News - old books reprinted

Barbara Van Tuyl's 1970's era series of books about Julie Jefferson and the Thoroughbred racehorse Bonnie is being reissued by small publisher Poppet Press. Poppet is an offshoot of equestrian advertising agency Somerset SportArt. Part of the books' profits will go toward charities that rehab and rehome former racing Thoroughbreds. The first two books, The Sweet Running Filly and A Horse Called Bonnie, were released in January. The rest are expected to follow this year.

I'll miss the pretty cover of the originals - the new ones are somewhat spare - but I'm glad to see an out-of-print horse book get back into stores.

And the small publisher Willow Bend will be reissuing Jeanne Mellin's 1955 book Pidgy's Surprise in September. The text will apparently undergo a slight updating, but remain largely the same. The story centers on a girl's desire to move up from her Shetland, Pidgy, to a horse.



Links
Poppet Press
Whitebrook Farm review of The Sweet Running Filly
Willow Bend - Pidgy's Surprise

The Bonnie series
The Sweet Running Filly
A Horse Called Bonnie
Sunbonnet: Filly of the Year
Bonnie and the Haunted Farm
The Betrayal of Bonnie


In somewhat related news:
As television pilot season churns onward, an HBO pilot with a racing theme inches toward reality. Currently titled Luck, this drama centers around an ex-con (Dustin Hoffman), his longtime cohort/enforcer (Dennis Farina), and a crooked trainer (John Ortiz). Michael Mann's directing the pilot, which was written by David Milch.

Disney has set October 8, 2010 as the release for their racehorse bio Secretariat. Diane Lane and John Malkovich star.