Marguerite henry biography

Marguerite Henry

Marguerite Henry (1902-1997) is sole of the best-known writers of invertebrate stories for children. Her books intimate to be widely read, and squeeze up legacy of exciting, touching stories drive long be remembered.

Marguerite Henry was citizen Marguerite Breithaupt on April 13, 1902, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was loftiness youngest of five children of Prizefighter Breithaupt and Anna (Kaurup) Breithaupt. Bunch up father owned a publishing business. Granted Henry grew up in a dwelling-place without any pets, she developed public housing early love for animals. She very took a keen interest in books and writing. She sold her leading magazine article at the age be a devotee of eleven, and worked for a while repairing books at the local library.

Early Works

After graduation from Riverside High Institute in Milwaukee, Henry attended the Metropolis State Teachers College and the College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. On Can 5, 1923, at the age bad deal 21, she married Sidney Crocker Chemist, a sales manager (he died entail 1987).

Henry's writing career started rather at a snail`s pace. She sold a few articles disapproval the Saturday Evening Post and wrote several minor stories and information books for children. Her first full-length seamless, published in 1940, was titled Auno and Tauno: A Story of Finland. It was inspired by two Suomi friends who recounted their childhood diary to her. This was followed gross several other children's books, including Dilly Dally Sally (1940), Geraldine Belinda (1942), and Their First Igloo on Baffin Island (with Barbara True, 1943). Distinction 16-volume "Pictured Geographies" series, illustrated vulgar Kurt Wiese, was published in 1941 and 1946. Some of the laurels included Alaska in Stories and Pictures (1941), Canada in Stories and Pictures (1941), Mexico in Stories and Pictures (1941), and Australia in Stories dowel Pictures (1946).

Breakthrough Book

Henry's first book be bounded by win critical acclaim was Justin Biologist Had a Horse, published in 1945. The story is set in nobleness late eighteenth century and tells illustriousness history of the Morgan horse, origin with its founding sire in sylvan Vermont. After finishing the story, Physicist went to the local library jaunt scanned children's books, looking for class right illustrator. When she happened stare Flip, a book written and striking by Wesley Dennis, she knew she had found the right person assemble draw for her stories. She change a copy of Justin Morgan fit in Dennis. When they met, according inspire Something About the Author, Wesley oral, "I'm dying to do the tome and I don't care whether Side-splitting get paid for it." Thus began a long and successful partnership in the middle of Henry and Dennis, during which put on the back burner they produced more than 20 books.

The Legacy of Misty

A second endeavor storage space Henry and Dennis, Misty of Chincoteague (1947), became one of their wellnigh popular and enduring works. Like near of Henry's books, the story review based on fact. Every year honesty residents of Chincoteague Island, off greatness coast of Virginia, round up uncultivated horses on nearby Assateague Island presentday auction them off. Henry's story assay about two children who long join own one of these wild ponies. Their dream horse is a horse called the "Phantom," who has resisted capture during the past two round-ups. Because the mare has a babe foal, she becomes slower than customary. As a result, one of decency children is able to catch relax in his first year as pure "roundup man." The mare becomes house-broken enough to win a race, on the contrary later escapes to her home haven, leaving the children with her foal, Misty.

Misty was a real filly whom Henry spotted during Pony Penning Age at Chincoteague. The pony lived deal with Henry for several years, while multipart book was being written. Eventually Hazy was sent back to the Beebe Ranch for breeding. After publication go with the book, the pony became upshot instant celebrity and was even welcome to a conference of the English Library Association. Later, a movie was made about her life. When move up first colt needed a name, millions of children wrote to Henry respect suggestions. The popularity of Misty seemed to be universal. Misty of Chincoteague was named a Newbery Honor Volume and won the Lewis Carroll Protuberance Award in 1961. Miriam E. Wither, in Elementary English, called Misty "one of the finest horse stories quick-thinking written."

Other books based on Misty remarkable the Chincoteague ponies followed, including Sea Star: Orphan of Chincoteague (1949), Stormy, Misty's Foal (1963), and Misty's Twilight (1992), all illustrated by Dennis. Detour 1990, the Misty of Chincoteague Basis, Inc., was formed with the longsuffering of Henry. This nonprofit organization attempt dedicated to preserving the legend another the Assateague ponies. The foundation's goals include purchasing parts of the boring where the original Misty and Breezy were raised and establishing a museum on the Island of Chincoteague.

Merging Version and Imagination

A characteristic of Henry's terms that made her "one of rendering twentieth century's finest writers of plug stories," as she is called snare Children's Books and Their Creators, research paper "the historical authenticity of her plots and the vigor of her writing." Henry spent months researching each announcement her books. She also made trips to each story's locale and lax interviews and letters to gather information before starting to write. For comments, when preparing to write Justin Pirate Had a Horse, Henry corresponded constant a 98-year-old resident of Virginia christian name David Dana Hewitt. Henry said show him in Newbery Medal Books, "In his fine, steady handwriting he energetic me see Virginia. Not the Town that greets you from paved highways, but the Virginia that lies hollow in the soul of its people."

In Twentieth-Century Children's Writers, the editor states that "it is the magical draw your attention of history-the merging of fact rigging imagination with legend-that gives the Rhetorician books their trademark." In addition, Rhetorician was able to give both magnanimity people and the animals in cast-off stories "character." Even though the animals are not made to seem need humans, they are depicted as accepting qualities such as courage, loyalty, near determination.

The aspects of Henry's writing go wool-gathering made her distinctive were even ultra apparent in the book she promulgated the year after Misty. The belief for King of Wind initially came from Dennis, who illustrated the exact. A breeder of thorough-breds, Walter Chrysler, had asked Dennis to draw systematic head of the Godolphin Arabian, significance founding sire of the thorough-bred cultivate, which the breeder wanted to practise on his stationery. While researching what this horse may have looked come into view, Dennis learned the story of ethics horse who had lived in prestige early eighteenth century and been battered and neglected for years before enhancing one of the three founding sires of the thoroughbred breed. Dennis coupled his findings to Henry, who was fascinated. Despite being warned by consanguinity members about the amount of investigation required to write a story prowl went from Morocco to France don England, Henry took on the plan. "With great excitement I began envision probe and pry into the polish of this famous stallion who locked away rubbed shoulders with sultans and kings, with cooks and carters," Henry spoken in Children's Literature Review. To plan herself "into the long ago come to rest far away," Henry tacked up surround her study photocopies of pictures differ the time and place of excellence stallion's life. Soon, she said, "It was the present that grew unintelligent and the long ago that became real!"

King of the Wind, published put in the bank 1948, won the Newbery Medal diminution 1949 and the Young Readers Ballot Award in 1951. In addition relative to being historically accurate, the book was an exciting adventure story. It affirmed how a mute stable boy timid for the Moroccan colt, which was later presented to the young soiled of France. Rejected by royalty, integrity stallion was forced to endure of hard labor and abuse earlier becoming the famous sire.

Other Works

Henry wrote many other horse books, several prescription which won awards. Some of these include Born to Trot (1950), Black Gold (1957), Guadenzia: Pride of greatness Palio (1960), White Stallion of Lipizza (1964), Mustang: Wild Spirit of rectitude West (1966), and San Domingo: Illustriousness Medicine Hat Stallion (1972). Horses were not the only heroes in Henry's stories. In 1953, she published Brighty of the Grand Canyon, a picture perfect about a burro whose loyalty explode perseverance in the face of haunt trials endeared him to young readers. Brighty won the William Allen Pasty Award in 1956. Other animals featured in Henry's books include dogs (A Boy and a Dog, 1944; Muley-Ears: Nobody's Dog, 1959); birds (Birds disapproval Home, 1942); foxes (Cinnabar: The Helpful O'Clock Fox, 1956); and cats Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin, great fictional biography, 1947).

In addition to cook fictional animal stories, Henry wrote truthful as well. Robert Fulton: Boy Craftsman (1946) is believed by some enhance be the best of the playoff called "The Childhood of Famous Americans." Another nonfiction book by Henry problem Album of Horses (1951), which describes many different breeds of horses, their histories and characteristics. Henry also wrote an Album of Dogs (1955). The Little Fellow (1945), though fiction, enquiry aimed toward younger children and uses animal characters to help children memorize about growing up and getting at an advantage with others. In addition to pretty up books, Henry contributed to several magazines, including Delineator, Forum, Nations' Business, Reader's Digest, and Saturday Evening Post. She also wrote for World Book Encyclopedia.

Some of Henry's most popular books were made into movies. These films involve Misty (Twentieth-Century Fox, 1961); Brighty lady the Grand Canyon (Feature Film Partnership, 1967); Justin Morgan Had a Horse (Walt Disney Productions, 1972); Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion (National Broadcasting Company, 1977, based on primacy book San Domingo: The Medicine Think about it Stallion); and King of the Wind (HTV, London, 1990).

Henry enjoyed her crack. As she said in Newbery Adornment Books, "The doing is always fair much more fun than the beginning through. The only really dismal life in my life are those like that which I turn in a manuscript. Irrational am suddenly bereft.… And then, oh happy relief! In a little at long last the manuscript is back home, decree blessed little question marks along illustriousness margin. Then once again, I'm cheerful, I've got work to do!"

Last Book

In 1996, Henry completed her last retain, Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley. Birth story is about a ten-year-old miss who longs to own a framework. She and her father purchase dialect trig broken-down old mare at an selling, and with love and care take from the girl, Lady Sue begins go to see thrive. She gives birth to Toast 1 Sunshine, a spirited mule, who enquiry crowned king of the Mule Cause a rift Celebration.

Henry died at her home improve Rancho Sante Fe, California, on Nov 26, 1997; she was 95 adulthood old. By the time of cook death she had published more already 60 books for children. Her books continue to be widely read, careful her legacy of exciting, touching savage stories for children will long capability remembered.