By Taylor Jasmine | On August 12, 2018 | Updated May 28, 2022 | Comments (1)
What is it about horse stories that kids, and dare we say especially girls, love so much? There’s something grounding and down to earth about the bond between the beautiful animals and humans devoted to their welfare when illuminated in fiction. Here, we’ll take a quick look at four of the most enduring classic horse stories by women authors.
The novels Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, National Velvet by Enid Bagnold, My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara, and Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry seem to have all stood the test of time.
Though they’re now classified as children’s books, they were intended by their authors to be enjoyed by “children of all ages.” Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why they were all adapted to film, reaching wide and appreciative audiences. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On February 12, 2018 | Updated January 14, 2025 | Comments (0)
What writers like to do most is to write — ideally in a quiet place, and most often, by themselves. So what motivated these four authors — Edith Wharton, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, and Enid Bagnold — to leave their comfortable homes and writing desks, and get involved in war efforts, as nurses and refugee and relief workers?
Each of them, two Brits and two Americans, has a unique story of their involvement in World War I, in Britain and France. At right, the young Enid Bagnold as a Volunteer Aid Detachment nurse. Read More→
By Jordan St. Clair-Jackson | On January 9, 2018 | Updated May 22, 2021 | Comments (0)
I frequently hear busy parents bemoan a lack of time, patience, or both, to read for pleasure. Others wonder how to inspire their children to develop a greater love for books. Here we’ll explore four ways to combine family time with reading time, including family reading night, reading at the table, family book clubs, and reading outdoors.
Any of these will make family reading time a ritual to look forward to, equally pleasurable for parents and kids. Reading aloud with or to your kids is a whole topic unto itself, which we’ll explore in Reading Aloud to Children: Creating Lifelong Book Lovers. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On November 8, 2017 | Updated September 26, 2025 | Comments (13)
How many of these classic children’s books by women authors have you read? Which did you miss reading? Which should I have included in the top 10? (Make sure to see the runners-up list at the end.)
Some of the books listed here were written for all ages, but have been adopted by younger readers as favorites.
Not long ago, when the latest film adaptation came out, my book group read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. About half had never read it; the other half hadn’t picked the book up since adolescence.
While Alcott reluctantly wrote it when urged to pen a “girls’ story” by her publisher, Little Women far exceeded their expectations. It has been beloved by generations of readers of all ages ever since it came out in 1868.. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On August 16, 2017 | Updated March 14, 2023 | Comments (0)
National Velvet is the story of a horse-crazy fourteen-year-old girl, Velvet Brown, who rides her horse, Pi, to win Britain’s Grand National steeplechase.
The 1935 novel of the same name by Enid Bagnold (1889 – 1991) was successfully adapted to film in 1944 and featured the young Elizabeth Taylor in her first leading role.
Assisted by Mi, her father’s hired hand, Velvet plots to get the horse ready for what’s considered “the greatest race in the world,” praying to become “the best rider in England,” not for the money but for the glory of the horse she loves so dearly. Read More→
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