We are proud to bring together an international group of authors to participate in the Kids Summer Reading Program hosted by Horse Book Authors.
The authors write books in the following genres: children’s picture books, early readers, middle-grade, and young adult.
Terri Abbatiello
https://kodyscapers.com/
As a young girl, Terri loved horses, trail riding often. As an adult, she wanted to make a difference in horse’s lives. A few years into volunteering at an equine rescue she fell in love with a scruffy miniature horse saved by the rescue. After adopting him their bond grew. Telling his story became a goal for her and she is happy to reach so many people with this heartwarming story.
Jean Abernathy
Jean Abernethy has been producing equestrian-related drawings, horse portraits, and horse cartooning for more than 30 years. She has illustrated several books and instructional articles, technical how-to drawings, and diagrams for instructional purposes. She has also done children’s and fantasy illustrations. Her work has taken her coast-to-coast to farms and equestrian events where she’s been involved with a wide variety of horse breeds, sports, and disciplines. She is the creator of social media celebrity Fergus the Horse (fergusthehorse.com).
Elizabeth Alexander
www.elizabethalexandersite.wordpress.com
Elizabeth Alexander is an Indy writer who grew up in rural Australia riding horses, going to Pony Club, competing, and having great fun! Then she went to uni and into teaching with further quals in Prof Writing.
Her other loves are reading and writing, so capturing such a life as she experienced growing up, she created the YA Wattle Hill Equestrian Series – Book 1 is titled Team Up along with Book 2, Canter On, which is scheduled for release mid-June.
Cherise Arthur
My name is Cherise Arthur and I live in Oregon and have worked in education for over 18 years. I have written two children’s picture books and have also written 5 songs and had them produced. I like reading, riding horses, and traveling. Learning about plants and knitting are some new hobbies.
Melanie Sue Bowles
When Melanie Sue Bowles stumbled across the quote, “The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose,” she loved it so much that it became the steadfast philosophy by which she has lived her entire adult life. Unwanted, elderly, and abused horses became her purpose, and she and her husband Jim began Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary with one horse in need on five acres of land in rural Florida. Their facility grew to hundreds of acres in first Arkansas, and then North Carolina, where rescued animals were allowed to roam as natural herds. Over the years, Melanie and Jim have intervened on behalf of over 300 downtrodden horses, many of them coming to the sanctuary to live out their lives in peace and dignity. Their story has been featured on PBS and in three books Bowles has written about the Sanctuary’s animal residents. Bowles comes from a large family, many of whom own horses and love all animals as much as she does, including nieces, nephews, and grandchildren who helped inspire the characters in Liberty Biscuit.
Gudrun Braun
Gudrun Braun is a writer, editor, and experienced horse person with many published books to her name.
Corinne Joy Brown
Corinne Joy Brown grew up in Colorado and has loved and owned horses all her life. A former art teacher, she writes award-winning adult and middle-grade fiction and non-fiction about the American West. She also freelances for various magazines catering to art and design, the Western lifestyle, and horse culture. For the last few years, she has focused on a middle-grade series inspired by America’s mustangs as well as art activity workbooks for children illustrated by children in a local pony club. Combining a love of art, horses, and art history has been a dream come true.
Cressida Burton
Cressida Burton writes middle-grade pony, adventure, and boarding school stories which she hopes will empower and inspire her readers. Cressida’s stories are all set in the north of the United Kingdom, inspired by the beautiful wild moors and rocky coastline in her locality.
Kacy Burke
K. J. Clark
www.christianfaithpublishing.com/comancheandjody
I have worked at various jobs: admissions counselor, camp wrangler, horse farm, homeschooling mom, and church staff. I married my cowboy, I am the proud mom of two beautiful girls, and I just wrote my first story for my dad who took ill over a year ago. I have ridden horses for 50 years and they are the inspiration behind my stories.
Jan Crossen
Jan Crossen is a gold-level Mom’s Choice Award-winning author who writes stories about special people and animals who have touched her heart and life. Her Farm Adventures Series offers entertaining and informational books for readers ages 6-9. Her Farm Stories for Wigglers Series has fun and interactive stories for children ages 3-5.
E. S. Damon
www.facebook.com/E.S.DamonEquine
E.S. Damon grew up in the horse industry, riding at sales barns and showing with 4H. She pursued her degree in Equine Business through The Commonwealth Honors College at UMass Amherst and has spent many years teaching riders of all ages and levels. She has ridden and shown in many disciplines including Hunt Seat, Dressage, Western, and Gymkhana. Through all the different types of riding and horses, she has always tried to be thoughtful in her approach to them. Now she is creating guides to help other riders do the same.
Rennie Dyball
Rennie Dyball is an award-winning author who loves to tell stories of all kinds. Her picture book debut, B Is for Bellies: A Celebration of Every Body, will be published by Clarion on July 11, 2023, and her novel Good Boy, Eddie is out this spring.
In 2019, Rennie created the Show Strides middle-grade series, published by The Plaid Horse. In addition to co-authoring the series with Piper Klemm, Rennie is the managing editor for The Plaid Horse magazine and she ghostwrote Traci and Carleton Brooks’s With Purpose: The Balmoral Standard.
Rennie began her career at People right after graduating from Penn State University in 2002. She remained on staff until 2017, working as a reporter and writer at the magazine, and then as an editor for People.com. Today she still contributes to the brand as a freelance book critic.
She’s also worked as a ghostwriter since 2008, collaborating on many non-fiction titles, including Andrea Barber’s memoir, Full Circle, and Terry Crews and Rebecca King Crews’ Audible Original, Stronger Together. Rennie continues to take on select collaboration projects and enjoys editing and coaching new authors. An avid equestrian, she lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her husband and two daughters.
M. J. Evans
I am a graduate of Oregon State University and a lifelong equestrian. I am also a former teacher at the secondary school level. My husband, Tom, and I have 5 wonderful children, twelve incredible grandchildren, and live in Colorado with our two horses and a standard poodle.
I have always loved writing and using my imagination to create stories and characters. For seventeen years I coached Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination teams for my kids. It was so fun helping them learn to write one-act plays.
Because of my love for horses, this magnificent animal is the subject of most of my books…from the non-fiction equestrian trail guide books titled “Riding Colorado”, “Riding Colorado II” and “Riding Colorado III” to my fantasy stories and novels.
I have known and loved many noble and great horses in my life so I also decided to start a blog about them. You can learn about famous and loved horses at www.themisttrilogy.blogspot.com. I love riding on trails in the beautiful Colorado mountains and competing in Dressage. So, if I am not sitting at my computer writing a new story, you can find me sitting in a saddle!
Terri Farley
Terri Farley is the best-selling author of books about the contemporary and historic West.
Her Phantom Stallion series for young readers and Seven Tears into the Sea has sold over two million copies worldwide.
The Phantom Stallion and Wild Horse Island series launched as audiobooks in January 2021 with Oasis Audio Books.
Wild at Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them, non-fiction published by Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt, is a Junior Library Guild selection and has been honored by the National Science Teachers Association, Western Writers of America, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award and more. It was listed on the Children’s Book Council’s Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12.
Recently, Farley joined Mark Twain, Ellen Hopkins, and other authors she admires in the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. Before she began writing full-time, Farley taught middle school and high school language arts and journalism in inner-city Los Angeles, California, and Reno, Nevada. She has a Master’s degree in journalism, is an advocate for the West’s wildlife and wild places, and works with young people learning to make their voices heard.
Ellen Feld
Award-winning author Ellen Feld began writing about horses more than 20 years ago. At first, she wrote for small, regional magazines, but within a few short years, her work began to appear regularly in large, national publications. In 2001, while waiting for her next assignment, Ms. Feld wrote a short story about a Morgan. That tale became the first chapter of Blackjack: Dreaming of a Morgan Horse. The book went on to win a coveted Children’s Choices award (as did the second book in the series, Frosty), an honor bestowed jointly by the International Reading Association and the Children’s Book Council. The book was also picked up by Breyer Animal Creations to be sold with a model of the star of the story, Blackjack. To date, Ms. Feld has authored nineteen horse books, including seven in the Morgan Horse series and three in the best-selling Donkey-Donk series. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two children, twelve horses, and assorted other pets.
M. D. Ford
M. D. Ford grew up on a horse farm with many other animals. Before she was allowed to ride a horse, she had to learn every aspect of it first, from feeding, and washing, to leading. It didn’t take M. D. Ford long, and she started riding by the time she was five and started competing by the age of seven.
She has won over 500 ribbons and 250 trophies while also getting covered in dirt and hitting her knees on the barrels.
She captures this excitement in her Rocking Horse Rodeo Series, which starts with book one, A Barrel Racer’s Dream storybook, and activity book now available.
Cindy Freland
Cindy Freland’s inspiration comes from her love of children and animals. Most of her children’s books are based on true events. Her passion is teaching children about the beauty and the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay. After raising two daughters, she started a ten-book children’s series about the bay in 2013. Macy the Mermaid is her granddaughter’s favorite story and asks her mom to read it every night. Cindy enjoys gardening, swimming, walking, painting, cooking, and baking, and lives with her husband in Bowie, Maryland. Get information about FREE school presentations and order her books at www.cbaykidsbooks.com.
Vivien Gorham
Vivien Gorham’s first novel, Touch of Gold, won the 2017 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award and was featured in the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Books for Kids and Teens 2016. Her second novel, Spirit of Summerwood, was published in 2022. Raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, Vivien now lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering in a therapeutic riding program. She also loves to swim, hike, and, best of all, ride horses!
Laura Holt-Haslam
Multi-award-winning author and lifelong horse enthusiast, Laura Holt-Haslam, writes realistic middle-grade fiction that inspires readers of all ages. While horses feature prominently, the heart of her writing revolves around the human characters as they navigate life in less-than-perfect families, learn how to make and be friends, overcome challenges that stand in the way of their dreams, and discover the healing power of love and forgiveness.
Laura is the mother of two adult children. She lives in Southern Maine with her husband, two adorably naughty cats, and the friendliest dog you’ll ever meet. She and her daughter share ownership of Max, a 28-year-old palomino miniature horse who loves to jump.
Elaine Heney
Elaine Heney is the #1 best-selling author, award-winning filmmaker, director of Grey Pony Films, and creator of the ‘Listening to the Horse™’ documentary. She has helped over 120,000+ horse owners in 113 countries to create awesome relationships with their horses.
Ann Hunter
http://amazon.com/author/annhunter
Multi-award-winning author, Ann Hunter, grew up barefoot with a herd of Arabian horses. She fell in love with racing at the age of 9 when her aunt brought her a magazine from Saratoga with Hall of Fame Jockey Julie Krone on the cover.
Ann loves pedigree research, founded the Model Thoroughbred Racing Association, and dreams of one day building the real North Oak.
She likes cherry soda with chocolate ice cream, is a mom first and a writer second, has a secret identity, and thinks the Twilight movies are cheesier than cheez whiz (which is why they are her guilty pleasure!)
She lives in a cozy Utah home with her two awesome kids and an epic husband.
Melody Huttinger
Melody Huttinger grew up with horses as her best friends. She learned to train them, tutored by her father, who rescued many so-called untrainable and neglected animals. Her family owned and operated various riding stables throughout the years, providing inspiration for the background of Arrow the Sky Horse series. Many characters in the story are drawn from the colorful collection of characters she met as a young dude wrangler.
Now living in Northern Arizona, Melody has carried on the tradition of re-training Thoroughbreds off the track and has owned and trained various other breeds, including Arabians, Quarter Horses, and wild Mustangs.
As a child, Melody read every horse story available, but many times became disappointed in the lack of knowledge that many of the authors displayed. She set out to write her own story depicting horses in a more realistic light.
Arrow the Sky Horse book series, although partly fantasy, is based on her own experiences growing up with a family in the horse business. She hopes all readers, young and old, will be entertained and enjoy the stories about the animals so close to her heart.
Brittney Joy
http://www.brittneyjoybooks.com/
Author of sweet stories full of hope, heart, and happily-ever-afters.
Brittney and her family live in their own piece of heaven in the Oregon countryside. They stay busy with their menagerie of silly horses, cackling chickens, wooly sheep, and two very naughty goats. When Brittney isn’t writing, she’s riding or reading. And she wishes she could do all three at the same time.
Dr. Piper Klemm
Dr. Piper Klemm is the owner and publisher of The Plaid Horse. Her mission is to educate young equestrians in every facet of our industry and to empower young women in particular to find their voices and stories—and to share them.
She has spent her entire career focusing on education through various channels, including The Plaidcast, North America’s most listened-to horse show podcast; as a professor at Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University; co-authoring the Show Strides book series; and by providing educational articles, grants, and experiential learning opportunities for riders of all ages and levels. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.
Piper lives in Canton, New York, with her husband, Adam Hill. Adam is a Chemistry Professor at St. Lawrence University and the Faculty Mentor to the national champion IHSA Riding Team. She owns a fleet of lease ponies, and competes in the Amateur Hunter divisions with MTM Sandwich.
Maria Langella Sorgie
Maria Langella Sorgie is a Children’s Fiction writer. Her published works include a three-book series called The Earth Keeper Trilogy and a Graphic Novel. She also has a Children’s Picture Book set to be released this year and a YA Gothic Fantasy in the works.
Kerri Lukasavitz
With almost three decades as a professional horsewoman, Kerri brings her stories to life with drama pulled from the realities of the hunter/jumper show world through the eyes of a young rider.
She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design in Interior Architecture & Design, with minor work in Illustration, Graphic Design, English, and Art History. She went on to a Master of Arts from Mount Mary University in English—with an emphasis on Novel Writing for Middle Grade/Young Adult Readers and Literature. Her thesis was a continuation of a 40-page middle-grade novel started in her second semester, which later became Mystery Horse at Oak Lane Stable, Book 1 in the Adventure Series.
Her book series went from Mystery Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Book 1) to Gray Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Book 2), Dark Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Book 3), and Ghost Horse at Oak Lane Stable (Book 4) being released this October, 2023, with inspiration for Book 5, Lesson Horse at Oak Lane Stable in progress.
Leslie McDonald
Leslie McDonald grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and attended DePaul University. She is the author of 6 books, including: Down the Aisle, Musings of a Horse Farm Corgi, Journeys with Horses, Making Magic, Tic-Tac, and the recently released juvenile, Horse on the Loose. A Grand Prix-level dressage trainer with over 50 professional years in the industry she lives on a horse farm in southern Ohio where she happily teaches lessons, trains horses, and writes books about the special people and animals who have blessed her life.
Lori McIntosh
Lori McIntosh has been riding horses since she turned eight, starting as a camper at Triple R Ranch in Chesapeake, Virginia. She rode one hour every day over six days when at camp. The other hours she spent waiting for those six hours of riding.
After moving from Virginia as one of the most popular girls in junior high to a high school in Dallas, Texas, she became one of the most unpopular girls in school. Later, after graduating, she competed for the intercollegiate team at the University of Texas at Austin. Soon, she did a foolish thing, or not, and bought her first horse, Sorab, an experienced chestnut Thoroughbred using a brand new credit card she magically got as a student. She was judged in the arena for equitation and handling of the horse at Universities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, and all over Texas.
She and her husband, Nigel, enjoy horse camping vacations. Lori “stole” Hot Wheelz from Nigel and rode three 100-mile races with him, plus many 50-mile rides along with several other disciplines. The family of horses expanded to Groovy, Jasper, Johnny Cash, and Donkey Oti. Sadly, Finn passed away in 2019.
Lori lives in Northern California, surrounded by trails. She rides her horses and has a business called Lori McIntosh Properties, helping people live in the country with their horses like her.
Christine Meunier
www.christinemeunierauthor.com
I am an Australian woman who lives in Victoria, Australia with my husband and four children. I was introduced to horses at the age of 13 when my parents leased a horse for me. They then bought him for my 14th birthday – lucky me!
My background has included working on numerous thoroughbred studs in North East Victoria, a little in New South Wales, and then studying at the Irish National Stud. I have also worked at some horse riding schools in Melbourne both as a stablehand and instructor. In time I headed over to South Africa and rode endurance and trail horses on the Wild Coast.
I now focus my energy on teaching horse courses, writing horse books that are educational and entertaining, horse educational resources, and Equus Education, a blog that focuses on horse careers around the world.
Valerie Ormond
Valerie Ormond is a writer living in Maryland. Valerie’s novels, Believing In Horses, and Believing In Horses, Too, won Gold Medals in the Military Writers Society of America book awards and seven other first-place awards in national competitions including the State of Maryland’s Touch of Class Award. Her third novel, Believing In Horses Out West, was released in October 2021 as an Amazon #1 New Release on launch day. The National Federation of Press Women awarded the book 1st Place in Young Adult Fiction, and The BookFest Awards selected it as a Second Place winner. Believing In Horses Out West was also named a Finalist in the international Wishing Shelf Book Awards.
Her fiction and non-fiction stories have been published in books, and her articles and poetry have appeared internationally in books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs.
Besides her writing, Valerie is a Navy veteran, owner of Veteran Writing Services, LLC, and a horsewoman.
Rae Rankin
Rae Rankin has always had a passion for writing and reading. She is an award-winning author having won recognition from the Equus Film and Arts Festival in 2019 for Cowgirl Lessons named Best Children’s Book USA and Cowgirl Christmas was named Best Children’s Holiday Book USA. In 2020 Cowgirl and the Ghost Horse was named Best Children’s Short Story at the 2020 Equus Film and Arts Festival and won a Purple Dragonfly Book Award in 2021. She has written four other books including her latest #1 New Release, Show Day, continuing the story of the Cowgirl kids and their horse adventures.
Rae lives in El Dorado Hills, CA with her husband, teenage equestrian daughter, a cat who eats plastic house plants, and a dog with her own business cards.
Tudor Robins
www.tudorrobins.comTudor Robins is the author of books that move your heart, mind, and pulse. A little piece of Tudor’s own heart is in many places: the central-Ottawa neighborhood where she lives, the Gatineau hills and Eastern Ontario countryside where she loves to hike, Wolfe Island and the St. Lawrence River where she loves swimming and paddleboarding, and the university towns that are currently home to her children. When she’s not writing, Tudor rides, runs, quilts, and walks with her best friends and her Jack Russell / Potcake mix, Cara.
Jenny Roman
https://jennyroman.wordpress.com/
Jenny has an MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University, has had stories short-listed or placed in a host of writing competitions, and has herself been a story competition judge.
An avid reader of pony books as a child, Jenny’s first published short story was in PONY magazine when she was a teenager. Horses have always been a huge part of her life, and writing about them allows her to combine the two greatest passions in her life.
Jenny is a member of a Writers’ Group and strongly recommends this to anyone thinking of writing creatively. When she’s not writing, you’ll probably find her either in the garden, out walking the dogs, or mucking out the horses!
Laurie Salisbury
Author, speaker, and former Children’s Pastor, Laurie Salisbury lives in a tiny town in the middle of Michigan. She lives with her husband, three of her grown children, and a rescue dog named Spock (a.k.a. Spockie). She is the mother of nine children, Nana and Nana-Great. She loves to teach children about Jesus.
Anne Scheller
Anne Scheller is a popular author of nonfiction guides, narrative children’s books, picture books, study aids, and teaching materials.
Kathy Simmers
Kathy Simmers is the author of the award-winning picture book, Jump the Moon. She lives on the farm she always dreamed of with her husband, her horses, and an assortment of other farm animals. The animals in Kathy’s life are the inspiration for her stories.
Deborah Stacey
Growing up in the suburbs didn’t allow Deborah Stacey an opportunity to spend time with horses. She had to find other ways to feed her passion, which she did through reading and learning about horses, drawing horses, and watching every program and movie she could find.
The fascination with horses remained strong through high school. After graduating, an opportunity arose to take English riding lessons near her family home. One day at the barn her riding instructor asked if she wanted to work as a groom at a small, private hunter and jumper stable outside of Montreal. She jumped at the chance.
Around this time Humber College in Toronto started up a two-year horsemanship program. Deborah graduated with an Honours Degree in Horsemanship in the mid-seventies and went on to work with hunters and jumpers, at a hunter-jumper breeding farm, and boarding stables with a focus on dressage.
Years later, she had a family of her own and a daughter who loved horses. In school, her daughter struggled with math. Using the math worksheets her daughter brought home from school as a reference, Deborah started creating math questions based on the real world of horses. She began seeing math everywhere in her work with horses, and Horse Lover’s Math (HLM) was born.
When kids have the freedom to pursue their own interests, learning happens naturally. It is Deborah’s hope that HLM will open the door to learning for horse-crazy kids.
HLM is now an active website for kids ages 8 and up devoted to horses, math, and science offering print and downloadable STEM resources. Website posts and content are free and open to everyone.
Susan Stafford-Pooley
Susan Stafford-Pooley, aka The Fearless Editor, was bitten by the horse bug at an early age, eventually owning a menagerie of hunters, jumpers, event horses, ponies, and even a racehorse. She is the web editor of the Horse Sport, Horse-Canada, and Canadian Thoroughbred websites and lives in a charming Ontario village on Lake Erie with her husband, Ross. There are three books in the “Pocket Pegasus” series of fantasy/adventure novels for horse-crazy kids.
Wendi Threlkeld
Wendi Threlkeld is a journalism major with a lyrical soul who naturally connects with animals and anyone young at heart. As a grade-school teacher turned miniature horse trainer she stumbled across the characters and critters who now live in her stories.
Diana Tuorto
Diana Tuorto is a Buffalo, NY-based children’s author. Most of her books are written from a horse’s point of view. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in English Writing and History, Diana is also an active horse rescue volunteer. She shares a small farm with her husband, two horses, and six cats.
J. L. Williams
J L Williams (Janine) is a mother, writer, and author of the historical junior fiction novel “Holding The Horse” which was a New Zealand Storylines Notable Books Award winner in 2022.
An orchardist and renowned plum sauce maker, J L Williams has studied writing for the past several years. Her novel “Holding The Horse” won the inaugural Janice Marriott Mentoring Award in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Tom Fitzgibbon Award for a Junior Fiction manuscript in 2020. Her next book, “Like The Wind” will be released in 2023.
As a sixth-generation New Zealander, Janine draws on her own family history and her love of New Zealand and New Zealand history to inspire her historical fiction novels.
Her favorite summer activities are reading books and spending time at the beach.
J.D. Wise
Hey Everyone! My name is JD Wise and I am a children’s book author. I would like to introduce you to our new children’s book series. Wild, Majestic, and Free. These are fun stories about kindness, courage, family, and forgiveness. Featuring The Outer Banks wild horses Come along! Join The Adventure.
Brianna York
https://www.booksbybriannayork.com/
Brianna York writes engaging and adventurous historical fiction and horse books for children and teens. She is a passionate reader as well as a committed equestrian. She writes complete and engaging characters who will feel like your best friends by the time you get done with each book.
Her equestrian fiction series is called the Tricolor Series and follows the lives of three girls who love horses. Her historical fiction series is called The Dunsaney Saga which follows a pair of siblings and their friends through the trials and tribulations of love and loss. The first book in her new series, the Twelve Palm Ranch Series, is now available as well. Look for releases nearly monthly from her.
She has received praise from readers and reviewers saying that her characters are so real that they feel like people you have actually met. Consistently a five-star author, she is grateful to all of the readers who make each of those reviews possible through their love and support for her work.
