Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

The children shoved their chairs into place, gulped their orange juice, ate their cereal in silence, and bolted out-of-doors. “It’s done! July twenty-third-our birthday, Mom’s D-Day.” “That’s it,” Pam said with a shrug of impatience. She translated it as “That’s so far away I can hardly wait.” “Why, that’s the middle of summer!” Chris said. July 27 - The roundup and the swim across the channel.īoth children studied their mother as if she were a teacher dictating weeks of assignments. July 26 - Scouting neighboring Assateague for wild ponies. The original house where Misty rode out the infamous storm that devastated the island, right before giving birth to Stormy. Misty herself was a real pony who was born on the Beebe Ranch, which once covered 100 acres near the south end of the island. “July 23 - Two birthdays and Departure Day, northward bound from Ocala, Florida, to Chincoteague, Virginia. The fictionalized story of Misty, as told by Henry, centers on children Paul and Maureen Beebe. She circled the last week of July in red ink and called out: Pam whispered, “Mom’s flipped.” But nothing could stop Sandy now. Sandy announced the electrifying news: “All aboard for Chincoteague! What a glamorous way to spend your birthdays!” She picked up the calendar and with a dramatic flourish tore off April, May, and June and pointed to the last week in July. She was interrupted by two sleepy-eyed children who came yawning into the room. Thrilled with her production, Sandy stood back a moment to admire it. Three glasses of freshly poured orange juice paled by comparison. The kitchen calendar topped the display, with a lively parade of ponies, wild and tame. Sandy piled the breakfast nook table with a rainbow of color. That was the year she first read a book called Misty of Chincoteague, and the year one of her lifelong dreams had begun. She was gathering up research for the trip she’d planned ever since she was a ponytailed youngster in the sixth grade. Sandy Price tiptoed about her home on Stolen Hours Farm. On an early Saturday in spring, when dreams explode into reality, Dr.

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry