Matt Christopher
Devil Pony
Little, Brown, Boston, 1977, illus Lorence Bjorklund, 103 pp.
“Stu Bancroft had been visiting his aunt, when the Morgan colt Midnight, was born.
She promised Stu that Midnight
would be his. Now Stu and his sister, Sally, have
come for a visit, and then will be taking Midnight home with them.
But when Stu gets
on Midnight for the first time, Midnight immediately throws him, but then allows
his cousin,
Wilbur to ride him. Other strange things are happening, like a vase falling
and breaking, and a saddle suddenly
falling off it’s rack. Wilbur tells Stu that
he believes it is the Bancroft ghost, who is angry that Stu and Sally are
there.
He warns Stu that they should leave right away, and not take Midnight with them.
Stu is undecided what to
do. He rides Midnight twice with no problems, but then is
thrown again. Stu’s love for Midnight makes him determined
to find the reasons behind
these mysterious events.”
Matt Christopher is the American equivalent of Michael Hardcastle: a prolific writer of children’s books based on sport. If you want to read about baseball, Matt Christopher is your man; and indeed if you want to read about the big American sports, he can provide you with a story about it. His first novel, The Lucky Baseball Bat, was written in 1954, based to some extent on his own experiences. He was the eldest of nine children, and said “I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.” Although he’s now “well beyond playing age”, he still watches a lot of sport!
He has written two horse books: Earthquake and Devil Pony.
Many thanks to Lisa Catz the photograph and summary.
Finding the book: the books are easy to find in the USA, and were not published in the UK.
Sources and links:
Matt Christopher’s website
Bibliography -
Earthquake
Little, Brown, Boston, 1975, illus Ted Lewin, 111 pp.
Scholastic, pb, 1975
Greenhaven Press, MI, 1989
Jeff travels through the Adirondack wilderness on his horse Red. He knew the journey
would be dangerous, but
then he is trapped by an earthquake.
