Ambassador of Books ~ Book Club Madam ~ Blogger Gal

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Mom & Son Book Club #17: Misty of Chincoteague

by Marguerite Henry
audiobook: 3.25 hours


Misty of Chincoteague*** About the Book ***

Siblings Paul and Maureen live on Chincoteague Island with their grandparents.  This year Paul is finally old enough to join the men on their annual round-up of the wild ponies on neighboring Assateague Island.  Paul get amazingly lucky and captures the mysterious Phantom, a mare who has evaded the round-up for several years in a row, and her new foal, Misty.  Paul and Maureen have saved money for months to be able to purchase a pony on Pony Penning Day and now they want to buy both Phantom and Misty.  Will they be able to come up with the money in time?  If they do, can they ever hope to tame Phantom?  And what about little Misty? 


*** Why We Listened To It ***

This is a classic of childrens literature and holds a special place in my reading memory.  Chincoteague is just a few hours from where I've lived all my life, and I visited there for the Pony Penning Day Carnival once as a child. 

With a 7 hour drive coming up, I raided the library for audiobooks that Kiddo might enjoy.  I checked out about 10 books and let him pick from that stack.  Surprisingly he chose MISTY as one of his top picks.  He's not a big fan of horses but I think the fact that this takes place near where we live is what interested him.  I honestly expected him to avoid this one like the plague, so I was thrilled when he seemed excited to listen to it.


*** Our Thoughts ***

I loved revisiting this book, but it was shorter and simpler than I remembered.  Unfortunately the cassettes were really in bad shape so the last part of the book was hard to hear, but that was my only complaint.  Kiddo listened to this in utter silence for several hours so I know he enjoyed it.  Here's his review, in his own words ...

1. Did you like this book? Yes, it was fun.

2. What was your favorite part? I didn't have a favorite part - I liked the whole thing.


3. What was your least favorite part? None, I didn't have a least favorite part.

4. Since this was an audiobook the only illustration was on the cover.  What did you think of the cover? I thought it was cool. I liked the cover because it had Misty and Phantom on it. [Mom's note: The audiobook cover was different than the one pictured above, but I couldn't find an image that matched what we had.]

 5. Would you recommend this book to your friends? No because kids that I know don't like horses or ponies.  Do you like horses? Just the male horses. Like the Pied Piper? Yes. Why? Because they run the her. Is there anything else you'd like to say about this book?  I liked listening to it in the car.


*** Your Thoughts ***

Did you read this book as a child (or an adult)? Which of your childhood favorites have you shared with your own children?  What were there reactions to your old favorites?


This review is part of Kids' Picks, hosted by 5 Minutes for Books.  Check out what other kids are reading today!

20 comments:

Unknown said...

I absolutely loved Marguerite Henry's books when I was a kid. Glad kiddo enjoyed this one, it holds a special place in my heart. :)

Lezlie said...

I'm with Ruth. Marguerite Henry was one of my absolute favorites as a child. If I had kids, I would own the entire library of her work!

Lezlie

bermudaonion said...

This book was wildly popular when I was growing up, but I wasn't interested in horses, so I never read it, I'm sad to say.

Amy L. Campbell said...

I remember reading this as a kid, maybe 10-12. It really was great and has held up well to the ages I think.

I also love that you do reviews with your son.

April (BooksandWine) said...

I've never read this, sigh. But it sounds wonderful and like one of those books which are perfect for childhood.

Unknown said...

My sister-in-law read these books growing up, and tried to get my daughter to read them, but she never did. Glad you could enjoy them together. It's so fun to revisit childhood favorites with our own children.

Carrie said...

Another friend of mine told me about these books recently. I haven't read them myself (not typically being a fan of horse literature) but I am making an effort to get to some "horse books" in the near future. Glad you shared about this one!

CarrieM said...

Thanks for this review, I loved those books, but not as much as my (horse crazy)mom, who introduced me to them.

Brooke from The Bluestocking Guide said...

I am pretty sure I read the first book when I was little.

I went with Patterson this week. Here is mine

Alyce said...

I'm impressed that he chose this one. My boys giggle and tease each other whenever they see anything that has to do with horses and ponies because they think it's girly. I loved Misty of Chincoteague when I was growing up though, which was unusual for me because I'm not usually into horse stories or books.

Robin M said...

We have this one in the shelves. Unfortunately James doesn't like stories about horses too much. I have fun reading them though.

morninglight mama said...

I've never read these, but I have certainly heard many lovely things about it. :)

-Dawn (5minutesforbooks.com)

Brimful Curiosities said...

I don't believe I read this one either as a kid. I think my daughter might like it though...she is a horse lover.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Ruth – Me too! I was so surprised that he liked it …

Lezlie – You’re still here?!!!! YAY! I thought you’d left the blogging world for good. So glad to know you’re still reading me!

Bermudaonion – I was not a horse-loving child, but I did love this book.

Amy – Glad you enjoyed our Mom & Son review – we love doing them. :) And thanks for coming by and commenting!

April – Yes, it IS a perfect childhood book … a bit simplistic for my tastes now, but it was fun to revisit it with Kiddo.

Jennifer – I know, right?! I’ve been able to share a few books with him that I loved, and it usually turns out well (but not always … LOL).

Carrie – I’m not really a horse fan either, but this is a lovely story.

CarrieM – Thanks for coming by! It seems that many of us remember this one from our childhoods.

Brooke – I’ll be over to check it out soon.

Alyce – I was shocked too – it seemed so out of character for him. But he totally loved it!

Robin – I checked this out from the library not really expecting Kiddo to choose to listen to it – needless to say I was thrilled when he did. :)

Morninglightmama – ooh, you are totally missing out on a wonderful story!

Brimful Curiosities – Definitely share it with her! And there is a sequel as well, STORMY, MISTY’S FOAL – I loved that one too!

Tracey said...

I'm not a horse person by any means, and I never was as a child either, but I still LOVED Marguerite Henry's books when I was growing up. I'm pretty sure I read them on more than one occasion. And being from Maryland I think my interest in them was a lot like your son's; I thought the books were neat because the setting was somewhere near me and there weren't a lot of books set in Maryland when I was growing up. (Heck, I don't know if there are a lot of books set in Maryland now either.)

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Tracey - Ooh, since you are an MD blogger, are you on my local bloggers list?! If not, let me know and I'll send you the link. :)

Beth F said...

I loved these books when I was young and it was thrill for me the first time I camped on Chincoteague and saw the horses. I've been back a few times, and it's still a thrill. Think of taking Kiddo down for a weekend.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Beth F - Kiddo and I love camping but Hubby hates it. But I've already promised Kiddo that we'd at least visit during the Pony Penning Carnival week one of these years ... :)

Jen - devourer of books said...

I adored Marguerite Henry's books as a child, I still want to take a vacation to Chincoteague!

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Jen - I know, right?!

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