Update: Children's Authors (Part 4 of 4)

Happily, although this is the last update of children's writers from the current batch, I'm pretty sure there will be a few more children's updates before my list is complete (should that unlikely event ever actually come to pass). Already I've stumbled across a fair number of children's writers who still need to be researched.  So, this is only the last update—with its accompanying, lovely, colorful, children's book cover art—for the time being.

Below are 15 more authors, including the three PULLEIN-THOMPSON sisters, who, rather oddly, all wrote children's horse stories.  Certainly something fishy—er, horsy, rather—going on in that family!

Then, who knew that Margaret Kennedy's sister, VIRGINIA PYE, was also a successful author.  She specialized in adventurous holiday stories, some of which sound rather interesting.

MIMPSY RHYS is almost definitely a new name for just about everybody reading this.  While many of the other names came from current publishers who are reprinting classic children's books, Rhys comes from a contemporary review.  As far as I can tell, she published only one book, Mr. Hermit Crab: A Tale for Children by a Child (1929), about which I've been able to find absolutely nothing.  Anyone remember their grandmothers talking about enjoying this book?

Although horse stories are really not (so far, at least) my "thing," I have to admit that MARY TREADGOLD's stories which make use of wartime and postwar conditions, are tempting me a bit.  We Couldn't Leave Dinah (1941) is about children who miss the evacuation of a fictional Channel island because they refuse to abandon their horse, and end up aiding the resistance to the occupying Nazis, and its sequel, The Polly Harris (1948), "follows the Templeton children to the problems of post-war London, where they become involved in terrorist bombings and smuggling" (ODNB).  Hmmmm.

And finally, MARION ST. JOHN WEBB's Mr. Papingay series sounds oddly familiar, but I can find little information about it.  I wonder if one or more of these are among the few children's books I actually read as a child (I was a distinctly unrestricted child when it came to reading material, and I generally wound up picking my own books, usually with shockingly bad judgment, from whatever library shelf I happened to be near).

All 15 writers are shown below, and all have been added to the main list.  I hope you enjoy!

RHODA DOLORES LE POER POWER (1890–1957)
	Children's author and BBC broadcaster who innovated broadcasts to interest children in history; most of her books were historical non-fiction and occasional historical novels, most notably Redcap Runs Away (1952), about a medieval boy who joins a troupe of minstrels.
CHRISTINE PULLEIN-THOMPSON (1925-2005) (married name Popescu, aka Christine Keir)
	Prolific author of children's horse stories and other fiction, including We Rode to the Sea (1948), Phantom Horse (1955), Stolen Ponies (1957), and A Dog In A Pram (1965); she also collaborated on early works with her sisters Diana and Josephine (see below).
DIANA PULLEIN-THOMPSON (1925-     ) (married name Farr)
	Children's author who, like her sisters Christine and Josephine, focused on horse stories such as I Wanted A Pony (1946), Three Ponies and Shannan (1947), Janet Must Ride (1953), The Boy Who Came To Stay (1960), and Ponies In The Valley (1976).
JOSEPHINE PULLEIN-THOMPSON (1924-     ) (aka Josephine Mann)
	Sister of Christine and Diana and also an author of children's horse stories; her titles include Six Ponies (1946), I Had Two Ponies (1947), Prince Among Ponies (1952), Show Jumping Secret (1955), The Trick Jumpers (1958), Fear Treks The Moor (1978), and Ride To The Rescue (1979).
VIRGINIA PYE (1901-1994) (née Kennedy)
	Sister of novelist Margaret Kennedy; children's author who specialized in holiday adventure stories; titles include Red-Letter Holiday (1940), Half-Term Holiday (1943), The Stolen Jewels (1948), and Holiday Exchange (1953); she wrote one adult story collection, St. Martin's Summer (1930).
MIMPSY RHYS (dates unknown)
	More research needed; author of a single title, Mr. Hermit Crab: A Tale for Children by a Child (1929), described as a book "written by a child for children."
JOAN SELBY-LOWNDES (dates unknown)
	Children's author who wrote about horses, the circus, and the ballet, as well as several books for children about religion; titles include Mail Coach (1945), On Stage Please (1952), Circus Train (1956), and The Blue Train (1958), the last a biographical work about dancer Anton Dolin.
EVELYN SMITH (1885-1928)
	Prolific but tragically short-lived author of girls' school stories, starting with Nicky of the Lower Fourth (1922) and including Val Forrest in the Fifth (1925), Septima at School (1925), The Twins at School (1927), Phyllida in Form III (1927), and Milly in the Fifth (1928).
SHEILA STUART (1892-1974) (pseudonym of Mary Gladys Baker, née Westwood)
	Children’s author known for her series of adventures featuring Alison and Niall, including Alison’s Highland Holiday (1946), Well Done Alison! (1949), Alison’s Poaching Adventure (1951), and Alison and the Witch’s Cave (1956); some of her titles have been reprinted by Fidra in recent years.
MARY TREADGOLD (1910-2005)
	BBC radio producer and children's author, best known for her classic We Couldn't Leave Dinah (1941), about children who miss the evacuation of a fictional Channel island and aid the resistance to the Nazis; later works include The Running Child (1951) and The Winter Princess (1962).
ELFRIDA VIPONT (1902-1992) (married name Foulds, aka Charles Vipont)
	Children's author and Quaker historian best known for several novels about the Haverard family—The Lark in the Morn (1948), The Lark on the Wing (1950), The Spring of the Year (1957), and Flowering Spring (1960); she also published at least one adult novel, Bed in Hell (1974).
MURIEL WACE (1881-1968) (aka Golden Gorse)
	Children's author known for her horse stories, particularly Moorland Mousie (1929) and its sequel Older Mousie (1932); her other titles include Janet and Felicity, the Young Horsebreakers (1937) and non-fiction works for children learning to ride and care for horses. Marion St. John Webb
MARION ST. JOHN WEBB (1888-1930)
	Author of fiction and poetry for children, including the well-known Knock Three Times! (1917) and the Mr Papingay series, including Mr Papingay and the Little Round House (1924), Mr Papingay's Ship (1925), Mr Papingay's Caravan (1929), and Mr Papingay's Flying Shop (1931).
PAMELA WHITLOCK (1920–1982)
	Author of four popular children's books with Katharine Hull, most famously The Far-Distant Oxus (1937), written when the pair were still teenagers, about six children on their own in Exmoor; later titles were Escape to Persia (1938), Oxus in Summer (1939), and Crowns (1947). Ursula Moray Williams
URSULA MORAY WILLIAMS (1911-2006) (married name John)
	Children's author best known for Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse (1938), about a toy pony who sets out in the world to make a living; others include Gobbolino the Witch's Cat (1942), The Three Toymakers (1945), Malkin's Mountains (1948), and The Noble Hawks (1959).