaccurate as I know of a Christine P-T book which does not appear on there. It's never shown up on ebay either. Whatever, it is mighty strange. So if anyone does have it, please post. My Christine want list is down to 9 books now. Though I have yet to read all my P-T books. So once Diana is done (which should be by the end of the year, unless something goes wrong), Josephine is next one of the P-T's to be tackled.