Jane and Paul Annixter

The Runner

Holiday House, 1956, illus Paul Laune, 220 pp.

The Roan Runner

Heinemann, London, 1961, illus Stuart Tresilian, 159 pp.

Clem helps train polo ponies on his uncle’s ranch in Wyoming. When he first sees a roan colt running with a wild herd,
he names him “The Runner”,thinking the horse would make a champion, if only he could catch him.  Nobody believes
he can do it. Only the ranch dog, Poojer, believes Clem and The Runner and he helps achieve the miracle.

Jane and Paul Annixter were pseudonyms used by husband and wife writing team Jane Levington Comfort (1903-1996) and Howard Allison Sturtzel (1894-1985).  Both wrote under their own names, but as the Annixters were best known for their children’s books, many of which featured animals and the natural world.  Besides their books, they wrote over 500 short stories.  After their marriage, the couple lived in Pasadena, where besides writing they gardened, did building projects and mountain climbed.  They believed that a balanced life resulted from working with the hands as well as the brain, and that the natural world was as important as the works of man.

Finding the books:  all are easy to find in the USA, and not generally expensive.  The Runner was published in the UK as The Roan Runner, and is reasonably easy to find and not generally expensive.

Links and sources:

Dustjacket of The Runner

The Annixter papers are in the University of Oregon Libraries

Bibliography - horse books only

The Phantom Stallion - a Penny of Paintrock Story

Golden Press, New York, 1961, illus Robert Schultz, 188 pp.

Penny Linstroen lives at Paintrock Ranch in Wyoming, and she has trained her black stallion Midnight into a
magnificent show animal.  When a mysterious wild horse causes trouble, Midnight is blamed for the broken fences
and scattered stock.  Penny and her friend Russ solve the mystery.

Trouble at Paintrock - a Penny of Paintrock Story

Golden Press, New York, 1962, illus Albert Micale, 188 pp.

White Shell Horse

Holiday House, 1971, 188 pp.

The young Navaho Agapito kills a mountain lion which was about to attack a small white colt.  During a
dramatic and life changing time for the Navaho, the two grow up together.

Penny of Paintrock

Phantom Stallion

Trouble at Paintrock