Elisabeth Hubbard Lansing (1911-2002)

American author of children's novels. Born in Providence in 1911. She wrote over 40 children's novels and biographies, including a number of pony themed stories. As well as writing books, she also taught writing and children's literature, and was an instructor for the famous Writer's School in Newport. She continued working right up until her death at age 90.

Her pony books are hard to find outside of the USA, and some are quite rare even there. Unfortunately I do not have many pics of these books, especially with dustjackets, so if anyone has any they can send to me I would be very grateful.

Twinkle Series:

1) THE PONY THAT RAN AWAY
(CROWELL [USA] 1951)
ILLUSTRATED BY BARBARA COONEY
SUMMARY: Twins Sue and Ted get a brown pony called Twinkle for their birthday, but the pony seems unhappy and keeps running away….

2) THE PONY THAT KEPT A SECRET
(CROWELL [USA] 1952)
ILLUSTRATED BY BARBARA COONEY
SUMMARY: Twins Sue and Ted are training Twinkle for the upcoming county horse show.

3) A PONY WORTH HIS SALT
(CROWELL [USA] 1953)
ILLUSTRATED BY BARBARA COONEY
SUMMARY: When Sue and Ted overhear their father say one of the farm animals is 'not worth their salt' they are afraid he is talking about Twinkle and will get rid of their beloved pony. They set out to prove Twinkle's worth.

Collector's Info:
In their native USA, the first in the series is probably the easiest to find, although harder to get hold of with a dust jacket. The other two are a bit rarer with the last in the trilogy possibly being the rarest. All three books are hard to find elsewhere.

Other Horse & Pony Books:

SURE THING FOR SHEP
(CROWELL [USA] 1956)
ILLUSTRATED BY EZRA JACK KEATS
Rare.
SUMMARY: Shep receives a legacy from his granny: a cabin, a small patch of land, a cow and a bill for back taxes. He needs to raise the money to pay the taxes or he will lose the place. Can his Uncle Jake and a scrawny racehorse which refuses to run be of any use to him…?

SHOOT FOR A MULE
(CROWELL [USA] 1951)
ILLUSTRATED BY SUSAN SUBA
Rare.
SUMMARY: Jeb likes mules and wants to own one of his own. When he rescues a mule from a flood he thinks his dream has come true but someone else has a prior claim on the animal. It is decided that the fate of the mule will be decided on a shooting match between Jeb and his rival.

Collector's Info:
Both of these can be hard to find, especially outside of the USA.