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 Honour 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 which 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 her other pen names.


Sources: The De Grummond Collection.

Pony Books as Patricia Miles Martin:

THE BONY PONY
(PUTNAM [USA] 1965)
ILLUSTRATED BY GLEN DINES
Reprinted in hardback by original publisher.
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
(ABINGDON [USA] 1965)
ILLUSTRATED BY MARGO LOCKE
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.

Collector's Info:
Fairly easy to find in the USA, especially Broomtail Bronc which is usually cheap. Much harder to track down elsewhere.

Pony Books as Miska Miles:

KICKAPOO
(LITTLE, BROWN & CO [USA] 1961)
ILLUSTRATED BY WESLEY DENNIS
Reprinted in paperbacK BY Science Research Association with different illustrations by David Stone.
SUMMARY: 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
(LITTLE, BROWN & CO [USA] 1963)
ILLUSTRATED BY WESLEY DENNIS
SUMMARY: Pony/dog story for younger readers. A white horse helps Henry get his dog.

PONY IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE
(LITTLE, BROWN & CO [USA] 1964)
ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC BLEGVAD
Reprinted in paperback.
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)
(DUTTON [USA] 1982)
ILLUSTRATED BY LESLIE MORRELL
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 either easy or fairly easy to find in the USA, usually all reasonably priced, though some are cheaper than others. Again, a lot harder to find outside of the states.