Noel Barr

British writer. Well known as the author of the early 497 series of Ladybird books. These feature various animals and some have a strong moral to the tale: many of the animals have an undesirable trait, such as naughtiness or greediness, which they learn to overcome in the stories. Amongst the various animals are two equines: a pony and a donkey.

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Horse and Pony Books:

THE DISCONTENTED PONY
(WILLS & HEPWORTH/LADYBIRD BOOKS 1951)
ILLUSTRATED BY P. B. HICKLING
Ladybird series 497
Reprinted in hardback many times, later editions did not have dustwrappers issued
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition with and without wrapper, 1959 edition without wrapper, 1970s pictorial hardcover edition
SUMMARY: Younger readers pony story. Merrylegs is a little pony who lives on a farm. Knowing his grandfather was a racehorse, he longs for a more exciting life. When he sees a fair one day he thinks becoming a roundabout horse would be a great idea so he runs off to join the fair. However his experiences in the outside world teach him a valuable lesson about life.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES
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NED THE LONELY DONKEY
(WILLS & HEPWORTH/LADYBIRD BOOKS 1952)
Ladybird series 497
Reprinted in hardback many times, later editions did not have dustwrappers issued
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition without wrapper, 1960s, 1970s pictorial hardcover
SUMMARY: Donkey story for younger readers.

Collectors Info:
Both of these had a number of reprints from the 1950s to 1970s. Early edtions were issued with a dustwrapper, later editions with pictorial hard boards only. Reasonably easy to find in the UK, though early editions with dustwrappers are harder to find and may be not be cheap. Much harder to find outside the UK.