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Tatum Family Series: (Partly non-pony)
This younger reader's series is primarily about the Tatum family, in particular Beanie, and their pup Tough Enough. About half way through the series, a pony called Sassy joins the family and pairs up with the pup. The first books therefore are not pony books but I have included the full series for clarity. The series is mainly set on the Tatum's farm in the Appalachian mountains.
Read a review/literary study of the series
1) BEANIE (Non-pony)
(OXFORD UNIV PRESS [USA] 1953)
ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH CARROLL
SUMMARY: Beanie Tatum and his pup Tough Enough have adventures aplenty when they both get lost in the hills.
2) TOUGH ENOUGH (Non-pony)
(OXFORD UNIV PRESS [USA] 1954)
ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH CARROLL
SUMMARY: Tough Enough gets into a load of mischief, but surely he can't be responsible for the hens missing from the farm?
3) TOUGH ENOUGH'S TRIP (Non-pony)
(OXFORD UNIV PRESS [USA] 1956)
ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH CARROLL
SUMMARY: When the Tatum family set off on a long trip to visit relatives the pup Tough Enough is supposed to be left behind but stows away with them! On the way the family encounter adventures plus a host of lost animals which they end up adopting.
4) TOUGH ENOUGH'S PONY
(OXFORD UNIV PRESS [USA] 1957)
ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH CARROLL
Reprinted
SUMMARY: Whilst at their great grandparents' house, which is on an island, the children find a half starved and injured Banker pony colt on the beach. They take him in and care for him and name him Sassy Boy. Tough Enough forms an attachment to the pony and Sassy slowly begins to recover. However when it is time for the family to return home their father tells them they must leave Sassy behind. But when they leave Sassy jumps into the sea and swims across the sound after them!
5) TOUGH ENOUGH AND SASSY
(HENRY WALCK [USA] 1958)
ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH CARROLL
SUMMARY: The Tatum family have fallen on hard times and may have to sell Sassy! The children and the animals are all determined to help save the farm and prevent Sassy being sold.
6) TOUGH ENOUGH'S INDIANS
(HENRY WALCK [USA] 1960)
ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH CARROLL
SUMMARY: The children are playing at Indians with Tough Enough and Sassy when they are threatened by a forest fire. Sassy leads them to safety and they are taken in by a Cherokee family. The children soon learn that much of what they knew about Indians is false as the family show them their customs.
7) RUNAWAY PONY RUNAWAY DOG
(HENRY WALCK [USA] 1963)
ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH CARROLL
The only one of the series to have colour illustrations.
SUMMARY: Sassy and Tough Enough are stolen by a zookeeper and become the star attractions in his zoo, until a storm wrecks it. The pair escape and set off on a perilous journey to find their beloved home.
Collector's Info:
A note on the publishers - Oxford University Press's children's division was bought by its president Henry Z. Walck in 1958, thereafter he published the books in his own name. This explains why in book searches you may see the books listed as published by both Oxford and Henry Walck.
The books are reasonably easy to find in the USA. The last in the series is probably the easiest to find and Tough Enough's Trip possibly a bit rarer and more expensive than the others. All the books are quite hard to find outside of the States.
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