Frances Wilbur

Born in Mankato, Minnesota, and brought up in five Midwestern states, I graduated from Beloit College in Wisconsin as an English major, with teaching credentials in English, art, and chemistry. In my senior year, the Army War College asked me to enroll in a correspondence course in cryptanalysis. After graduation, I went to Washington and worked for four years in the Signal Intelligence Service, promoted to senior cryptanalyst.

My first husband was engaged by the USA Diplomatic Corps. He moved our family to Spain and Italy, where we spent seven years. When we were moved back to the United States, we settled in California, and later divorced amicably after raising four children. I joined the Rose Bowl Riders Club with my horse, Holiday, where I met my second husband, William, who graduated from Stanford Medical School and was a physician. Between us we had six grown kids, five dogs, and three horses, but we made a loving family. This summer we will celebrate 35 years of happy married life. We are very proud parents and we now have twelve grandchildren.

Bill and I bought some land in southern California where we ran a summer horsemanship camp, teaching complete care of the horse and, eventually, Combined Training, the Olympic sport known as the "Test for the Military." We closed the camp the day that Bill's horse died. It was the end of an era for us.

My first book, A Guide for Parents of Horse-Crazy Kids, was published in 1990. The following year, I suffered a stroke which left my left side paralyzed. We sold the ranch and moved back to town, but I continued to write. In my rehabilitation sessions, I re-learned how to walk and how to type. My second book, A Horse Called Holiday, was published by Scholastic in 1992, and has been translated into Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, and German.

My third book, The Dog with Golden Eyes, was published in 1998 by Milkweed Editions, the winner of the 1998 Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature.

I belong to two writers' clubs, who are critiquing me as I work on my next book, The Horse Next Door.

[Ed. note: Frances WIlbur passed away on August 4, 2006, a champion of children's literature and reading.]

The Dog With Golden Eyes
Milkweed Editions, 1998
Ages 9-12, ISBN 978-1-57131-614-1

After Cassie's dad walks out, Cassie and her mom must make it on their own. While her mom waitresses at the local diner, Cassie takes care of the laundry and cooking after school. She has always wanted a dog, more than anything in the world, but her mother has always refused. Who would take care of a dog? Feed it? And, most importantly, pay for its food, supplies, and trips to the vet? One day, Cassie's dream cautiously sniffs its way into her yard—and into her life. Cassie decides this big dog will be her best friend, even if it means secretly getting a job to pay for the huge quantity of food he eats.

Quickly Cassie learns that Toklata, as she names her new friend, is a big responsibility—and that he may not be a sled dog at all but an Arctic wolf! The Dog With Golden Eyes is filled with fascinating facts about wolves and their behavior as well as some important lessons about responsibility.

Awards
1998 Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature

A Horse Called Holiday
Scholastic, 1992
Ages 9-12, ISBN 978-0-590-44548-1

"Love has no limits to the wonders it performs."

The moment Middie sees Holiday, a beautiful chestnut thoroughbred, she knows he's the horse she's been waiting for. A horse she can take to the horse show. A horse who can win a blue ribbon.

But then Middie discovers the terrible truth about Holiday: he's deaf. And very, very scared.

Middie's always taken the easy way out. But this time that won't work.

She loves Holiday. But will that love be enough?

A Guide to the Parents of Horse-Crazy Kids

A Guide for the Parents of Horse-Crazy Kids
Foreword by Hilda Gurney, illus. by Lyn Lyons
Half Halt Press, 1990

If you are a parent who is being driven up the wall by a youngster who wants a horse, this book is for you!

You know the signs: horses leaping at you from posters on bedroom walls, plastic or ceramic horses grazing, trotting, and galloping on every inch of dresser space, bookshelves bulging with horse stories, conversations that always turn to horses, even when you're determined they won't.

What is the enchantment? Where did it come from? Will it last? And what should you do about it? Encourage or discourage?

This marvelous book offers a positive first step, providing answers and information on the world of horses. Writing especially for the non-horsey parent, Frances Wilbur introduces you to this creature who has enchanted your child. She guides you through the maze of selecting a riding school or instructor, what's involved with riding as an activity for your child, considerations before buying a horse, alternatives to horse ownership, and much, much more. Written in a warm, lively style, this is a book that will save you time, effort, money, and grief, while enabling you to best help your child.