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Hadley Higginson’s idea for a children’s book had cantered around in her head for years, maybe since that day when she was seven and her mom pulled up the drive with a pony in the back of a VW bus. Even as she was experiencing the actual events her book is based on, she was an imaginative child who recognized a good story when she lived it.
As a young adult, when she was nearing the end of her tenure as a student at Portfolio Center, she finally proposed the book idea to the school president, Hank Richardson, and asked if she could work on it as an independent study. He gave it some thought, and got back to her: “If you’re going to do it, you’d better do it right.” He promptly put her in touch with Michael Carabetta, Creative Director at Chronicle Books, who loved the concept so much he agreed to mentor the project.
Once it was written, Carabetta passed the manuscript along to editor Lisa McGuinness, making “no promises.” But what was not to like about Keeker and the Sneaky Pony, the tale of a little girl (Keeker) and her cranky new pony, Plum? Higginson was offered a contract for four more books, and a series was born.
Keeker and the Sneaky Pony is now available. Look for the next two titles, Keeker and the Horse Show Show-Off and Keeker and the Sugar Shack, to be released July 27.
