Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West

10/13/24: and my mother wonders why I wanted to be a conservationist so badly when she raised me on books like this!!!
I know this is a fictionalized history. But this book remains forever near and dear to me, very much a hallmark of my long-lasting love for the mustang--it's why I watched so many documentaries about things like the Great Mustang Makeover when I was 10 and why I wrote a (very bad actually) paper on the mustang question in 10th grade and it's why I often think about the relation of mustangs and the Wild West and romantic history--freedom!--still. Also why I highkey want a mustang myself (the dream is a blue roan or appy). It's Marguerite Henry being such a wonderful author and bringing Wild Horse Annie's story to life show more with all her courage and bravery and fighting spirit, and she is really a fantastic writer this book got me deeply patriotic LMAOO (and this is coming from the girl who just sent a messy 2k word email to her professor about westerns and RDR2 and the Wild West as a misrepresented era. for literally no reason I just felt like it.) I was SO obsessed with Lougheed's drawings as a kid and I still am upon a reread--that one spread of Annie and Charley hauling the cows out of the way of the railroad is locked in my memory. I wish the paintings (?) weren't so dark-colored printed in here bc I bet they were gorgeous pieces in color.
catch me being shocked that her name wasn't really Annie but Velma--why was she called Annie?
I also have a memory of trying to draw the horses on this cover and failing miserably lol I'm not an artist but horses...

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feb 2020 thoughts: honestly every time I reread this I remember why younger christine loved henry's books so much. show less

Horses were in Annie Bronn's blood. For as long as she could remember, she had been fascinated by the spirited wild mustangs that roamed free throughout the West. So when greedy cattlemen started to round up the mustangs for slaughter, Annie knew it was up to her to save the breed.

The true story of Wild Horse Annie's crusade to save the mustangs is inspiring. Readers will cheer her on, all the way to the White House, in her struggle to preserve these beautiful creatures from extinction.

Horses were in Annie Bronn's blood. For as long as she could remember, she had been fascinated by the spirited wild mustangs that roamed free throughout the West. So when greedy cattlemen started to round up the mustangs for slaughter, Annie knew it was up to her to save the breed.

The true story of Wild Horse Annie's crusade to save the mustangs is inspiring. Readers will cheer her on, all the way to the White House, in her struggle to preserve these beautiful creatures from extinction.

I remember reading this as a teenager and loving it. A spirited girl named Annie, who encounters more than her fair share of trials growing up, a dash of romance, and a love of horses... I was hooked. I'd have to do some research to see how accurate it is, but from what I remember, it's a good combination of story telling and history - definitely a favourite I remember.

This is a book about Annie Bronn Johnston, or, Wild Horse Annie. One day, while driving to work, Mrs. Johnston noticed some horses being driven to a rendering plant to be made into dog food. They were wild horses who were captured cruelly and were not treated humanely. This is an excellent book about how Wild Horse Annie fought to save the mustangs. Must-read.
C.

A murder mystery written in the old fashioned gripping "whodunit" style.

The true story of Annie Bronn's fight to save the wild mustangs from the greedy slaughter of men.