There is a whole slew of cowboy books. Cowboys are exciting, and becoming something rare to see in the moderen world. Don't worry they are still living out amung us, riding horses, rounding up cattle, and at rodeos. I will admit though when I was looking for really great cowboy books to share with you many of them fell short of my expectations for them. I did however find a couple good ones, and I will share with you the ones I loved, liked, and even the one that I flat out didn't care for one bit.
I'm going to have to start with the book I didn't like, this way I can end on a positive note.
Cowboy & Octopus
Written by Jon Scieszka
Illustrated by Lane Smith
I admit, I should have known this would be a bad book just off the title, but I was curious. Does it not make you wonder how there's a cowboy and octopus in the same book? How does that even happen? I had to know.
It's published by Viking which is an imprint of Penguin Group who usually puts out really good books. It's also one of the newer books I found having come out in 2007. This info paired with my curiousity convinced me to check it out, thank you libraries I borrowed this book and am forever thankful I didn't buy it.
Unlike most picture books that tell a story from begining to end, this is a collection of 7 short stories. Each "story" is only 2-4 pages long. I put story in quotation marks because I don't think it tells a story, the book doesn't have a storyline, and each short story doesn't make me feel like it's a story on it's own. I'm sorry Jon Scieszka, I know I have read and really liked some of your other books, but I'm having a hard time finding positive things to say about this one. I know it's suppose to be funny, but the jokes fell short. The writing and conversation felt a bit choppy, almost like an early reader but lacking something still.
The illustrations, I'm horribly sorry to say (now this is only my opnion) they make the book even less apealing. I know artist each have their own take on things and I am far from an art expert but I really couldn't get my mind around this style of art. I know there is someone (like the illustrator) out there who is saying "Open your mind! Look at all the different layers in this image using painted newspaper pages, and layering cut out photographic real life images with cut outs of cardstock 70's style paper dolls, and they all come together with plastic toys to create a unique and colorful picture." That is how I'm trying to see these illustrations, but there's so much different textures, sizes, and it's all weird. It distracted and confused me.
While I feel like I'm being very harsh on this book I'm not alone in my thought because I consulted others on their thoughts. My five year old daughter who sat with me and listened and looked at the book as I read it the first time said "I don't like it, it's weird." The other couple people I will leave unnamed also weren't happy with the book. To top this off, you do not find out why this octopus is on land.
This next book is better, it's from an old folk song.
The Zebra-Riding Cowboy
Collected by Angela Shelf Medearis
Illustrated by Maria Cristina Brusca
Published in 1992 this is an older book, but not the oldest I'm going to share. What lands this book on my list isn't the song itself, or the illustrations but rather the afterword really stands out. In the afterword Angela talks about how her nephew thought there weren't any black cowboys, and in doing research she found that there were. She goes into telling about the folk song and what's known of it's origins, and how there were many races with cowboys, so while TV and film mainly portray white cowboys she set out to change that with her book.
Part of folk songs are that they are passed down not in writing back in the day but by one person hearing it and changing it a bit and passing it along. After I read the book and couldn't figure out how to sing it I went to YouTube and found that there are a couple different versions. This one I found I like a lot more than the book.
The Zebra Riding Cowboy is a unique song in that there is a "city boy" who is educated and the cowboys think they are going to pull a fast one on him when they put him on a rowdy unbroken horse, to their surprise he can ride, and ride well for that matter. The moral of the song/story is that you can't judge someone based on appearances.
Maria Cristina Brusca did the illustrations and really made sure to stick with the message Angela wanted to get across, that not all cowboys are white. Her illustrations are colorful, entertaining and tell the story.
I know teachers, librarians, and parents who are looking for some crafts and activities to do around the theme of cowboys and girls will love this next book!
I Wish I Were A Cowboy
by Ivan Bulloch & Diane James
Illustrator: Dom Mansell
Photographer: Daniel Pangbourne
World Book Encyclopedia brings us info about cowboys back in the day of the wild west. Children learn about the clothing articles that were worn and why, about what they ate, and how they slept. I like that each lesson is very short but teaches something new. Did you know a bandana wasn't just used to protect the cowboys faces but also could protect their neck from sunburn, used as a knapsack, handkerchief, and a flag? I love the large font size, it makes the words easy to read for younger kids and easy to follow along too.
What makes this book great is that with each lesson there is an accompanying activity that kids will love to do and drives the lesson home because they can be active, use their imagination and act our the wild west. Each activity is easy and explained well, and the best part is you probably have much of the material at home (or in the classroom) to do each craft already. You can take each craft/activity and expand upon it to suit your needs and child's wants, so while the craft for making a vest to wear in the book is with paper, you could make it with felt or old clothing and use it to teach sewing and have a longer lasting end product. Each activity you can make as simple or as complicated as you want.
As you might have noticed there's both an illustrator and photographer, but unlike Cowboy and Octopus which mixed too many medias and had poor results from it, I Wish I Were a Cowboy has detailed illustrations that show the wild west back, small illustrations for each step of the craft or activity and then the photo come in to showcase a child with their craft.
I can see teachers have Wild West Week and using this book each day to make a project for them to use.
Stories of Cowboys
Written by Russell Punter
Illustrated by Fabiano Fiorin
This is another collection of short stories, but instead of each not having a beginning middle and end like Cowboy & Octopus each short story in Stories of Cowboys is a complete story on it's own and you can stop reading after each or continue on with the book. The font is large for readers and each short story or chapter is about 13 pages.
I love that at the beginning of the book there is a glossary with all the "cowboy words" so children can read them and know what they each mean as they come to them.
I love the way Russell has written this book. The events are adventurous and comical and done in a way for children to read them. The villains in the story pull pranks instead of actual harm. The cattle rustler paints the stolen cows. One guy cheats in the rodeo with oil on the reins, then brags about how great he is but won't go help a runaway carriage. I really like the way this was written for children.
The illustrations follow and help tell the story.
If you would like this wonderful book please check out my friend's website to get your copy (best part is it's under $5).
Grab your ten gallon hat,
run along to tend your heard
in one of these books!
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