Books, Mud and Compost. And Horses.

There’s a lot out this month, as publishers get ready for Christmas.  In particular, there’s a lot aimed at the picture book/really young reader market, but to start, here are a couple emphatically not for the infant reader. Warrior: The Amazing Story of a Real War  -  General Jack Seely Racing Post is re- publishing this story of a real war horse, to coincide with the release of the film.  Brough Scott is the editor, and Peter O’Sullevan has written a foreword.  Some of the proceeds will go to Peter Sullevan’s charitable foundation.  £14.00, out on 23rd September. Gamble -  Felix Francis The first solo effort by Felix Francis, who is continuing the Dick Francis brand. Michael Joseph, £18.99. In this one, our hero is no longer able to race because of an accident (sound familiar?) and is staggered when a friend is shot very, very early in the book. Which also sounds familiar: but Felix has a few books under his belt now, and r...

The Moorland Mousie Trust has re-released Golden Gorse's Moorland Mousie: the quintessential Exmoor pony book, and one of the forerunners of the modern day pony book. The book is, I am delighted to say, is  hardback , oh joy.  So, not only can you support the endangered Exmoor pony, you can support the survival of what looks like an endangered book form too.  The book contains all the original Lionel Edwards illustrations, and the Trust have tried to stick to the original in format and style as closely as possible. Moorland Mousie costs £11.99, plus p&p (which is £3 for a single book in the UK - please contact them for postage on overseas orders or large UK orders).  All profits go to the Moorland Mousie Trust , to conserve and promote the rare-breed Exmoor po ny.   Since the charity was founded, it has helped more than 400 ponies, most of them foals , to find new homes.   In Autumn each year the Trust takes on the surplus unbought ponies from...

I have wondered for a while now who nabbed ponybooks.com, and now I know.  Angela Dorsey, author of a couple of lengthy pony series for Stabenfeldt, has branched out into publishing.  As well producing her own books, Enchanted Pony Books is looking to publish new work.  So, aspiring pony book authors, this might be your chance .

Here's a round up of this month's pony book releases.  It might well be that there are more, so if anyone knows of anything please let me know.  I will be reviewing some of these titles soon (says she, making herself a hostage to fortune.  Had better get on NOW with the really needing very urgently indeed to be reviewed pile.) K M Peyton - Paradise House This month’s major pony book news is the appearance of K M Peyton’s latest book.  It’s a move awayfrom the historical stories she’s concentrated on of late, and back to the world of racing which has producedsome of her strongest stories.  The book’s about Alice Ticino, whose pony bolts, but rather than crashinginto disaster, crashes into a family of strangers who befriend Alice and give her free rein at their racingstables.  Alice feels a bond with Snatchcorn, a lovely but lethal stallion. Pippa Funnell - Goliath the Rescue Horse Episode 13 in the Tilly’s Pony Tails series is now out.  In this st...

This info is already on my website, but for those who don't go there, here's a round up of what's published in the pony book field this month: Monica Edwards - Black Hunting Whip Girls Gone By’s republication of Monica Edwards continues with the re-issue of this Punchbowl Farm story, together with the usual extras which make this book well worth buying. Diane Lee Wilson - Ravenspeak Already out in the USA, Ravenspeak is due out in April 2011 in the UK.  For those who haven’t yet read her, Diane Lee Wilson writes excellent historical stories in which her characters and their horses try and make sense of their world. Ravenspeak is the story of Asa, daughter of a Viking chief.  The clan is in the grip of a vicious winter, and most of the menfolk sail away to find food.  Jorgen, the wise man who is left behind, wants to eat Asa’s beloved horse (which bearing in mind there is no food seems not entirely unreasonable) and to take over the clan while Asa’s father is away. ...

Goodness, this makes me feel beyond old.   Follyfoot, the tv serial, is 40 this year.  The programme was absolutely essential viewing for any pony mad child of the 1970s, with the glamorous Steve and Dora and of course all those horses. This book has been written by Jane Royston, who was Horse Manager on the series for four years.  If you are yearning to find out what has become of the actors, there are interviews with many of them.  There's also an episode-by-epidode listing and background information from cast and crew.  The book's out in May, and will cost £14.99.  There's no publisher listed on the info I have.

Great news if, like me, you have managed to lose your childhood copy of Jago:   it will be back in print in March next year, and available from GIETE , along with Hazel's other Australian wild horse story, Fury.   A particularly gorgeous first edition of  Jago  was one of the very first pony books I sold in my bookselling career, and of course I've never seen another.  If I did, I think it would be a case of having to breathe smoothly and deeply and not scream.  Or leap about.  Always assuming I could afford it, of course. I've done a new page on my website gathering together news on what's coming up in the pony book world, but will still continue to post stuff on my blog.  If you have any news of new books, please let me know!

Many thanks to Vanessa of Fidra for sending me this utterly gorgeous new copy of  A Stable for Jill.   I love the look of this one.  I liked their edition of  Jill's Gymkhana,  and if anything, like this one even more.  Fidra have done really well with their cover pictures.  Better still, of course, is the fact that this edition includes the full original text (though to be fair, there weren't huge cuts in the Knight paperback) AND the Caney illustrations, and they were cut from the Knight paperbacks, to be replaced by Bonar Dunlop's piebald Black Boy. The book isn't yet available from the usual suspects, but it is available from Fidra's website , and should be available very soon if you want to order it from Book Depository etc.

Fidra are republishing A Stable for Jill, by Ruby Ferguson.  Their version is the first to have the full original text and illustrations since the 1960s, and it follows their very successful printing of Jill's Gymkhana.  Stable will be out later this month, £7.99. Hazel Peel has written Words and Wanderings:  an Author's Adventures at Home and Abroad, written under the name Wallis Peel, and published by Woodfield Publishing Ltd at £9.95.  If you want to find out what makes Hazel tick, here's your chance. Christina Wilsdon , author of one of my favourite blogs, Piccalilli Pie , has written lots of books on animals, and has just ventured into the equine world with For Horse-Crazy Girls Only ,  meant for people on both sides of the Atlantic.  Ignore the pinkitude, as it's a fine read, dripping with interesting facts and stuff to do,

Regular readers will know how struck I was by Alison Hart's Shadow Horse , and how much I wished there was a sequel. Well, now there is. It's out now, and Alison is kindly sending me a copy. Watch out for the review.

Catnip Publishing have re-published the first two Jinnies, and here (with many thanks to Catnip for sending me the photos) they are: The chestnut Arab is rather gorgeous. It's been a bumper year so far this far for the reissued pony book, with Jill's Gymkhana, Follyfoot and now Jinny. Ironically, despite being far more like Jinny (a bit of a loner, always drawing, and with a head often elsewhere) it was Jill I preferred as a child. Jill always seemed so very sorted out, and nothing phased her. It did me. It did Jinny too. I've come round to Jinny far more as I've grown older; perhaps because I now appreciate Jinny for what she is. All power to Catnip, who are the wild child's latest publishers. The Summer Riders will be out in October this year.

T he first book in the Follyfoot series is now out. More details here . I think Jinny should be out this month, and am checking. More news as soon as I know.

Thanks to the wonders of internet book selling, it's now relatively easy to get hold of newly published titles from abroad. Jean Slaughter Doty's much loved Mokey books Summer Pony and Winter Pony have been republished by Random House . Jean Slaughter Doty is one of my favourite American authors, so I was pleased to see the Mokey books were going to be readily available. However, beware: the books have been republished as part of Random House's Stepping Stones series, so this doesn't mean you're going to be the original text. What you will get is nice, short sentences and simplified content. Below are examples of how it's changed - thank you Susan Bourgeau for sending me this. If you have a reluctant reader, then go ahead and buy, but if you're looking to recapture the magic of a book you read when you were young, hang out for a secondhand copy. Summer Pony 2008 It was a gloomy gray day in March. A threat of late snow was in the air when the...

Jill's Gymkhana : the full, unadulterated text, and ALL the Caney pics: for the first time in ooh, decades. It's £7.99, and can be bought from Fidra Books , the publisher. I really like the cover: Black Boy's black, for a start, and looks as if he might stand a chance in a show! A Stable for Jill and Two Ponies for Jill will be out in early 2010.

Stacy Gregg is writing a new series called Pony Club Rivals set in, you've guessed it, an American boarding school. Here's what's on her site: "Gripping adventures and drama at an exclusive horsey boarding school in Lexington, Kentucky USA. The Blainford ‘All-Stars’ Academy is the most elite horse-riding school ever and it’s auditions time for next year’s new students! Tabby Parker is a talented British rider determined to ace the auditions. She’ll be competing against the best young riders in the world for a place at the Academy. It’s a different world full of danger and glamour for the young horsey girl from Herefordshire – but Tabby is determined to live the dream…" I'll review one as soon as it's out - which I gather will be 2010.

The first three Jill books are being published in August, and you might like to take a look here for something about the new covers...

You might remember I waffled on about how much I enjoyed this book , but what a pity it was there was no sequel. Well, Alison Hart has emailed me, and there will be one in 2010. It will be called Whirlwind , and will be published by Random House. Can't wait! I think pony and horse book fans are very lucky: unlike the fan of the school story, which is pretty much moribund in its traditional format, horse books keep being published.

has written a pony book. Watch this space.

There is now a Facebook Ruby Ferguson group for discussion of all things Jill. It's been started by John Rees, and it's here . (And thanks for the link, to Vanessa from Fidra. I whipped it off her blog having been totally incapable of working out how to find it after John rang me to ask if I minded if he linked to the website). Eek - I might actually have to join Facebook now. I have held off until now because I've heard how addictive it is and I know what I'm like, but can I resist the appeal of Jill? I don't think I can.

You'll have to wait until 2009 (though at the rate this year seems to be going, it'll fly by), but at last, Hazel's books are going to be available again. The first two will be Easter the Showjumper and Night Storm the Flat Racer . Fidra Books (of course) are the ones who are bringing Hazel back to us. Here's the link .