Although I was rather taken aback a few years ago when I did research online and realised that while the events portrayed by author Marguerite Henry in the third Misty of Chincoteague novel (in Stormy, Misty's Foal), including the raging springtime tidal storm that devastates the area, are indeed based on actual events, they in fact happened NOT to Paul, Maureen, Grandma and Grandpa Beebe, but to Paul and Maureen's uncle Ralph Beebe and his family (who took over Pony Ranch, including the ownership of Misty, upon Paul Beebe's and then also Grandpa and Grandma Beebe's deaths), I decided (whilst rereading in order to finally post a review) simply to enjoy Stormy, Misty's Foal as a novel, as a lovely and engaging horse-themed story in and of itself, as the third instalment of the adventures of Misty and the Beebe family (and doing so, has, in fact, brought back almost all of the magic I felt when I first read Stormy, Misty's Foal as a young preteen, at the age of twelve).
And therefore, even though the plot of Stormy, Misty's Foal is most definitely highly romanticised and fictionalised, it is still (and has definitely remained) very much a favourite reading experience for me, a joy and a comfort that bring together everything I tend to enjoy and appreciate in a good horse story for children (exciting, emotion-filled scenarios, nuanced both human and animal characters and a plot that while at times sounding a trifle over-the-top, still reads as something that could have happened, and in fact and in truth, even though the main characters are indeed pretty much different from reality, and the actual timeline is also quite a bit off, the events themselves, including Misty being stabled in the Pony Ranch kitchen during the storm, during the forced evacuation of Chincoteague, these are in fact true, these are in fact totally based on reality).
Five stars, and yes, an engaging and wonderful few hours of simple and sweet pleasure every time I do reread Stormy, Misty's Foal from the first page to the last! And I do think that one of the main reasons Stormy, Misty's Foal, even with its issues regarding what is true and what is fiction, still remains such a favourite, and sometimes even more so than the first book of the series, than Newbery Honour winning Misty of Chincoteague, is that especially and in particular Maureen Beebe is depicted and portrayed by Marguerite Henry as not only more active and more sure of herself, but that she is also increasingly vocal about rules and cultural regulations that favour men and boys, such as, for example, that only Paul is permitted to accompany the grandfather to Chincoteague to help with the clean-up process (although if truth be told, I think that Maureen should probably be happy that she is not tagging along with Paul and Grandfather Beebe, as having to deal with all of the drowned Chincoteague and Assateague ponies, including most of the family's ninety head up at Deep Hole would surely be tremendously traumatic).