Patricia Miles Martin aka Miska Miles

Award winning American author. Born in Kansas in 1899. Worked as a teacher before becoming a writer. Apparently she became a writer by accident when she inadvertently found herself in a creative writing class at a local college when her own class was full up. Her first book was actually written whilst attending the course! Her career became very successful. One of her books (Annie and the Old One) was made into a film and received a Newbery Honor award.

She used her experiences of living on a farm and a Navajo reservation and her many travels, to colour her children's fictional stories. Most of these were about animals, nature and different cultures. Quite a few of her novels were horse stories. She also wrote non-fiction, including a number of biographies.

She wrote under her own name, as Patricia A. Miles, and also under two other pseudonyms: Miska Miles and Jerry Lane. Her pony books were written under her own name and that of the Miska Miles pseudonym. I don't think she wrote any horse-related stories under the name of Jerry Lane.

Sources: The De Grummond Collection.

Horse & Pony Books as Patricia Miles Martin:

THE BONY PONY
FIRST PRINTED: PUTNAM [USA] 1965
ILLUSTRATED BY GLEN DINES
Reprinted in hardback by original publisher.
EDITION PICTURED: First edition?
SUMMARY: No, I have not missed out an 'N' - this is a story about a scrawny pony who is rescued from the pound.

THE BROOMTAIL BRONC
FIRST PRINTED: ABINGDON [USA] 1965
ILLUSTRATED BY MARGO LOCKE
EDITION PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: Teddy is suspicious of his new neighbour Mr. Boosey, even though the man has bought the broomtail bronc and is attempting to tame him.

FRIEND OF MIGUEL
FIRST PRINTED: RAND McNALLY [USA] 1967
ILLUSTRATED BY GENIA
EDITION PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: Miguel befriends Santiago the old horse who pulls the vegetable wagon and worries about whether he will be sold to an unkind new owner.

Collector's Info:
Broomtail Bronc  and Friend of Miguel are quite easy to find in the USA and usually fairly low cost. The Bony Pony is quite rare but is not usually expensive. All three  books are hard to track down elsewhere.

Horse & Pony Books as Miska Miles:

KICKAPOO
FIRST PRINTED: LITTLE, BROWN & CO [USA] 1961
ILLUSTRATED BY WESLEY DENNIS
ILLUSTRATED BY MARK STONE (Paperback only)
Reprinted in paperback by Science Research Association with different illustrations.
EDITION PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: Mule story. Howdie wants a pony to ride in the upcoming race instead of his mule Kickapoo. But the mule himself has other ideas….

SEE A WHITE HORSE
FIRST PRINTED: LITTLE, BROWN & CO [USA] 1963
ILLUSTRATED BY WESLEY DENNIS
EDITION PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: Pony/dog story for younger readers. A white horse helps Henry get back his dog.

PONY IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE
FIRST PRINTED:  LITTLE, BROWN & CO [USA] 1964
ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC BLEGVAD
Reprinted in hardback a number of times by Little, Brown & Co.
Reprinted in hardback by Readers Digest in 1975.
Reprinted in paperback by Firefly.
EDITION PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: Amy longs for a pony of her own, but when her dreams come true more problems arise, such as the pony going missing and a blizzard.

HORSE AND THE BAD MORNING
(With Ted Clymer)
FIRST PRINTED: DUTTON [USA] 1982
ILLUSTRATED BY LESLIE MORRELL
EDITION PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: Younger children's pony/animal story. A draught horse is unhappy with the view from his barn, so his animal friends decide to help him to move it!

Collector's Info:
All fairly easy to find in the USA, usually all reasonably priced, As with the books written under the author's other name, these are a lot harder to find outside of the states.