Barbara B. Hiller (born in New York, New York, in 1946) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

; as Bonnie Bryant she wrote many

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

and

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

books; she is best known for writing the intermediate horse book series ''

The Saddle Club ''The Saddle Club'' is an Australian-Canadian children's television series developed by Sarah Dodd, based on the books written by Bonnie Bryant. Like the book series, the scripted live action series follows the lives of three best friends in ...

'', which was published by Bantam Books from October 1988 until November 2001. She also wrote as B. B. Hiller.

''The Saddle Club''

''The Saddle Club'' chronicles the adventures of thirteen-year-old Lisa Atwood and twelve-year-olds Stephanie "Stevie" Lake and Carole Hanson, who live and ride horses in the fictional town of Willow Creek,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The series was static in time; the girls never aged in 101 books, 7 special editions, and 3 Inside Stories. In the newsletter sent to fan club members, Bryant explains that she "wrote the first Saddle Club book in 1986. It came about from a suggestion made by an editor at Bantam. Her name is Judy (recognize the name?). She knew there were a lot of horse-crazy readers who hadn't had any new books in a long time. She also knew how interested I was in horses. She decided to bring us together. That's how The Saddle Club was born. At first, there were only going to be four books, but so many of you read them that I just had to do more. Right now, we're planning up through Number 52!"Bantam Doubleday Dell. "Dear Saddle Club Members." Hoof Beat: The Saddle Club Newsletter 1.3 (1994): 1. The ''Saddle Club'' books were Bryant's first books for Bantam-Skylark.Bryant, Bonnie. About the Author. ''The Saddle Club #2: Horse Shy''. New York: Bantam, 1988. For a complete list of titles, see this list.

''Pony Tails''

''Pony Tails'' is the first spin-off series authored by Bryant. It is aimed at beginning readers and follows the lives of eight-year-olds May Grover, Corinne "Corey" Takamura, and Jasmine James, who also ride at Pine Hollow. The first book was published in July 1995, and the last was published in February 1998. Robert Brown and Fredericka Ribes provided the cover art for the ''Pony Tails'' books, and Marcy Ramsey provided the interior art for the books. For a complete list of titles, see this list.

''Pine Hollow''

''Pine Hollow'' is the second spin-off series written by Bryant. It is aimed at young adult readers and features Carole, Lisa, Stevie, and some new friends in a series set four years after the events of ''The Saddle Club''. Unlike ''The Saddle Club'', ''Pine Hollow'' conformed to a realistic timeline. The series took place over the span of less than a year. The "Pine Hollow" series focuses on The Saddle Club's teenage years. The first book was published in July 1998, and ''Full Gallop'', the seventeenth and last book, was published in April 2001. Although the last few ''Saddle Club'' books were published after ''Full Gallop'', it is the last book set chronologically in the Willow Creek universe. For a complete list of titles, see this list.

Television series

In 2001, a television show called ''

'', based on the books, was filmed in Australia. As of November 2010, three seasons have aired.

Ghostwriting

Like many long-running children's book series, eventually ''The Saddle Club'' was taken over by a team of

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often ...

s. Bryant wrote at least one hundred and one ''The Saddle Club'' books, six ''Pony Tails'' books, and two ''Pine Hollow'' books herself. Ghostwriters for the ''Saddle Club'' and ''Pine Hollow'' books included Caitlin Macy (sometimes credited as Caitlin C. Macy), Catherine Hapka, Sallie Bissell,

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (born June 24, 1967) is an American children's and young adult book author. In 2016, her children's book ''The War That Saved My Life'' received the Newbery Honor Award and was named to the Bank Street Children's Book ...

, Helen Geraghty, Tina deVaron, Cat Johnston, Minna Jung, and Sheila Prescott-Vessey.

Other Books

Bonnie Bryant is also the author of many novelizations of movies, including ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'', ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue an ...

'' (and all of its sequels), ''

Bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

'', and ''

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid ''Honey, I Blew Up the Kid'' is a 1992 American science fiction comedy family film, and the second installment of the ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' film series. Directed by Randal Kleiser and released by Walt Disney Pictures, it stars Rick Moran ...

'', written under her married name, B. B. Hiller.Bryant, Bonnie. About the Author. ''The Saddle Club #1: Horse Crazy''. New York: Bantam, 1988. Also, the novelization of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Bryant collaborated in the ghostwriting of ''

The Baby-sitters Club ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' (also known as BSC) is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, that sold 176 million copies. Martin wrote the first 35 novels in the series, but the subsequent nove ...

'' Super Special #14: ''BSC in the USA'', published under the name of its creator, Ann M. Martin.

Personal life

Bonnie Bryant was born to Emmons and Metzer S. "Mary" Bryant, who are now deceased. Bryant was born raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, then moved to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

to go to

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducati ...

, where she met her husband, Neil W. Hiller. Bryant worked on the campus newspaper, where Hiller was the editor. After college, Bryant worked for a publishing company, then left in 1986 to write full-time. She and Hiller had two sons, Emmons and Andrew "Andy" Hiller. Neil Hiller died in 1989. Many of Bonnie's books are dedicated to him. She dated Irving Gottesman for about 7 years from 2000 to 2007, until his unfortunate death from cancer September 21, 2007. He, had from a previous marriage, two children named Max and Alice Gottesman. Bryant has two sisters, Penelope "Penny" Bryant Carey, and Molly Bryant, now deceased. Bryant now lives in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, New York.Bryant, Bonnie. About the Author. ''The Saddle Club #101: Best Friends''. New York: Bantam, 2001.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Bonnie American children's writers Living people Lawrence University alumni People from Greenwich Village American science fiction writers 1946 births