About the author
What a can of worms I opened up when I decided to add the Linda Craig series to the website. The series was produced in three bursts, and as the latest series completely superceded the first two, there are two Linda Craig #1 etc and no, they are not the same book. The reading orders, as far as I have been able to work them out, are to the right.
All books do though feature Linda Craig and her palomino filly Chica. Linda and her brother Bob are orphans, who come to live on the Rancho Del Sol with their grandparents. Each book is a mystery story with a Western riding background. In the first series, Linda and Bob are 16 and 18, but in the third series years are ruthlessly chopped away from them and they are around the age of 10 (and Chica is renamed as Amber). Maybe this change in the characters’ ages reflected what Scholastic felt was the age of the pony book market.
Who is Ann Sheldon?
Ann Sheldon is a composite – she does not exist. She is a creation of Stratemeyer Syndicates, responsible for the Nancy Drew series and numerous other well known and long running American series, ghost-written by a variety of authors. The only author I have been able to identify with any certainty is Alison Hart (Alice Leonhardt) who wrote five of the third series of books: Kathy in Charge, The Riding Club, A Horse for Jackie, The Glimmering Ghost and The Silver Stallion.
The author(s) of of the first two series remain a mystery. There were six titles in the first series of books, produced in the 1960s. These six were reprinted by Simon and Schuster between 1982 and 1984, and five new stories were then added to the series. These eleven stories (I’m not sure about Scorpio, which I can’t find referred to in the British Library, or on any booksearch site) were published in the UK by Armada in paperback, and as compilations by Diamond. That was the last the UK saw of the series; in 1988 Simon and Schuster published twelve new titles which only appear to have been published in the US. This last twelve behaved as if the previous books did not exist, and started numbering again from one.
Finding the books
Scorpio is very hard to find indeed (so hard, in fact, I begin to wonder if it exists at all). The hardbacks are not impossible, but more expensive than the freely available and generally very cheap paperbacks.
Links and sources
Alice Leonhardt on being a ghostwriter (on the Slate website)
A review of some of the books on the Mad About Pony Books blog
Terri Wear: Annotated Bibliography of Horse Books
Many thanks to Susan Bourgeau and Hannah Fleetwood for all their help with pictures and information.
The Linda Craig books
First collection
Linda Craig and the Palomino Mystery
Linda Craig and the Clue on the Desert Trail
Linda Craig and the Secret of Rancho del Sol
Linda Craig and the Mystery of Horseshoe Canyon
Linda Craig and the Mystery in Mexico
Linda Craig and the Ghost Town Treasure
Second collection
All of the above plus
The Haunted Valley
Secret of the Old Sleigh
The Emperor’s Pony
Phantom of Dark Oaks
Search for Scorpio (?)
Third collection
Golden Secret
A Star for Linda
The Silver Stallion
The Crystal Trail
The Glimmering Ghost
The Ride to Gold Canyon
A Horse for Jackie
A Star in the Saddle
The Riding Club
Anything for Kelly
Everybody’s Favourite
Kathy in Charge
Armada series (UK)
Palomino Mystery
Clue on the Desert Trail
Secret of Rancho del Sol
Horseshoe Canyon
Mystery in Mexico
Ghost Town Treasure
The Haunted Valley
Secret of the Old Sleigh
Emperor’s Pony
Phantom of Dark Oaks
Search for Scorpio (possibly)
Bibliography (horse books only)
Linda Craig and the Palomino Mystery
Doubleday, New York, 1962
Reprinted Wanderer Books, 1981
Armada, London, pb, 1982, illus St Ward
Linda meets Charlie when she is on a trip trying to discover what is producing some mysterious lights in the desert. Linda wishes she could buy Charlie’s lovely palomino filly.
Linda Craig and the Clue on the Desert Trail
Doubleday, New York, 1962
Reprinted Wanderer Books, 1981
Armada, London, pb, 1982, Illus St Ward
One day Linda sees a little yellow clay horse, and because it reminds her of her palomino horse Chica, she buys it. However, she is not the only person who wants the model horse, and someone tries very hard indeed to steal it.
Linda Craig and the Secret of Rancho Del Sol
Doubleday, New York, 1963
Reprinted Wanderer Books, 1981
Armada, London, pb, 1982
A man ransacks the Rancho del Sol, because he says has has a claim on the missing Perez jewels. Linda and her friends try to solve the mystery of the man’s identity.
Linda Craig and the Mystery of Horseshoe Canyon
Doubleday, New York, 1963
Reprinted Wanderer Books, 1981
Armada, London, pb, 1982
Some garnets are stolen from Mr Hamilton’s shop, and the thief escapes into the desert with them. Linda and her friends combine a round up of the wild donkeys in the desert with their search for the thief.
Linda Craig and the Mystery in Mexico
Doubleday, New York, 1964
Reprinted Wanderer Books, 1981
Armada, London, pb, 1983
Linda and Chica have been asked to ride in the Mexican Fiesta de Cortes. Being Linda there is of course a mystery to solve, and this one involves a stream that has changed its course.
Linda Craig and the Ghost Town Treasure
Doubleday, New York, 1964
Reprinted Simon & Schuster, 1982
Armada, London, pb, 1983
The riding instructors at the Saddle Creek Camp have left without any warning. Linda and her friends take over as instructors, but they are puzzled with the head of the camp resents them, instead of being grateful they are there.
The Second Collection of Stories
The Haunted Valley
Wanderer Books, 1982
Armada, London, pb, 1983
Lots of strange happenings in this title: Linda goes to investigate ghostly goings on at a dude ranch, and odd happenings almost prevent her entering Chica in the Parade Class at the horse show.
Secret of the Old Sleigh
Wanderer Books, 1983, pb
Armada, London, pb, 1983
Linda has borrowed an old sleigh for Chica to pull during the Christmas parade. While she’s cleaning it, she finds an old journal and a black stone, so off she sets to Montana to try and solve the mystery.
The Emperor’s Pony
Wanderer Books, 1983
Armada, London, pb, 1984
Linda sends her palomino pony Chica to Palomino Acres. Meanwhile, she goes to an
exhibition to see a jade model of a pony. Both the jade model and Linda’s beloved Chica are stolen.
Phantom of Dark Oaks
Wanderer Books, 1984
Armada, London, pb, 1984, illus St Ward
Linda is in Georgia, riding with the Palomino Princesses Drill Team. Chica goes missing (again), and there’s a robbery at Dark Oaks as well as plenty of other strange goings on.
search for scorpio
Wanderer Books, 1984
possibly printed by Armada in 1984 – but no copy has yet turned up.
From Google Books: “While appearing at a horse show, Linda is entrusted with the care of a mysterious young colt and becomes involved in a dangerous search when the colt is stolen.”
The Third Collection of Stories
Golden Secret
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1988
Linda’s parents had a deed, which has gone missing. She finds a clue to where it is in an old song she finds in the attic, but it leads to somewhere she doesn’t expect: an abandoned gold mine.
A Star for Linda
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1988
It’s Fiesta Day, and Linda and Amber are taking part. Strange things are afoot: including a stagecoach that seems to have vanished into thin air.
The Silver Stallion
Author: Alison Hart
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1988
Paige Duvall and her white Arab stallion are coming to Rancho del Sol to practise for the
local horse show. Linda’s really looking forward to their visit, but when Paige arrives, it’s a bitter disappointment. The last thing she wants to do is talk to Linda.
The Crystal Trail
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1988
Linda and Bob, and their horses Amber and Rocket are in Colorado for a riding camp. It’s all going wonderfully until someone seems to have decided to spoil their fun.
The Glimmering Ghost
Author: Alison Hart
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1989
There’s a local legend about a ghostly horse and rider, and when Linda and Amber see figures who could be them, they decide to investigate.
The Ride to Gold Canyon
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1989
Four visitors from a Los Angeles pony club come to visit, and Linda takes them on a trip to the Canyon. What they find there is danger and excitement.
A Horse for Jackie
Author: Alison Hart
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1989
Jackie is new, and Linda shows her what fun it is to ride. Jackie is desperate to learn, because she’s hoping her rock star father, whom she never sees, will buy her a horse.
A Star in the Saddle
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1989
Something exciting is happening right next to the Rancho del Sol – Joanna Curtis, soap star,
is filming an episode of the soap next door. Linda soon believes that Joanna wants her beautiful horse, Amber.
The Riding Club
Author: Alison Hart
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1989
Linda goes to an after school riding club, which she has enjoyed until a new teacher, who’s really unpleasant, takes over. Linda has to choose between being teacher’s pet, or keeping her friends.
Anything for Kelly
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1989
Kelly wants to set up a cookie delivery service on horseback, so that she can make some money. Linda tries to help her, but it all goes wrong when Kelly won’t accept money she hasn’t earned herself.
Everybody’s Favorite
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1990
Linda and Amber set out to track down the truth: has Bob, who it appears rescued some horses from a fire at the stable, actually acted responsibly?
Kathy in Charge
Author: Alison Hart
Simon & Schuster, Pocketbooks, NY, 1990
Linda’s best friend, Kathy, is looking forward to the school fair, but then all her plans are scuppered when her horrible cousin Carly comes for a two week stay. Kathy has to look after her.
Compilations
Diamond Books, London, all pb, 1994
Volume 1
The Palomino Mystery, The Clue on the Desert Trail, The Secret of the Rancho Del Sol
Volume 2
The Haunted Valley, The Secret of the Old Sleigh, The Emperor’s Pony
Volume 3
The Mystery of Horseshoe Canyon, The Mystery in Mexico, The Ghost Town Treasure
