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
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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