About the author
Colonel Sterner St Paul Meek (1894–1972), who also wrote under the names Capt S P Meek, Major S P Meek and Sterner St Paul, was a US military chemist. Before turning to writing children’s books, he wrote science fiction, which, despite its popularity, critic Samuel R Delany called “unbelievably bad.”
Sterner St Paul Meek studied at the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and MIT. During World War I, he joined the American Army as a military chemist and ordnance expert. When he retired from the Army in 1947, he became a full time writer.
After his excursion into science fiction, he turned to children’s books, most of which were about animals, especially dogs. He wrote four horse books.
Finding the books
Bellfarm is expensive; Frog easy and cheap to find in its Famous Horses incarnation; expensive as a first edition; Midnight is reasonably easy to find, but can be expensive, and Pagan is expensive as a first edition. None of the books were published in the UK.
Links and sources
Terri A. Wear: Horse Stories, an Annotated Bibliography, Scarecrow Press, 1987
Wikipedia on Colonel S P Meek
Bibliography (horse books only)
Frog, the Horse that Knew No Master
William Penn Publishing Co, Philadelphia, 1933
(possibly – various publishers given for 1st edition)
Knopf, 1946, illus Charles Hargens
Grosset & Dunlap, Famous Horse Series
Frog is a US cavalry horse stationed in Panama. He is due to be destroyed because he is so vicious he cannot be ridden. However, his saviour is at hand. Lieutenant Scott manages to work with Frog and transform him into a fine polo pony.
Midnight: a Cow Pony
A A Knopf, New York, 1949, 217 pp
Various Knopf reprints
Midnight is a cow pony at the Lazy E Ranch, but very few peple can actually ride him. One day someone visits the ranch asking to learn about ranching, and when he’s asked to choose a horse, he chooses Midnight.
Pagan, a Border Patrol Horse
Knopf, New York,1951, 238 pp
Knopt, New York, 1965
Ted has a gelding called Pagan, and they work for the Texas Border Patrol. Their job is to track down people who have entered America illegally.
Bellfarm Star, the Story of a Pacer
Dodd Mead, New York, 1955, 231 pp, illus Gerald McCann
Reprinted 1956
Sally, the pacer mare, is due to have a foal, which Roger hopes will be good enough to enter the Hambletonian. However, Roger goes missing in war, and the foal breaks its leg.