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The Kingfisher Treasury of...
Treasury of Pony Stories
No child could resist such pony tales as Christine Pullein-Thompson's Candy Stops a Train, Lincoln Steffens' The Christmas Pony, or the Greek myth, The Horses of the Sun. Sixteen tales in all.
Paperback
First published September 15, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 1, 2025
Pony stories chosen by Linda Jennings transported me to an enchanting world of childhood stories. Each story in the collection beautifully conveys an emotional bond shared between humans & animals. Themes like Love, Kindness, Care, and Hope are not just mere words in these tales but leave an everlasting experience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2023
Re read so many times
October 17, 2025
Anthony Lewis was the illustrator for this UK children's anthology, not the editor. The editor was Linda Jennings. This was originally published in the UK in 1996. It wasn't published in America until 2003. The only notable difference was a changed cover. The edition at The Open Library is the 2003 American edition. It's nice to read a UK children's book printed in America that hasn't been Americanized.
The gray watercolor-like illustrations are very goofy and cartoonist... which matched most of the stories, which were fantasies or folk tales. It does have a few stories about real ponies. There was only one story that I'd read before, which makes this a very unusual anthology, indeed.
Stories:
* "Managing Without the Moon" by Joan Aiken. Excerpt from Mice and Mendelson. Oy. This was bad. Not worth reading.
* "Nutmeg and Snowstorm" by Adele Geras. Bittersweet story of a girl who loves ponies (and one in particular) but can't have one.
* "Patience" retold from a French folk take by our editor, Linda Jennings. The best story so far, about an abused pony who plots sweet, sweet revenge.
* "Now You See Me, Now You Don't!" By Marjorie Darke. Excerpt from The Cat-Flap and the Apple Pie. Full of British slang, two cousins compete in a local Gymkhana with the help of an unusual bottle of hoof oil.
* "McGregor and the Kelpie" Scottish folktale retold by Dinah Starkey. Excerpt from Ghosts and Bogles. I rooted for the Kelpie.
* "A Hat for Crumpet" by Barbee Oliver Carleton. I can't help but wonder if the author read so many sad stories of horses in New York City that her mind snapped and she came up with this.
* "Unicorn" by Peter Dickenson. Excerpt from Merlin Dreams. Nice one, Peter. The final line is a killer.
* "Pony Island" by Ann Wigley. Pretty decent ghost story. Features a live donkey.
* "The Horse of Fire and Thunder" by Maggie Pearson. Moral of the story: Always do what a talking horse tells you to do.
* "Rocking-Horse Land" by Laurence Housman. Excerpt from Moonshine and Clover. Poignant story for anyone who loved a rocking-horse.
* "Candy Stops a Train" by Christine Pullein-Thompson. This is an edited version of her 1989 book of the same name. It does not have fantastic elements. Seems odd to read a complete story by a Pullein-Thompson in an anthology. Usually, they're chapters from one of their dozens of books.
* "The Halloween Pony" French folktale retold by Robert D. San Souchi. Excerpt from Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales. I rooted for the pony. The children were cruel.
* "Another Girl's Pony" by Ann De Gale. A great pony story destined to be seen in many future anthologies.
* "The Horses of the Sun" Famous Greek myth retold by our editor, Linda Jennings. The only unusual variation in this retelling is that the horses are black. Usually, they are depicted as bright white.
* "The Christmas Pony" by Lincoln Steffens. This autobiographical account has been in many anthologies, under different titles, including "A Grown-Up Could Hardly Have Stood It."
* "Swallow" by Julie Sykes. We end with a banger. This is a variation of Irene Brady's Doodlebug, but an unpredictable one.
The gray watercolor-like illustrations are very goofy and cartoonist... which matched most of the stories, which were fantasies or folk tales. It does have a few stories about real ponies. There was only one story that I'd read before, which makes this a very unusual anthology, indeed.
Stories:
* "Managing Without the Moon" by Joan Aiken. Excerpt from Mice and Mendelson. Oy. This was bad. Not worth reading.
* "Nutmeg and Snowstorm" by Adele Geras. Bittersweet story of a girl who loves ponies (and one in particular) but can't have one.
* "Patience" retold from a French folk take by our editor, Linda Jennings. The best story so far, about an abused pony who plots sweet, sweet revenge.
* "Now You See Me, Now You Don't!" By Marjorie Darke. Excerpt from The Cat-Flap and the Apple Pie. Full of British slang, two cousins compete in a local Gymkhana with the help of an unusual bottle of hoof oil.
* "McGregor and the Kelpie" Scottish folktale retold by Dinah Starkey. Excerpt from Ghosts and Bogles. I rooted for the Kelpie.
* "A Hat for Crumpet" by Barbee Oliver Carleton. I can't help but wonder if the author read so many sad stories of horses in New York City that her mind snapped and she came up with this.
* "Unicorn" by Peter Dickenson. Excerpt from Merlin Dreams. Nice one, Peter. The final line is a killer.
* "Pony Island" by Ann Wigley. Pretty decent ghost story. Features a live donkey.
* "The Horse of Fire and Thunder" by Maggie Pearson. Moral of the story: Always do what a talking horse tells you to do.
* "Rocking-Horse Land" by Laurence Housman. Excerpt from Moonshine and Clover. Poignant story for anyone who loved a rocking-horse.
* "Candy Stops a Train" by Christine Pullein-Thompson. This is an edited version of her 1989 book of the same name. It does not have fantastic elements. Seems odd to read a complete story by a Pullein-Thompson in an anthology. Usually, they're chapters from one of their dozens of books.
* "The Halloween Pony" French folktale retold by Robert D. San Souchi. Excerpt from Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales. I rooted for the pony. The children were cruel.
* "Another Girl's Pony" by Ann De Gale. A great pony story destined to be seen in many future anthologies.
* "The Horses of the Sun" Famous Greek myth retold by our editor, Linda Jennings. The only unusual variation in this retelling is that the horses are black. Usually, they are depicted as bright white.
* "The Christmas Pony" by Lincoln Steffens. This autobiographical account has been in many anthologies, under different titles, including "A Grown-Up Could Hardly Have Stood It."
* "Swallow" by Julie Sykes. We end with a banger. This is a variation of Irene Brady's Doodlebug, but an unpredictable one.
August 11, 2016
great short bed time stories all about ponies...
August 7, 2014
THIS BOOK IS THE BEST BOOK EVER!!!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews