While we were at the reenactment at Mount Vernon, my daughter found a souvenir in the gift shop to add to her collection of Marguerite Henry books.
MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE
Henry is most famous for writing children’s books about horses, the most popular of which is Misty of Chincoteague, which I read aloud to my children when they were little.
After we moved to Virginia from Texas, we visited Chincoteague Island where we met the Beebe family.
Someday I want to revisit Chincoteague and stay in the charming inn where Marguerite Henry stayed while researching for her book.
CINNABAR, THE ONE O’CLOCK FOX
Little did we know that we had already visited the site of another Marguerite Henry book, Cinnabar, the One O’Clock Fox.
Henry states in the opening pages that this story is based on an old legend of how a clever fox continually outsmarted the renown American Revolution fox himself, George Washington, in many a fox hunt on Mount Vernon property!
While writing this book, Henry’s research included keeping some foxes at her home to observe their habits and characteristics.
Again, the secret to charm…research and a gift of words!
FOXES STILL AT MOUNT VERNON
A few days after I read the book, I spied pictures on my facebook newsfeed of a fox running through Mount Vernon property (courtesy of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the study of George Washington.
When I saw the pictures, I wondered if one of Cinnabar’s descendants was carrying on the one o’clock tradition.
MY DAUGHTER’S SUMMARY OF THE BOOK
Meanwhile, my daughter replied to the post with a summary of the book: Seeing these pictures reminds me of a book I recently read. It was written by Marguerite Henry, who is famous for writing Misty of Chincoteague and for writing other horse stories during different time periods. It is about Cinnabar, the One O’clock Fox. Based on a legend, the story of Cinnabar is based on a legend of how George Washington would go fox-hunting and how Cinnabar would always show up at exactly one o’clock. The story tells about how Cinnabar never shied away from an opportunity of being hunted by George Washington and his comrades. Cinnabar was playing a game and only having the fun that he rightly desired after hunting food for his family. The book is one of my favorite Marguerite Henry stories.
