"Misty" is one of the most popular children's books about horses. In the story, Paul and Maureen Beebe, a brother and sister, work and save their money to purchase a pony in the annual pony penning auction held on Chincoteague Island. A herd of wild ponies located on Assateague Island swim across a channel and the foals are sold to raise money for the local fire department. The book is based on a true story.
The pony swim and auction is still held each year in July. I had always wanted to go see all these events and one summer we did. In 2003 we had a great vacation on Chincoteague, watching the pony swim from Chincoteague to Assateague, the auction, and the swim back. I highly recommend both the book and the trip, although there are probably a few more tourists there than during the time the book was written! If you don't like crowds, you can go view the ponies some time other than pony penning week.
There is a whole series of Chincoteague pony books.
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