Lynn Hall
Lynn Hall has written 81 books to date, for adults as well as children, and about
many other things than horses, although most of her stories contain animals in one
form or another. I really like her work. I haven’t read many, but I can highly
recommend Ride a Dark Horse, which is aimed at teenagers, and The Something-
Joanne Brown, in her article on Lynn Hall’s use of animals in her work, writes: “they [the animals] fill two major functions: they initiate an adventure, either for themselves or an adolescent who befriends them, and/or they succour the emotional needs of a troubled young person.” As in many British pony books, Lynn Hall shows the horse being the start of a child’s moving out beyond her family. Her own childhood perhaps shows why she understands this feeling for animals so well. As a child, she was a loner, and wrote books about horses and dogs: wish fulfilment, while she tried to get an animal of her own. After earning money babysitting, she managed to buy a horse of her own when she was fourteen, but had to leave him when her family moved again. After she graduated from high school, she tried many different career paths, and was married for a short time, always feeling there was something more out there for her. She was inspired to begin her first horse book after she read a newly released title by a local author and thought she could do better.
Series: she’s written the Dragon series, aimed at younger readers. This is about the wild stallion Dragon, foundation stallion of the Pony of the Americas breed.
Finding the books: a few of her books turn up in the UK, but as far as I know, none were published over here, so you will need to try America. The books are generally widely available there, and usually cheap.
Links and Sources
I’ve drawn on Sharon’s excellent site here for information on the contents of the books. She also has bibliographical detail on all Lynn Hall’s titles, as well as other information. Many thanks to Sharon for sending me the link to her site.
An article by Joanne Brown on the role of animals in Lynn Hall’s fiction: needs a good proofread as the spacing is very dodgy but it makes some interesting points.
Biographical information on Lynn Hall
Pictures of Lynn Hall, her horses and dogs
Susan Stan: Presenting Lynn Hall, Twayne, 1996
Something about the Author Autobiography Series
The Dragon Series
A Horse Called Dragon
New Day for Dragon
Dragon Defiant
Dragon’s Delight
Bibliography: Horse Books Only
The Secret of Stone House
Follett, Chicago, 1968, hb
Tempo, New York, 1973, pb, illus
Joseph Cellini
Heather has to leave her Scottish home, and is alienated from her foster father.
She finds a grey mare called
Cloudy, and undergoes some tense adventures before she
finds out who she is.
Ride A Wild Dream
Follett, Chicago, 1969, illus George Roth, hb
Avon Camelot, New York,
1973, pb
Jon finds his dream horse, a Palomino, but the horse refuses to respond to him despite
the time and effort he
puts in.
A Horse Called Dragon
Follett, Chicago, 1971, hb, illus Joseph Cellini
Modern Curiculum
Press, Ohio, 1984, pb
Republished as: Wild Mustang
Scholastic, pb, 1971, pb
Dragon is a wild horse taken from the Sierra Madre mountains. He becomes the foundation of the American
breed the Pony of the Americas.
New Day For Dragon
Follett, Chicago, 1975, illus Joseph Cellini , hb
Avon Camelot,
New York, 1976, pb
Modern Curriculum Press, Ohio, 1984, pb
Dragon is unhappy in captivity until he is befriended by a 14 year old boy.
Flowers Of Anger
Follett, Chicago, 1976, illus Joseph Cellini
Avon, New York, 1978,
pb
A neighbour kills Annie’s pony the day before her first show. Annie is desperate
for revenge, but in seeking it
nearly ruins her friendship with Carey.
Captain : Canada's Flying Pony
Grossett & Dunlap Inc, New York, 1976, illus Tran
Mawicke, hb
Garrard Publishing Company,Champaign, IL, 1976, hb
Mr Cusack, owner of a riding stable and the pony Captain, is disappointed with him
and takes little notice of him.
Tracy falls for the colt, and persuades Mr Cusack
Captain can jump. Together they school him to become a
champion.
Dragon Defiant
Follett, Chicago, 1977, illus Joseph Cellini, hb
Modern Curriculum
Press, Ohio, 1984, pb
Dragon is sold as a stud to a small breeding farm in Michigan.
The Mystery Of Pony Hollow
Garrard Publishing Company, Champaign, IL, 1978, hb, illus
Ruth Sanderson
Touchwood Press, Elkader, IA, 1978, pb
Random House, New York, 1992
Republished
as The Ghost Pony
Garrard Weekly Reader, Middletown, 1978 pb
Many thanks to Konstanze Allsopp for the picture.
Sarah hears a frantic whinnying from an old building on her family’s new farm, but
when she opens the door all
she finds is an old pony skeleton....
The Whispered Horse
Follett Publishing Company, Chicago, 1979, hb
Many thanks to Konstanze Allsopp for the picture.
A young Scottish girl is sure her father has unusual powers over her horse. After
her mother dies, she is convinced
he will use the horse to avenge the death, and she
tries to find a way round the tragedy.
The Mystery Of Plum Park Pony
Garrard Publishing Company, Champaign, IL, 1980, hb
Republished
as: The Mystery Of The Phantom Pony, illus Marie DeJohn; cover art Ruth Sanderson
Random House, New York, 1988, pb
Random House 1993
Susan exercises the Shetland ponies at the amusement park, but then she sees an elegant
pony who is worlds
away from the Shetlands. At last she and her friend Kent track
the pony down, but then he is threatened by the
amusement park train.
Dragon's Delight
Modern Curriculum Press, Ohio, 1980, illus Joe Van Severen
Reprinted
1981, 1984
Many thanks to Konstanze Allsopp for the picture.
Before he dies, Dragon has mated with the yearling filly Delight, but is she too young to have a foal?
The Mysterious Moortown Bridge
Follett Publishing Co, Chicago, 1980, illus Ruth Sanderson
Weekly Reader Book Club edition.
ISBN 0695414682 (hardcover)
Pat and Curtis holiday in Iowa every year, but this year when they go riding, they
find what appears to be an
old haunted bridge.
The Horse Trader
Charles Scribner’s Sons, NY, 1981
Temp Books, NY, 1983
A fatherless teenage girl finds her relationship with Harley Williams, local horsedealer
and conman, begins to
change after she buys one of his horses.
Danza!
Charles Scribner, NY, 1981, 186 pp. Cover illus Sandy Rabinowitz
Tempo, 1983
A Puerto Rican teenager finds his true feelings about horses.
Half The Battle
Charles Scribner, NY, 1982
Tempo Books, NY, 1983
Many thanks to Konstanze Allsopp for the picture.
Loren is jealous of the attention his blind brother has always received, and when
they both enter an
endurance ride, takes drastic action.
Tin Can Tucker
Charles Scribner, NY, 1982
Tempo Books, NY, 1984
A 16 year old girl runs away, hoping to make a name for herself on the rodeo circuit.
