The Quicksand Pony
Allen and Unwin, New South Wales, 1997
Alison Lester, born on 17 November, 1952, in Victoria, Australia, both writes and illustrates. She is probably best known for her picture books for younger children. She was educated at St Margaret’s School, and then trained as an Arts and Crafts teacher. Not liking the everyday routine of school, she started illustrating other people’s books after she had her first baby. However, after “getting picky” about other people’s texts, she started to write as well, using her childhood on the family cattle farm as an inspiration for many of her books. This background is reflected in her pony books: she first rode a horse as a baby in her father’s arms, and has a horse of her own, Woollyfoot.
Her books have been well received, and she has won awards including the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year, Australian Multicultural Children's Literature, and Australian Book Publishers Association Design Awards.
Her pony books are obtainable via Amazon, and although the pony content of the only one I’ve read (Quicksand Pony), isn’t huge, it is an excellent read. It and The Snow Pony are aimed at around age 11; the Bonnie and Sam books at a slightly younger age.
Sources
Austlit
Alison Lester’s Website
An interview and masterclass with Alison Lester
Allen
& Unwin’s page on Alison Lester
Bonnie and Sam’s Website
Wikipedia’s page on Alison
Lester
Alison Lester
Blbliography -
The Snow Pony
Allen and Unwin, New South Wales, 2001
“Three years of drought have reduced the Rileys' farm to a dirt patch and strained
the family to the breaking point.
Between their increasingly desperate finances,
her father's short temper, and her best friend's move to boarding
school in the city,
Dusty's whole life seems to be unraveling. her only consolation is her wild and beautiful
horse,
the Snow Pony. Dusty first sees the wild brumby up on the Plains, and from
that first glimpse, she can think of little
else. Months later, her father catches
the horse and tries to break it in, but the Snow Pony will accept one rider -
Dusty.
Together they seem unstoppable. But when sudden violence erupts during a trip to
the mountains, Dusty and
her horse find themselves tested as never before.”
Many thanks to Susan Bourgeau for the picture.
The Circus Pony
The Shadow Brumby
Many thanks to Susan Bourgeau for the picture.
Racing the Tide
Saving Mr Pinto
“Three years of drought have reduced the Rileys' farm to a dirt patch and strained
the family to the breaking point.
Between their increasingly desperate finances,
her father's short temper, and her best friend's move to boarding
school in the city,
Dusty's whole life seems to be unraveling. her only consolation is her wild and beautiful
horse,
the Snow Pony. Dusty first sees the wild brumby up on the Plains, and from
that first glimpse, she can think of little
else. Months later, her father catches
the horse and tries to break it in, but the Snow Pony will accept one rider -
Dusty.
Together they seem unstoppable. But when sudden violence erupts during a trip to
the mountains, Dusty and
her horse find themselves tested as never before.”
Many thanks to Susan Bourgeau for the picture.
The Bonnie and Sam Series
The Circus Pony, 2007
The Shadow Brumby, 2007
Racing the Tide, 2008
Saving Mr Pinto,
2008
Noni the Pony
Allen & Unwin, London, 2011, 32 pp.
Noni lives on a farm, and during the day she has fun. But during the night everything
is different,
and Noni gets scared. It’s then her friends help her.
Running with Horses
Northsouth, New York, 2011, 32 pp.
Set during the second World War, this is the story of Nina and her father, as they
try to help the Lipizzaner
stallions to escape.