Misty of Chincoteague

Misty of Chincoteague, a classic children’s novel, was written in 1947 by Marguerite Henry. She developed a love of literature and writing when a bout of rheumatic fever at the age of six prevented her from attending school for the next six years. At age 11, she wrote and sold her first story to a magazine for $12.

Henry was born and raised in Wisconsin but became interested in writing about Chincoteague ponies after a recommendation from an editor. In addition to Misty of Chincoteague, Henry wrote several other books about the islands, often with the same characters, including sequels Stormy, Misty’s Foal, Sea Star, and Misty’s Twilight. Her book King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian won the 1949 Newbery Medal. Misty of Chincoteague is her most widely read work and was a runner up for the Newbery Medal in 1947. The book was adapted into the popular movie Misty in 1961. Henry worked regularly with the illustrator Wesley Dennis, who provided evocative charcoal drawings to accompany Misty of Chincoteague and many of her other books.

This guide references the 1970 Scholastic, Inc. edition of Misty of Chincoteague.

Plot Summary

Set on the island of Chincoteague, Virginia, on the state’s eastern shore, Misty of Chincoteague is based on real siblings, Paul and Maureen Beebe, who live with their grandparents. The siblings visit Assateague Island and see a legendary wild horse called the Phantom. They immediately decide they want to own her and enter her in the annual local horse race. They spend several months doing odd jobs to raise money for the horse and eventually collect $100. In July, the annual Pony Penning Day arrives, when men from Chincoteague go to Assateague to round up the wild horses and swim them back to Chincoteague. For the last two years, the Phantom has escaped the roundup, but this year Paul is participating for the first time and believes he will be able to lure in the wild horse.

By a stroke of luck, Paul not only finds the Phantom but also realizes she has a newborn colt who will come to be named Misty. Slowed down by the baby running behind her and afraid of being alone, the Phantom willingly leads Paul to the other ponies, eventually swims across the channel, and enters the pony pens on Chincoteague for the first time. Paul and Maureen realize that since the colt is so small, they will need to buy both horses to avoid separating the baby from its mother.

The siblings face a stroke of bad luck with the horses are sold to a man named Foster, but to their surprise, he wins a different pony in a raffle and asks to sell the Phantom and Misty back to the fire department. Paul and Maureen buy the horses, take them home, and begin the long process of taming the wild Phantom into a semi-domesticated, rideable horse. By the following year, she loves to be ridden, though the only tack she is willing to wear is a small harness made of roots, called a “wickie.” Eventually, Paul and Maureen can ride bareback at high speed with only the wickie for grip. By the time Pony Penning Day arrives again the next year, the Phantom is ready to race against Black Comet, a three-time champion. She wins easily, running as if she has “wings on [her] feet” (147). Shortly after the race, though, something changes in the Phantom. As she stares longingly out to sea, Paul and Maureen hear a loud neigh from the direction of Assateague. It is the Phantom’s stallion, Pied Piper, coming to take her back home. Reluctantly, they let her go, realizing she only stayed with them as long as Misty needed her. Now that Misty is a year old, she can live independently and appears to adore life among the humans. The Phantom returns to Chincoteague while Misty, now Paul and Maureen’s prized possession, embraces life as Misty of Chincoteague.