Misty of Chincoteague movie night

As a young girl, I was horse crazy.  Around 5th grade, I discovered the author Marguerite Henry and proceeded to read every single book she ever wrote.  Her most famous book of all is Misty of Chincoteague, first printed in the 1930s, and made into a movie in the 1960s.  There are two direct sequels to the book, and one more written decades later.  I eagerly waited for my kids to be able to read Misty of Chincoteague, knowing Princess would go nuts for it, and the boys would at least be a little amused.  Finall,y it came time for the kids to read the book, and we turned it into our world-famous book and a movie.

(This post contains affiliate links marked with an *)

Misty of Chincoteague book

Misty of Chincoteague* is the story of Paul and Maureen Bebe, who desperately want to 1. catch the famous Phantom and 2. buy her in the Pony Penning.  What they didn’t count on when they finally caught her was Phantom having a filly too young to be separated from her mother.  Misty of Chincoteague is the story of how they earn the money to buy Phantom, and how they raise her filly Misty.

The actual story of Misty of Chincoteague

Her actual story is fascinating. The first sequel book is based on the hurricane that came in and destroyed much of the island. I highly recommend reading the article

Snacks for Misty of Chincoteague movie night

I borrowed a copy of the Misty of Chincoteague DVD* from my sister-in-law, who bought it on a whim one day.  We struggled for a bit to come up with some good snacks for our Misty of Chincoteague movie night, but in the end got:

• dried seaweed* (which my kids all hated) for salt grass
• sweet salt grass (green sour punch straws*)
• clams (for the clams Paul and Maureen dug in the book)
• shrimp, pretty much because Princess loves shrimp, and it’s an island, so there are a few mentions of shrimp
• licorice whips* for lassos (I don’t know why, but I always like licorice better as laces)
• ‘nilla wafers* for “chaw tobaccy” (pretty much because the kids like them and have no concept of what chewing tobacco is)

 

5th-grade books and a movie to try out with your kids

• Justin Morgan had a Horse
• Johnny Tremain
• Ella Enchanted
• Artemis Fowl
• The Giver