René Guillot (1900-1969)

Award-winning and well-loved French author. Born in Paris, although spent much of his life in Africa where a lot of his books are set. Mainly wrote for children and most of his books are animal stories. A lot (possibly all) of his novels were translated into English.

To horsy readers he is best known for The Wild White Stallion, which is something of a classic in European pony literature. It is a moving story set in the Carmargue region of France and is actually a novelisation of the award winning short French film Crin-Blanc. The film has also been released on DVD in America under the title White Mane.

Rene Guillot won the Hans Christian Anderson Award (considered one of the highest levels of achievement for a children's author) for his work.

Horse & Pony Books:

CRIN-BLANC (Original French title)
aka THE WILD WHITE STALLION
(LIBRAIRIE HACHETTE [FRANCE] 1958)
(1st UK edition HARRAP 1961)
ILLUSTRATED BY JEAN RESCHOFSKY
Reprinted many time and also translated into a number of languages throughout the world.
First published in the UK by Harrap with original illustrations.
Reprinted in the UK in paperback by Beaver with different illustrations by David Barnett.
Also published in the USA.
SUMMARY: Novelisation of the award winniing film White Mane (Crin-Blanc) by Albert Lamorisse
Folco is being trained by his grandpa to become a fisherman in the Carmargue marshes of France. But he instead dreams of becoming a cowboy and capturing and training the beautiful Carmargue horses. One day he rescues a foal whose mother has been captured by gypsies. (Yep they even appear in French pony books!) As the foal grows into a beautiful stallion, boy and horse form a deep bond, but there are many who want to destroy the partnership. Will their friendship survive and will Folco ever realise his dreams?

LES CAVALIERS DU VENT (Original French title)
aka RIDERS OF THE WIND
(EDITIONS MAGNARD? [FRANCE] 1953?)
(1st UK edition METHUEN 196O)
ILLUSTRATED BY J. DE LA FONTINELLE
Publisher and date unconfirmed.
First published in the UK as a hardback by Methuen in 1960
Reprinted in the UK as a hardback by White Lion in 1975.
Published in the USA in hardback by Rand McNally in the 1960s.
As far as I know no paperback reprints
SUMMARY: Calvi, a homeless French boy, is taken in by a kindly sea captain and sent on a trading ship to Africa. There he becomes involved with the desert 'riders of the wind' and the legend of a beautiful white mare…

Collector's Info:
The Wild White Stallion is quite easy to find in paperback in the UK, and not that hard to find in hardback either. Also can be found in the USA. It has been translated into many languages and is thus reasonably easy to find in many countries, although will probably be more expensive than in the UK. French editions under the original title can be found outside of France, although may be harder to track down.
Riders of the Wind is less well known and slightly harder to find but it does have UK and USA editions. As far as I know there were no paperback editions of this title.