About the author
Wilma Pitchford Hays wrote many books for children; some on historical themes, many on animals, and some combining both themes. Biographical information on her is rather thin on the ground.
Finding the books:
All are reasonably easy to find.
Links and sources
Terri Wear: Horse Stories – An Annotated Bibliography
Wilma Pitchford Hays’ papers are in the de Grummond collection
Biographical information on the author; uncredited
Bibliography (horse books only)
The Little Horse that Raced a Train
Little Brown, Boston, 1959, 31 pp, illus Wesley Dennis
Elmer sees a horse trapped in a summer pasture during the winter. He organises the town in an effort to keep the horse alive during the winter.
Little Hawaiian Horse
Little Brown, Boston, 1963, 40 pp, illus Wesley Dennis
Keola picks out a filly for his own. She’s noisy, but he hopes he can prove to his father that she’s a good choice.
Mary’s Star
Colonial Williamsburg, New York, 1968, illus Lawrence Beall Smith
It is 1781, and Mary and her brother are penniless and alone now their father is dead. They are joined by another orphan, Deke, whom their father took in to serve an apprenticeship with the blacksmith. Mary has other worries. Her colt Sar is unruly and difficult, but Mary comes to realise there are some advantages to being a girl.
The Long Blond Wig
Washburn, New York, 1971, 119 pp, illus Marilyn Miller
The Thoroughbred filly Fury is very nervous, but she’s calmed down by her companion, Billy Ram. Unfortunately he is to be sold. Ginnie doesn’t want that, but she has other things on her mind when she begins to suspect the new hired hand Benjy of being involved in the cattle rustling going on
locally.
The Burro that Ran Away
Little Brown, Boston, 1969, 42 pp
