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Jane Badger Books
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Kelly McKain

Kelly McKain has worked as a pre-prep teacher and as a copywriter.  She now writes full time, and has written for teenagers as well as younger age groups. She has written several children’s series: Fairy House, Totally Lucy,  Mermaid Rock and Quentin Quirk (under the pseudonym Matt McKain). For teenagers, she’s written the Goddess books.

 

Her Pony Camp Diaries series, reviewed below, is written in the breathless (and to an adult ear, relentless) style that many children’s television programmes are delivered in.  The series is set in Sunnyside Stables, which takes girls for holidays, where they have a pony of their own for a week. Each book tells the story of a different girl and pony, and of the other girls she meets on her stay. The books are written in diary form (a form she likes: she’s used it for Half a Sister) Kelly McKain is now (2012) working on another horse story.

 

Finding the books: all are still in print.

 

Sources and links:
Kelly McKain's website

 

 

Pony Camp Diaries

Megan and Mischief Poppy and Prince
Chloe and Cracker
Sophie and Shine

Charlie and Charm

Emily and Emerald

Jessica and Jewel

Lauren and Lucky

Hannah and Hope

Millie and Magic

Amy and Amber

Daisy and Dancer

Chloe and Cracker

Stripes, London, 2007, 92 pp.

 

 

Chloe has promised her father that she’ll get a clear round in the show jumping competition. Unfortunately,
the pony she’s been allotted for the week, Cracker, looks like he has other ideas.

Megan and Mischief

Stripes, London, 2006, 93 pp.

 

 

 

Megan gets a challenge when her pony for the week is Mischief.

 

 

 

 

 

Poppy and Prince

Stripes, London, 2006, 95 pp.

 

 

Poppy has had a bad fall, but nevertheless, she’s still come away on a riding holiday. Unfortunately she really
has lost her confidence. Can kind pony Prince help her get it back?

Bibliography - horse books only

Emily and Emerald

Stripes, London, 2008, 95 pp.

 

 

Emily loves Emerald the first time she lays eyes on him: unfortunately he doesn’t have much confidence,
and Emily has lost her nerve.

Sophie and Shine

Stripes, London, 2007, 95 pp.

 

Read my review here.

 

Sophie is really looking forward to her holiday, and at first it seems like a dream come true. Then things start
disappearing from the girls’ room, and from the stables. Is there a thief on holiday with them?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie and Charm

Stripes, London, 2008, 95 pp.

 

 

Charlie misses her old pony Apple. She hopes that by coming away on a riding holiday it will help her
get over him, particularly as there’s a chance to try cross country riding.

 

 

 

Jessica and Jewel

Stripes, London, 2009, 94 pp.

 

 

Jessica is really looking forward to her holiday, with the chance to camp out, Unfortunately, her sister won’t
stop hanging around.

Millie and Magic

Stripes, London, 2010, 94 pp.

 

 

Millie’s Mum wants her to try out a new pony for a week, but Millie’s very attached to Tally, and she

hatches a risky plan to keep him.

Lauren and Lucky

Stripes, London, 2009, 94 pp.

 

 

Lauren loves dressage: particularly dressage to music. There’s a competition at the end of her week’s holiday,
so she has her work cut out to sort out a routine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah and Hope

Stripes, London, 2010, 95 pp.

 

 

Hope is a rescue pony, and she needs the love and care that Hannah can give her. Not only that, Hannah
plans to help the rescue centre Hope came from too.

 

 

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Amy and Amber

Stripes, London, 2011, 91 pp.

 

 

Sunnyside Stables wants a film to go on its website, and they ask Amy to take part. She spends so long
looking after lovely pony Amber, and thinking about the film, that she forgets all about her best friend Kayla.

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Daisy and Dancer

Stripes, London, 2011, 94 pp.

 

 

Daisy loves pony camp: she loves the pony she’s been given, Dancer, and she gets on really well with her
room mates too. After the girls see a wonderful trick riding display, they decide to do one of their own. Daisy’s
room mates are very good gymnasts. Daisy isn’t, and she and Dancer find the whole thing really difficult.

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Fairy Riding School

Scholastic, London, 2007, 84 pp.

Reprinted Scholastic, London, 2009

 

 

 

Part of  the Fairy House series, Katie is in trouble - can Rosehip and her magic ponies help out?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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