MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE
Character Interview: Paul Beebee
Interviewer: Hello. I’m here today with Paul Beebee from the Newbery award winning book, Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. It’s a realistic fiction book based on a true story.
Paul: Hello, everybody!
Interviewer: So, Paul tell us a little bit about your character in the story.
Paul: Well, in the story, I am one of the main characters along with my sister, Maureen. Our parents are in China, and we live with our grandparents, Grandpa and Grandma Beebee. I am about nine or ten years old, and readers can infer that my sister Maureen is too.
Interviewer: Wow, that’s really interesting! Are there any other major characters of the story?
Paul: Well, I guess you could say Maureen and I are the central characters. Then Grandpa and Grandma. The rest of the story characters are the residents of Chincoteague. It’s a small island. So everybody knows everybody there.
Interviewer: What is the setting of the story?
Paul: The setting is on Chincoteague and Assateague islands off the coast of Eastern Shore, Virginia. My Grandpa Beebee runs a horse ranch on Chincoteague, where we live. Most people there are fishermen. Nobody lives on Assateague—only the wild horses and other wildlife.
Interviewer: Wild ponies, huh? Tell us a little bit about the plot (the major events) of the story.
Paul: Well, Maureen and I decide we want to buy the Phantom, a very wild mare on Assateague, on Pony Penning Day. So we save up, and I get to go with Grandpa and the other horsemen to round up the wild ponies and swim them across the channel to Chincoteague. But when I am sent after the “straggler,” who is really the Phantom, I find out that the Phantom has a foal, who I naturally name, Misty. Once Maureen finds out about Misty, we decide we want to buy them both!
Interviewer: What is the major conflict, problem, or struggle of the story?
Paul: There are several, but I would say the major conflict is when Maureen and I realize we don’t have enough money to buy the Phantom and Misty. Another major conflict of the story is when my sister and I realize the Phantom is better off being wild—but that’s later in the story.
Interviewer: Wow, this book really seems exciting! You’re making me want to read it. My last question is: what is a lesson that we can learn from the story?
Paul: There are probably lots of lessons you can learn from the story of Misty of Chincoteague. The one that I learned is that it’s best to obey—even when you don’t feel like it. You see, on the roundup, Grandpa had reminded me to obey the leader of the group. Once we got into rounding up the pones, I was ordered by the leader to go after the stragglers instead of rounding up the main herd. I was disappointed, because I wanted to be a real man and go after the main herd, because I assumed the Phantom would be with them. But I obeyed and went after the stragglers, even though I didn’t feel like it. It ended up being best for me to obey, because I found out that the stragglers were the Phantom and Misty after all!
Interviewer: Thank you, Paul, for being here with us today, and sharing with us a little bit about the book Misty of Chincoteague! And audience, you should read exciting adventure about two kids saving to buy the horse of their dreams and raising her baby foal.