- Home
- Search Our Books
- Browse Our Books
- Looking for a Book?
- About Children's Books
Horse Books
Picture books and juveniles about horses, both realistic and imagined. We try to mention breed if this is clear. Because we love horses and horse books we'll sometimes list ones here that have a few more condition flaws than usual, usually jacket issues.
/CWA, illustrator.
"When the eye and mind have dwelt too long on treachery, cruelty, and brutality it is good to see in a fine horse those qualities so essential in times of stress - courage, strength, and unconquerable pride." CWA 1942 . Heart-wrenchingly beautiful drawings that show the unique character of each horse. Getting hard to find with a jacket in this condition.
New York: Macmillan, 1942, 1st printing; 9x11.5 oblong, 64 pp.
CONDITION: Fine in Very Good jacket; no names, light wartime paper with very nice spine and corners, in jacket with shadow of adjacent books, with light wear to corners, two half inch tears; unclipped 2.50.
18939
$90.00
Marvellous scenes of trained animals from the late 1800's. Three sections illustrated with 48 color-tinted images:
- Visit to the Circus: Dancing Horse Act, Trick Horses at Dinner, Eight Horse Riding Act, Bareback Drum Act, and many Bareback riding tricks;
- Monkeys' Circus: The Band at the Door, Toby Spinning the Dishes, Miss Lily's Ride, and other monkeys performing human circus acts, including a dinner which seems to be working out better than the Horses';
- Wonderful Performing Dogs: Performing Poodles, the Wheelbarrow Ride, and other amazing tricks by fully clothed small dogs with some Newfoundlands obligingly playing the role of Dogs.
Interesting pencil inscriptions and poem written by Daisy Maud Watkins as a young child who received this book for Christmas in 1885 and moved to Logan, Ohio in 1886.
New York: McLoughlin 1883, first edition and first or early printing (the 3 sections were published in softcover simultaneously); red, blue and yellow boards with six vignettes, "Men, Monkeys, and Dogs" on bottom board, red edges all around, heavy paper, red blue and gilt outlined letters on title page, illustrated half titles for each section, text set in full page illustrations; 8.5x11"; np.
CONDITION: Good Plus; careful child's inscriptions from 1880's, all edges worn to undercoat and bottom and corners to card, right edge of spine very chipped off, leaving monkey design complete, original plain endpapers not split, both boards evenly foxed, margins of pages evenly soiled from handling and one small bottom margin spot running through last six pages, tight, straight, and otherwise clean.
22514
$750.00
/Stanley Lloyd, illustrator.
Jenny, a little girl who longs for a pony, and Tattles, the son of an elegant hunter who pulls a junk cart, both walk through The Dark Corner of the stable to fulfill their dreams at the Extraordinary Riding School. (password: Silver Snaffles) This school is run by the ponies themselves, who are superb instructors: in one week Jenny is able to ride off on to rescue a pony from the snobbish Jostlepots and take part in a glorious hunt ! A classic, gentle fantasy, not just for pony book lovers.
New York: M. S. Mill Co., Inc., 1937 stated 1st issue (US, preceded by the 1937 UK 1st); blue cloth with dark blue titles and Mill logo, blue top edge; 25 full page charcoal drawings blank on verso, as issued; 6.5x9.25; 160 pp.
CONDITION: Very Good; without jacket; no names; slanted 1/8" but tight, extrems worn through at all tips, one small light spot on lower top and uneven fading on back and spine; very clean and unwrinkled plates and text.
19835
$195.00
.
Lyle, 14, eagerly accompanies his grandfather into the Nevada hills to stalk a mustang stallion.
Note: This book has been sold.
Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard, 1981, 1st printing; 160 pp.
CONDITION: Very Good in Very Good jacket; some tape stains where owner has taped dw, clipped, w half inch tear.
9793
$15.00
/Al Savitt, illustrator.
An interesting book by a lifelong horseman and judge. Fear and what to do about it; Beware of anthropopathism; Stable manners___ Yours, that is, and more.
New York: G. P. Putnams' Sons, (1970); gray boards in tan jacket with eight horses' heads, all with something different going on; 6x8.2"; 123 pp + catalogue and author page, including index.
CONDITION: Very Good in Good Plus jacket; child's bookplate, spine ends pushed, otherwise clean and straight; in darkening jacket with cracks or rubs on all creases, 1.5" tear, damage to both spine ends to 3/4"; unclipped 4.50.
20828
$12.00
/Victor Ambrus, illustrator.
Kodi, a Navajo boy, was sent away to the mission school, leaving his beautiful horse Willow with a cruel master. How he ran away to try to save her. With many sensitive drawings by Ambrus. (For photos of a better copy, see 15635)
New York: Criterion, 1973, 1st printing nap; 107 pp.
CONDITION: Very Good in Very Good clipped jacket; ex-lib, few marks.
15635
$10.00
/photos taken from the film and by Denys Colomb.
Large, beautiful photos of wild horses, a wild boy, and the Camargue. There is something nostalgic about seeing the horse and boy galloping along the shore as seen through the veil of the glassine wrap. Quite a treasure if you love this film.
Paris: Hachette, October 15, 1953, Imprimerie Pigelet; No. d'Imprimarie 590, depot legal, 4e trimestre 1953, presumed 1st publication after Cannes in the spring of 1953; large softcover/wraps with folded flaps and separate red bande "Grand Prix International/Festival de Cannes 1953" (short film; replaced by Palme d'Or in 1955); photo of Folco galloping White Mane , and of two stallions fighting on the back, black and white photos with many spreads, heavy coated paper; glassine wrap; 8.5x12", 22x30.5cm; no page numbers.
CONDITION: Very Good in Very Good stiff dustwrapper around clean paper block; no names or other marks, top corners lightly bumped, bottom corners lightly creased throughout text, pages clean, dustwrapper flaws as with block, with rubbed creases, red band paper faded on spine ow very nice; all in glassine wrap with upper corners and most of spine missing but nice front and back panels, stored and sold in protective toploader.
21576
$110.00
/RL, illustrator.
Episodes in the Career of Paul Revere as revealed by his horse. Lawson's illustrations of this large, roman nosed horse are probably pretty accurate!
Boston: Little, Brown Co., 1953/1953, 5th printing, in year of publication; 8vo, 152 pp.
CONDITION: Very Good Plus without jacket; neat inked name on half title, tight, clean, slight rubs to extrems, very light soil on back.
21126
$10.00
/Jos. A. Smith, illustrator.
Boy learns to take care of horse.
Greenwillow, 1966, 1st printing; 168 pp.
CONDITION: Fine in Fine jacket; no flaws, unclipped 15.00.
9739
$25.00
/Ian Amour-Chelu, illustrator.
Bill, orphaned early, goes from Wellington to Wairarapa or the Wydrup, a rough ranching community in the foothills, and makes his way on his own through his persistence and his horsemanship. Vivid scenery and horses.
London: Epworth Press, New Zealand: Whitcombe and Tombs, 1963 1st printing; brown boards, green yellow and white jacket with Bill Campion on a horse; 8vo; 153 pp.
CONDITION: Very Good in Near Fine jacket; foxed edges, wrinkled ep gutters; unclipped 12/6.
16888
$14.00
/Margaret Lefranc, illustrator.
An excellent introduction to the Plains Indians, with chapters on how they made things, cookery, sign language, etc.
Crowell, 4th, c.1948; 136 pp, biblio, index.
CONDITION: Very Good in Good jacket; slightly caved, red clipped dw spine sl fade.
4633
$8.00
/Helen Stone, illustrator.
When Brownie, the fancy NY police horse who has had his picture in the paper, moves into the stall next to Joey's, Joey begins to wish for fame. If Joey could have his picture in the paper, his owner could afford new shoes for his six children. After a string of funny adventures, he achieves his heart's desire. Lively, stylish, though not particularly equestrian, drawings illustrate this sweet tale. A new story about Joey, "The Horse Who Lived Upstairs" by the same author/artist team.
Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1951, stated first; green paper boards with gilt horse and titles, plain endpapers, in pink jacket with the horse reading the newspaper over the shoulder of Mr. Polaski, the vegetable man, 7.5x9.75"; 48 pp.
CONDITION: Very Good Plus in Very Good jacket; no names or other marks, clean boards, sharp unrubbed extrems, a few light reading wrinkles on clean pages, in crisp, very clean, darkening jacket with light wear to extrems and half inch closed tear; unclipped 2.00.
19499
$58.00
/Ella Dolbear Lee, illustrator.
Mowie's life in the circus and later with his child friends told in clear, bright watercolor and ink lithos on every other opening. A charming item in an earlier style than the 20's.
Whitman, Wig Wag Series, (1920), cloudy gray paper boards with Jim the clown in a white suit with red spots gently holding Mowie's head; 4.75x6.5"; 32 pp.
CONDITION: Disbound (almost); no names or other marks, very light rubs and bumps to extremities and spine crease, clean, flat pages, appearing unread; would be Very Good but the book is bound with one signature stapled to a continuous pasted down endpaper, which has pulled away on two staples; however, block itself is very tight.
19417
$15.00
A collection of stories and poems about horses through history by the author of good horse books.
Leicester: Brockhampton Press, 1973, 1st printing; jacket with photo of two riders, tall 8vo; 128 pp.
CONDITION: Good in Very Good jacket; name has been cut out of free endpaper in 1.5" strip, otherwise tight and crisp; in clipped jacket with light rubs to edges and extrems.
17448
$16.00
/Berta & Elmer Hader, illustrator.
The amusing story of Mr. Peck, his wife, and the idiosyncrasies of his various pets, which run to dachshunds and horses. The Pecks' menagerie follows them from a city apartment to a small farm. Based on the experiences of a friend of the author.
Macmillan, 1947, stated 1st printing. Orange paper boards with blue dachshunds stamped, white endpapers with blue landscape and all the animals along front, in blue jacket with portraits of animals across top and thin coral bands; 6.5x8.75", 96 pp.
CONDITION: Very Good with Very Good jacket; bottom edges worn, spine ends bumped; in attractive jacket with slight rubs at extrems, top spine worn 1/4" and two 3/8" tears; unclipped 2.00.
13809
$25.00
/HFdeV, illustrator.
Not for sale, from our own collection. I am listing this in the hope of finding out more about its illustrator. Wonderful swift sketches of horses in the field and stable, this essay on the hunt begins quoting Jorrocks and ends with English, "May you hunt forever." Several pages are addressed to women riders. Lovely paper and coloration. This book is available from archive.com in Kindle, with not quite the same ambiance! In French, its original language.
Establisssements d'imprimerie Seringe Freres, Noailles, Boullon; et ?emeoud Reunies, Leon Echegut, Directeur Geront, 1. Places de Caire 2. C. des Miracles;Fondes en 1806; no other data, cloth boards, probably linen, with green margins and horseman and dog, plain endpapers, same title page, followed by pages of watercoloured pen and ink lithos of fox hunting, interspersed with handwritten text, riders leaning back, Edwardian clothes, French signage, women sidesaddle, 10.25x9.8", 27x24.6cm" (In French)
CONDITION: Good; boards faded but clean, badly bumped in top spine corner, pages clean, unwrinkled, bright, and flat.
19058
$0.00
.
Tishtry, a slave girl at the time of the Roman Empire and a talented stunt rider has only one desire, to buy freedom for her family and herself. Her experiences in the sophisticated society of Rome. Author's second book for young adults.
New York: Harper & Row, 1985 stated 1st; green reinforced binding, orange- yellow endpapers, in jacket with same colour titles and chariot entering the sandy arena; 8vo; 218 pp
CONDITION: Near Fine in Near Fine jacket; unclipped 11.89.
20679
$14.00