''Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse'' is a children's novel by

Ursula Moray Williams Ursula Moray Williams (19 April 1911 – 17 October 2006) was an English children's author of nearly 70 books for children. '' Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse'', written while expecting her first child, remained in print throughout her l ...

, published by George G. Harrap in 1938 with illustrations by

Joyce Lankester Brisley Joyce Lankester Brisley (6 February 1896 – 1978) was an English writer. She wrote and illustrated the ''Milly-Molly-Mandy'' series, which were first printed in 1925 by the ''Christian Science Monitor''. Early life, family and education The ...

. Early editions of the novel were illustrated by Brisley; later illustrators include

Peggy Fortnum Margaret Emily Noel Fortnum (23 December 1919 – 28 March 2016) was an English illustrator, best known for illustrating the children's literature series ''Paddington Bear''. Biography Fortnum was born in England on 23 December 1919 at Har ...

and Paul Howard. It was most recently published in 2011 by

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

, who also included it in the Kingfisher Modern Classics series."The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse"
at Fantastic Fiction.
(The title of the novel may be ''Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse'' in all editions.)

Plot

The book contains 19 chapters. The little wooden horse is a toy horse originally intended to be sold by his maker Uncle Peder. His only desire is to stay with and serve his maker but when the latter is forced out of business by the availability of cheaper mass-produced toys he becomes ill through poverty. The little wooden horse then sets out into the world to make himself a fortune for the two of them to live in peace. Through a combination of misfortune and exploitation, the little wooden horse is forced to travel a great distance and earn and lose his fortune through each of the chapters. Eventually, he does hold onto a fortune, but returning home he finds his maker has disappeared. Eventually, they are reunited through a chance and highly emotional meeting.

References

External links

* {{isfdb name, 108719, Ursula Moray Williams 1938 British novels British children's novels Sentient toys in fiction 1938 children's books British children's books Children's novels about horses George G. Harrap and Co. books