Betsy Byars was born in 1928, “the same year as bubble gum and Mickey Mouse..., a very good year for all three of us.” She lives in an aircraft hangar with her husband: they are both pilots, and the bottom of the house is a hangar so they can taxi out in their planes. The fact the house is on an airstrip in South Carolina must help too. She has written over 60 children’s books, and is still writing.
She is a Newbery Medal winner (1971 - The Summer of the Swans) and amongst many other awards, also won the American Book Award in 1981 with The Night Swimmers. Although many of her books feature animals, just three are horse books. When she was small, she saw an animated film with white winged horses - the most beautiful thing she saw as a child, she thinks, and a strong influence on The Winged Horse of Casa Mia. The book was set in Texas, as she experienced its wildness at first hand after having to drive out and haul her husband’s glider when he didn’t make it back to the airport. It was “a place where a boy and a winged colt could have some adventures without any publicity at all.”
Betsy Byar’s other horse books are for younger readers, and feature Little Horse, who really is little: just 6 inches high. “When you’re only about six inches tall, there’s danger everywhere – not just from fast currents and waterfalls, but from hawks and dogs and, even, humans.”
Finding the books: Winged Colt is very easy to find as a paperback, and is usually very cheap. As a hardback it’s perfectly findable too, and is usually reasonably priced. Both the Little Horse books are still in print, though only, as far as I can see, in hardback.
Sources and Links
Betsy Byar’s website
Betsy Byar’s entry on Wikipedia
An article on Betsy Byars
The Winged Colt of Casa Mia
Viking Press, Inc, 1973
The Bodley Head, London, 1974
Puffin Books, 1979, cover Chris Molan, illus Krystyna Turska
As part of Animal Stories, Red Fox, 1998
Uncle Coot declares there is no such thing as a winged horse, and there never will
be either, but that is just
what has been born on his neighbour’s property. Uncle
Coot’s nephew, Charles, is far better than his uncle
at coping with the reality of
the colt, Alado, and he becomes the centre of Charles’ life.
Little Horse
Henry Holt & Company, 2002, illus David MacPhail
“Little Horse falls into a stream and is swept away from the Valley of Little Horses.
He finds danger,
adventure and a new life.”
Little Horse on his Own
Henry Holt & Company, 2004, illus David MacPhail
“Little Horse faces lightning, fire and dangerous animals on his way back to the
valley of little
horses and his mother. “
