Judy Alter

Callie Shaw, Stable Boy

Eakin Press, Texas, 1996, 188 pp.

Reviews of Callie

Callie wants to work with horses, so to do it, in Depression era America, with an aunt who thinks of racing as
the devil’s work, she poses as a boy called Caleb and gets a job in a stable.

Judy Alter 1938-  published her first book, After Pa Was Shot, in 1978, and since then has written for both adults and children.  Many of her books are on Western themes, and she has written several books on rodeos.  She has a “lifelong interest in the lives of women in the American West,” and her juvenile horse novels are all historical, being set in Late Victorian and Depression Era America.  Her Maggie series sees a Texas tomboy sent away to school to learn to be a lady, and return to eventually realise her dream and ride at Madison Square Garden.

Judy Alter worked as a Director of a small academic press, TCU, and is now retired, and writing “cozy mysteries.”

Finding the book:  Callie is easy to find in the USA.  The Maggie series are easily available.

Sources and links:

Judy Alter’s website

Judy Alter’s blog

An interview with Judy Alter

Many thanks to Lisa Catz the photograph .

Bibliography - horse books only

Maggie and a Horse Named Devildust

Ellen C Temple Publishing, Texas, pb, 1989

Maggie would rather ride than learn to be a lady, as her mother wants.  She works hard with the wild horse Devildust,
but after she is involved in a fight at school, her mother insists she is sent away to boarding school.  Maggie runs away
to join a Wild West Show, but is soon reunited with her family, where she learns to compromise.

Maggie and the Search for Devildust

Ellen C Temple Publishing, Texas, pb, 1989, 159 pp.

It is 1897, and Maggie has survived her year at Miss Porter's school for Girls.  She returns home to Texas to train
Devildust and ride in a Wild West Show.

Maggie and Devildust - Ridin’ High

Ellen C Temple Publishing, Texas, pb, 1990, 174 pp.

Maggie is now 18, and finally realises her dream:  she stars in a Wild West Show in Madison Square Garden.

The Maggie Series

Maggie and a Horse Named Devildust

Maggie and the Search for Devildust

Maggie and Devildust - Ridin’ High