RANCH DRESSING

Under a title that's a candidate for most outrageous pun of the year, a respected scholar of children's literature and education celebrates a distinctive style of regional dress. Opening with a look at post-Civil War cowboys' living and working conditions, Greenlaw describes the invention of—and the last century's changing fashions in—cowboy hats, shirts, pants, and boots as well as chaps, bolos, and other accessories. She mentions major specialty companies and entrepreneurs but seldom goes into details of manufacture, focusing instead on how these items and garments have changed over time. Among the illustrations (dark b&w photos plus a short color section), old portraits and advertisements are varied with modern fashion shots featuring both adults and children. The stories of Levi Strauss and John B. Stetson have been told elsewhere for young readers, but other sources on Jack A. Weil, the Justin family, or the modern western wear industry are rare. Not definitive, but fun. Bibliography; museum list; index. (Nonfiction. 11-13)