Adèle de Leeuw

Blue Ribbons for Meg

Little Brown, Boston, 1950, illus Mac Schweitzer, 145 pp.

Reprinted 1951

Meg goes to live with her cousins on an Army cavalry post on the Dakota plains while her parents are out of the
country. She came from Boston, and likes to read and knit. She was afraid of horses, and terrified of Indians, both
of which there were a lot of around the post. When her uncle wants her to have a pony of her own, Meg chooses a
half-starved little pinto which she names Papoose. With the gentle pony, Meg gradually learns to take part in the
fun with the other children of the post.

Adèle de Leeuw (1899-1988) was born in Hamilton, Ohio.  She was a prolific writer who produced more than 75 children’s books; some in collaboration with her younger sister, Cateau de Leeuw, who both wrote and illustrated.   As children, the sisters produced magazines they both wrote and illustrated.  Adèle’s literary career started after she conducted storytelling sessions for children whlst she was working as a librarian.  She wrote books about historical figures, such as the airwoman Amelia Earhart, and the nurse, Edith Cavell.  As far as I am aware, she wrote a single horse book, Blue Ribbons for Meg.  

Many thanks to Lisa Catz the photograph and summary.

Finding the book:  the book is easy to find in the USA.  It was not published in the UK.

Sources and links:

Adèle de Leeuw’s obituary, New York Times

The De Grummond collection holds some de Leeuw papers

Bibliography - horse books only