'Misty of Chincoteague' author life's work lives at University of Minnesota. A new book uncovers her collection

Whether you’re eight or in your eighties, you’re likely familiar with the best-selling children’s book author Marguerite Henry. Her book “Misty of Chincoteague” is one of the most popular children’s books of all time. It's about a pony named Misty, and any horse loving kid will tell you they read that book cover to cover, multiple times, and probably have the Misty Breyer horse model somewhere still in their possession.

Marguerite Henry was born in Milwaukee in 1902 and died in California in 1997. Her life's work, all of her notes and papers, is now at the University of Minnesota. It has become the basis of the new book, “Dear Readers and Riders: The Beloved Books, Faithful Fans, and Hidden Private Life of Marguerite Henry.” The biography was written by Lettie Teague, The Wall Street Journal’s wine columnist.

Lettie visited the Twin Cities to talk about the book Tuesday night at Elmer L Anderson Library on the University of Minnesota campus and she joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer for a conversation about her work.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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