Margaret S. Johnson/Helen Lossing Johnson

Silver Dawn

William Morrow , New York,1958, illus the author, 80 pp.

“The young mare's dark eyes held a look of intelligence and her ears were alert to catch a word from Julia Braddock,
her youthful rider. Silver Dawn came from a long line of horses famous for their ability to jump and for their gentle,
courageous temperament. She was an ideal saddle horse, but now the time had come to train her for her real
career as a show jumper.  Julia's father ran a training stable, and with his advice Julia prepared Silver Dawn for the
big show at New York's Madison Square Garden =, where the mare won a first prize. Unfortunately, Mr. Braddock
found it necessary to sell her, so Julia and Silver Dawn had to part.”

Margaret Sweet Johnson (1893-1964) and her mother, Helen Lossing Johnson are probably best known for their books about dogs. The family were lovers of nature and art, and Margaret Johnson’s father was a keen naturalist, specialising in ornithology.  Helen Lossing Johnson, an artist, encouraged her daughter to study at the Academy of Design and the Art Students' League in New York.  Mother and daughter collaborated on many books, with Margaret Johnson carrying on after her mother’s death.

Many thanks to Susan Bourgeau, Birte Scheel and Lisa Catz for all their help with this section.

Finding the books:  Wheaton published some of Margaret S Johnson’s titles in the UK, including Kelpie, but it is still easier to find in its American version.. All her horse titles are relatively easy to find, though can edge towards priciness for copies with dustjackets which are not ex-library.

Links and Sources:
Terri A. Wear:  Horse Stories, an Annotated Bibilography, Scarecrow Press, 1987

Dustjacket of Silver Dawn

Bibliography - horse books only

Kelpie

Morrow, New York, 1962, 64 pp.  Illus the author

Wheaton, Exeter, 1963

Stablemates

Harcourt, Brace & Company, New York, 1942, 104 pp.

written and illustrated by Margaret S. Johnson and Helen Lossing Johnson

The friendship between the horses Dick and Daisy starts when they are colts, and they are unhappy unless they
are together.  Together they are until Dick is sold after he loses his nerve at jumping.  They do finally meet again.

Dixie Dobie, a Sable Island Pony

Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York,1945, 90 pp.

written and illustrated by Margaret S. Johnson and Helen Lossing Johnson

“Dixie Dobie was a wild pony who lived on bare and stormy Sable Island near the coast of Nova Scotia. When
she was a young colt she spent her days racing along the beaches with the other ponies, but one day men
came to the island, drove the ponies into corrals, and took them on a ship bound for Nova Scotia. A violent
storm came up and Dixie alone escaped when the ship was wrecked. How she found shelter on the mainland
and how her wild nature was tamed form the climax of the story.”

Red Joker

Morrow, New York, 1950, illus the author, 95 pp.

“Ken allows his oddly coloured Irish setter Joker to be used as a companion for the nervous racehorse Ace of
Diamonds and the dog stays with the horse even after it is stolen and taken to Mexico.”