An uplifting look at a cowboy’s coming-of-age that will appeal to adventurous young readers.
In this short but sweet middle-grade Western, a gruff but good-hearted cowboy teaches an awkward kid how to handle the bullying he suffers at the hands of others.
On his way to Col. McFarlie’s remote ranch to look for work, tough cowboy Stace spends the night at the home of an older couple. Because of their kindness, he agrees to look in on their son, Rabbit, who works at a bar at the nearby train stop. Rabbit is abused by the men of a nearby ranch because he’s bucktoothed and clumsy. Skittish and easily frightened, he is incapable of standing up for himself. After one of the colonel’s men throws a giant bone at Rabbit, Stace steps in to defend him and accidentally kills the other cowboy in the process. Despite this incident, the colonel hires Stace for the winter season and, at Stace’s request, also brings on Rabbit to assist the ranch’s cook. At first Rabbit is subject to more pranks and insults from the ranch’s diverse group of eccentric characters, but Stace teaches him how to fight back the fun way with his own practical jokes. Eventually, both the experienced outsider and his young sidekick earn their way into the hearts of most of the men—though some take much longer to warm to them than others. However, there are other dangers afoot around the ranch besides bitter cowboys. Author Davis creates a Western setting with prose that feels authentic in its dusty details: “Except for the railroad and the fly-speck town, the flats below were as brown and empty as a miscolored sea. The plain seemed to shimmer with heat and melt into the brown horizon.” There are some scenes of gruesome violence that ring true for the time period and the genre but may be a bit much for younger readers. However, if they can stomach these less-than-savory moments, they will be rewarded with an entertaining tale about the importance of developing thick skin and a sense of humor—lessons that apply to the modern world just as well as to the Old West.
An uplifting look at a cowboy’s coming-of-age that will appeal to adventurous young readers.Pub Date: July 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-1499044928
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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