Publisher’s Blurb
Nobody could capture the Phantom. She was the wildest mare on Assateague Island. They said she was like the wind, that the white “map” on her shoulders was her mark of freedom.
Paul and Maureen Beebe had their hearts set on owning her. They were itching to buy and tame her and worked hard to earn the money she would cost. But the roundup men had tried to capture her and for two years she had escaped them.
Pony Penning Day holds a surprise for everyone, for Paul not only brings in the Phantom, but her newborn colt as well. Can Paul and Maureen possibly earn enough to buy them both?
General Book Info
- Publisher’s age group: ages 8-12
- Discerned age group: ages 9+
- Main character(s): Paul Beebe, age unknown
- Character quality: Medium
- Setting: 1940s; Beebe Ranch on the island of Assateague (part of it was on the island of Chincoteague)
Content
🙏 Biblical: N/A
📚 Educational: Talked about weaning foals; lessons about working hard to earn money
🪄 Occult: Mentioned a pully (wish) bone determining their fate, a “sacred” piece of ship, the saying “lucky”, and a horse was called “Phantom”
☠️ Violence/Death/Fear: Mention of men drowning, bucking bronco activities, horse racing, foals getting pulled away from their mothers, the children being afraid, and Phantom being depressed
🤬 Profanity: A few “hates”, mention of the words “devil”, “dang”, “gol-darn” and a few others
🚬 Drugs/Drinking/Smoking: People were smoking cigars and pipes; the grandfather was chewing tobacco
💋 Romantic/Sexual: N/A
Other Notes: Mentioned the grandpa trimming the bristles in his ear; they participated in a horse race
My Review
[I discerned this book a “Yes”, kind of…]
When I finished reading Misty of Chincoteague, I was torn between deciding whether I would recommend this book or not. After some pondering, I came to this conclusion: it depends. Some people might not like the not-so-great things in this book, but others might not mind them. I’ll start with the things that I liked about it first and get to the things I wasn’t a fan of after.
First off, I loved the illustrations, which really brought the book to life and made the scenes easier to visualize. I always appreciate some good drawings in a book.
There were good lessons about working hard to achieve something in this novel, as it was about Paul and Maureen saving up to purchase Phantom, and later on, her foal Misty.
The last I have to say about the things I like is, since I love horses, especially foals, Misty’s personality and the drawing of her were SO cute! I couldn’t help but fall in love with Misty myself.
Ok, now on to my not-so-favorite things about Misty of Chincoteague that caused me to put this so low on my rating.
I think that rounding up wild horses to sell them is inhumane. They say it’s because of “overpopulation”, but that’s a justification. I’ve never felt good about people, anywhere in the world, selling horses that were born free for money. Like, really, we already have enough horses that are domesticated to buy and sell, so we have no need to round up more.
Secondly, Paul and Maureen Beebe seemed entitled that they needed to get Phantom, or else. They were almost assuming that they we are going to get her, which is a dangerous place to be. Kids reading this book might now think that if you want something bad enough you’ll get it, which isn’t the case in most instances. They also seemed obsessed with horses, and the Bible states that you shouldn’t put anything above God. (Note: the scripture below says “carved image”, but don’t miss the part where it says “any likeness”.)
You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth
Exodus 20:4 (NKJV)
Minor complaint, but the title says “Misty of Chincoteague“, when the book is really about Phantom. Sure, Misty came into play towards the end, but I still would have titled it something different.
In this book, the author calls both male and female foals, colts. I also understand that in older days, they just called every young horse a colt, so it didn’t bug me as much.
There was a lot of justification in this book, too. Such as the instance where they were separating the foals from their mothers and they were crying, scared, and hungry. The children told the chief about it because they felt bad, but he basically said, “They just have to grow up”. After hearing that statement, go watch a few videos of some foals and then tell me that doesn’t break your heart. Another instance of justification is when Paul and Maureen saw Phantom gazing longingly to be free, but they convinced themselves that she was looking for them.
Sorry, guys, that was a lot to take in, but thanks for sticking with me!
To summarize, it really depends on what you think, and if the things that weren’t great about Misty of Chincoteague put you off. I wouldn’t necessarily go around yelling to everyone, “You NEED to read Misty of Chincoteague! It was such a great book!”, but I also wouldn’t say, “No, you should avoid that book”. So, see how you feel about it and go from there.
Leave a Comment!
Did you expect Misty of Chincoteague to get a 1-star rating? Did you agree with what my post had to back that up? Have you read Misty of Chincoteague, and did you like it? Let me know in the comments below!
Note: I was permitted to use this book review template by Last Days Lifestyle, who is the original creator of it.
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