About the author
Gabrielle Emilie Jackson was born in 1861, and wrote over 30 titles for children. As well as a selection of school stories, she wrote animal stories and the fascinatingly titled A Series of Don’t’s For Mothers Who May, Or May Not, Be In Need Of Them. I hope it appears on Project Gutenberg soon, as it sounds like a title I am in need of. Or maybe not.
Finding the books
Reasonably easy to find. None of the books were printed in the UK.
Links and sources
Terri A. Wear: Horse Stories, an Annotated Bibliography, Scarecrow Press, 1987
Thanks to Lisa Catz for the photographs and summaries.
Some of Gabrielle E Jackson’s titles (though not the horse ones) are available on Project Gutenberg.
Bibliography (horse books only)
Big Jack and Other True Stories of Horses
J F Taylor & Company, New York, 1903, 181 pp
Seven stories about horses. Big Jack is a gentle delivery wagon horse in New York, with an uncanny knack for remembering people. Charlie is a milk delivery horse, who needs no guiding. A colt named Sonny and the boy named Bob grow up together, and go off to war together, where each has the chance to save the other’s life. Isabel comes home from school to find her father has sold her beloved horse, Old Nick, to a horse dealer, and she is determined to track him down and buy him back.
A Blue Grass Beauty
H Altemus Company, Philadelphia, 1903, 130 pp. Uncredited illustrator
A book containing one long, and three shorter, stories. The main story is about a horse that has to be sold, and who is not treated well, but is later reunited with his original mistress. The three shorter stories are about a Saint Bernard who is stolen from a little girl, a driving horse, and a cat.
Wee Winkles and Snowball
Harper & Row, 1906, 147 pp, illus Mary Theresa Hart
Part of a series about a brother and sister. In this book, Snowball the pony joins the family. The children learn how to take care of him, and great detail is given (and illustrated) on how to put the driving harness on properly. Instead of centring on just the pony, the book’s message is kindness to all animals.
