THE FULL STORY: In 1946, Marguerite Henry, an avid animal lover, went to Chincoteague Island in Virginia to witness the annual July pony-penning and adoption of the wild Assateague Island ponies. Each year, volunteers dubbed “saltwater cowboys” round up the ponies and swim them a quarter-mile across the channel so healthy foals can be auctioned. A centuries old tradition, the round-up was started by the volunteer Fire Department as a means of raising much needed funds and to allow for humane maintenance of the wild pony herd. During Marguerite’s trip, she befriended the Beebe family, owners of Misty, a palomino-and-white Chincoteague pinto filly. It is the Beebe family and their ponies that became the central characters in Ms. Henry’s series of books, starting with “Misty of Chincoteague.” Since the publication of “Misty of Chincoteague” in 1947, this pony has been one of the best-loved horses in children’s literature. Stormy was introduced in 1963 and tells the heartwarming tale of how Misty and her foal Stormy, through strength and love, helped save the island of ponies after a debilitating hurricane. As with all the books in her Misty of Chincoteague series, Marguerite spun the tale in her characteristic way of combining historical fact with imagination. Horse lover or not, Stormy is a pony that will find his way into your heart!
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