Clarence William Anderson

Who was Clarence William Anderson?

Clarence William Anderson, born in Wahoo, Nebraska, and known professionally as C.W. Anderson, was an author and illustrator of children's books. Anderson had an interest in horses and drawing. When he wasn't out riding horses, he was drawing them, taking great interest in their bone structure and conformation. Anderson started his career by illustrating for other authors, but eventually began developing texts to accompany his realistic and lively black and white drawings. He is best known for his "Billy and Blaze" book series.

The adventures of Billy and Blaze revolve around proper care of the horse, while teaching a lesson. Anderson would go to great lengths to give accurate information. He would even go on to write Heads Up, Heels Down as a training tool for young horse lovers. All of the stories Anderson wrote would be based on true stories or people that he knew-only the plots were fictitious.

By the end of Anderson's life, he had written and illustrated over thirty-five horse books, and had also created covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Anderson is the namesake for Andy's Summer Playhouse, a youth theater in Wilton, NH.