Kim Ablon Whitney

Kim Ablon Whitney lives with her husband, sons and greyhound in Newton, Massachusetts. She went to Tufts University, and also has an M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College. She is a member of the PEN New England Children’s Book Caucus. (UK readers will probably know that Josephine Pullein-Thompson did much work with PEN, being its President, and also recipient of the Golden Pen).

Her one horse book, The Perfect Distance, is based on her own experiences. She rode in the equitation competitions described in the book, but the heroine, Francie, is “a very different person and rider than I am.” Her contact with horses now is more as a judge: she has her USEF 'R' judge's license in hunters, equitation, and jumpers, but hopes to get back into riding more when her sons are older.

The Perfect Distance is an excellent read, and an example of the sort of book that just isn’t published in the UK anymore: a standalone horse book.

Finding the book: The Perfect Distance hasn’t had a British publication, but is very easily obtainable over here, both in hardback and paperback. Watch out for mad prices on the bookselling websites: cheap copies are very easy to get. It’s also very easily obtainable in its native USA, and is not expensive. The book, at the time of writing (2009) was still in print.

Many thanks to Susan Bourgeau for all her help with the book and author information.

Sources:

Kim Ablon Whitney’s website

Author interview on the book