SOME DAY RIDER

A similiar story to the author's Sam (1967), though with a different setting. Here, ranch-bred Kenny yearns to ride, but his parents have put off teaching him. It's not clear how old Kenny is: he's small enough to try riding a goose, but (inconsistently) big enough to get on the back of a calf. The latter attempt finally convinces Mom to get him on a horse--which soon proves fortunate when Dad needs an extra hand for the roundup. It doesn't seem plausible that a ranching family would delay teaching a child to ride when he's old enough to do the chores that Kenny does--or that he would learn so fast. But the story does have some of the warmth that makes Sam a perennial favorite; and Himler's watercolors are perceptive, evocative, and absolutely lovely--just right for this realistic slice of rural Americana.