The world is my oyster.

It's Oyster Festival time in the town of Urbanna, along the Rappahannock River in Virginia.

Ever since I read Marguerite Henry's Misty of Chincoteague as a girl---the tale of a wild pony who finds a home with two children in that small fishing village on the Eastern Shore---I have loved this area and this time of year and the oyster roasts and clam bakes and fish fries and BBQs with all the fixin's.

How could I ever forget that opening line of that wonderful book: "A wild, ringing neigh shrilled up from the hold of the Spanish galleon...."

Or its tale of the harsh thrill of the ponies swimming through the surf after the galleon's shipwreck. The talk of roundup men, sea grasses, galloping like the wind. The Pied Piper and the Phantom. And, of course, Grandpa Beebe.

And roasted oysters for supper. Or grilled.

The Beebe family probably would have been amazed to see their hearty bivalve staple made into something fancy. This recipe for Oysters Mornay, however, only looks glamourous. It only takes 15 minutes to prepare, and it's yummy.

A classic.

Here's a wonderful review posted on amazon.com that made me smile. Thank you, Diogenette.

I first read "Misty of Chincoteague" when I was a child in the 1950s. I loved the story so much that I ended up memorizing it so that I could tell it to myself after lights-out.

My parents took me to Pony Penning Day in the late 1950s, when Chincoteague was still very much like the town Marguerite Henry described and the bridge to Assateague was way, way in the future.

Pony Penning Day was very exciting, but even more exciting was the fact that Misty was still alive and living at the Beebe ranch!

I still have a picture of me petting her. Marguerite Henry was there, too -- a wonderful woman, with a genuine love for children. So was Grandpa Beebe, looking very much like Wesley Dennis drew him.

I will always treasure the memory of that vacation, and judging by the other reviews of this book, there are many, many people out there for whom this book occupies a special place in their hearts.

Even though times have changed since this book was written (Maureen would probably not play so much of a second fiddle to Paul these days), the story itself is timeless: the love of the children for the Phantom; their yearning to own her; their willingness to do whatever it took to buy her; Paul's eventual triumph; and, once again, the love of the children for the Phantom that compels them to do what it best for her: these things make up a story that will continue to captivate children for many generations to come.

I would also like to add that the Wesley Dennis illustrations in all of Marguerite Henry's books are simply wonderful. That was a very serendipitous partnership, because his drawings add so much to Mrs. Henry's splendid stories.