Book review: Misty of Chincoteague
Here's another book I read to my daughter recently: Misty of Chincoteague.
This tells the story of the wild ponies of Assateague, with a probably unhealthy degree of sentimentalism tossed in for good measure. The basic story is that a pair of kids, Paul and Maureen, decide to buy one of the ponies in the annual roundup. They scrimp and save and do chores until they have the money, then there's a harrowing period where they think they can't get the specific pony they wanted (who turns out to have a small foal with her whom they name Misty), and eventually their luck turns and they end up with the mare and foal both. At the end of the book, after Misty has been weaned, they release the mare back into the wild.
There's not a big difference in the sexism between this book and Black Beauty. I suppose it's nice that Misty is female, along with her mother, and that one of the children is female. That means there are at least several prominent female characters. However, the older boy is always right and he gets to do all the interesting things - he goes on the roundup, he sleeps with the ponies in the back of the truck, he gentles them first, he gets to ride in the big race, etc. His sister gets to watch. The two kids live with their grandparents. Grandpa Beebe does all kinds of interesting things, too. He makes decisions, most importantly - he makes all the decisions that Paul, the older boy, doesn't make. Grandma makes dinner and does chores. That's about it.
I'm sorry I didn't genderswap this story right from the start. It would have been a fantastic story with the older girl Paula and her tagalong brother Maury, with the lively and opinionated Grandma Beebe who owns the farm and the loving but domestic Grandpa Beebe who did laundry and cooked fine oysters.
Which reminds me - I'm a little confused about why the family is ALWAYS eating oysters. Is it really a staple food such that it would be served every night? It struck me instead as a writer trying to have 'local' food and not knowing the area or what island families normally eat. It was a little contrived and that wasn't the only thing contrived in it, but I don't think my daughter noticed.
As stories go, it has an excellent structure, a nice narrative arc; it's scenic and interesting; it's emotional and engaging. It's well-written. We enjoyed reading it and went on to the next book in the series, Stormy: Misty's Foal.
This tells the story of the wild ponies of Assateague, with a probably unhealthy degree of sentimentalism tossed in for good measure. The basic story is that a pair of kids, Paul and Maureen, decide to buy one of the ponies in the annual roundup. They scrimp and save and do chores until they have the money, then there's a harrowing period where they think they can't get the specific pony they wanted (who turns out to have a small foal with her whom they name Misty), and eventually their luck turns and they end up with the mare and foal both. At the end of the book, after Misty has been weaned, they release the mare back into the wild.
There's not a big difference in the sexism between this book and Black Beauty. I suppose it's nice that Misty is female, along with her mother, and that one of the children is female. That means there are at least several prominent female characters. However, the older boy is always right and he gets to do all the interesting things - he goes on the roundup, he sleeps with the ponies in the back of the truck, he gentles them first, he gets to ride in the big race, etc. His sister gets to watch. The two kids live with their grandparents. Grandpa Beebe does all kinds of interesting things, too. He makes decisions, most importantly - he makes all the decisions that Paul, the older boy, doesn't make. Grandma makes dinner and does chores. That's about it.
I'm sorry I didn't genderswap this story right from the start. It would have been a fantastic story with the older girl Paula and her tagalong brother Maury, with the lively and opinionated Grandma Beebe who owns the farm and the loving but domestic Grandpa Beebe who did laundry and cooked fine oysters.
Which reminds me - I'm a little confused about why the family is ALWAYS eating oysters. Is it really a staple food such that it would be served every night? It struck me instead as a writer trying to have 'local' food and not knowing the area or what island families normally eat. It was a little contrived and that wasn't the only thing contrived in it, but I don't think my daughter noticed.
As stories go, it has an excellent structure, a nice narrative arc; it's scenic and interesting; it's emotional and engaging. It's well-written. We enjoyed reading it and went on to the next book in the series, Stormy: Misty's Foal.