Cowboys and Ranching

Bates, Michelle, Strangers at the Stables, Usborne, 1997 (Grades 4-7)

Mysterious things are happening at the stable when the owners have to leave for a while. There is even an attempt to put the stable on fire.

Durham, David Anthony, Gabriel's Story, Doubleday, 2001 (Young Adult)

Set in the 1870s, the novel tells the tale of Gabriel Lynch, an African American youth who settles with his family in the plains of Kansas. Dissatisfied with the drudgery of homesteading and growing increasingly disconnected from his family, Gabriel forsakes the farm for a life of higher adventure. Thus begins a forbidding trek into a terrain of austere beauty, a journey begun in hope, but soon laced with danger and propelled by a cast of brutal characters.

Granfield, Linda, Cowboy: An Album, Ticknor and Fields, 1994. (Grades 4-7)

A tribute to cowboys, in myth and reality, including descriptions of their dress, lingo ("cowboyspeak"), work, and play as well as sketchy accounts of famous lawmen, outlaws, authors, artists, and movie stars, all illustrated with contemporary photos, advertisements, and other illustrations.

Harris, Jim, Jack and the Giant: A Story Full of Beans, Rising Moon, 1997. (K-3)

Jack and his mother, Annie Okey-Dokey, live on a ranch in Arizona. A giant has stolen all their cattle, and they're forced to sell their last cow - which Jack trades for beans. The magic beanstalk this time leads to an adobe castle in the sky, where Jack encounters the giant cattle rustler Wild Bill Hiccup; from then on, the story takes its predictable turns. Filled with puns and twists, this re-telling is fun, though the humor sometimes borders on the crass (rather than a goose laying golden eggs, there's a buffalo laying golden chips). The cartoon-style art is big and bright, though the exaggerated features and characteristics, reminiscent of political cartoons, might intimidate the younger ones. Still, those familiar with the original will enjoy Jack in this new setting, and adults will appreciate some of the more sophisticated and sly asides down on the range.

Ketteman, Helen, and James Warhola, Bubba, the Cowboy Prince: A Fractured Texas Tale, Scholastic, 1997. (K-3)

A Cinderella parody featuring Bubba, downtrodden and overworked by his wicked stepdaddy and loathsome brothers Dwayne and Milton, who spend their days bossing him around. The other half of the happy couple is Miz Lurleen, who owns ``the biggest spread west of the Brazos.'' She craves male companionship to help her work the place, ``and it wouldn't hurt if he was cute as a cow's ear, either.'' When Lurleen tracks the bootless Bubba down, ``Dwayne and Milton and their wicked daddy threw chicken fits.'' Bubba and babe, hair as big as a Texas sun, ride off to a life of happy ranching.

Lowell, Susan, and Randy Cecil, Little Red Cowboy Hat, Henry Holt, 1997. (K-3)

Little Red Riding Hood gets a Wild West twist in a funny version of the familiar tale. This sticks pretty close to the plot, but with a tall-tale twang to the telling and a favorable ending in which Grandma comes in and saves Little Red.

Lowell, Susan, and Tom Curry, The Bootmaker and the Elves, 1997, Orchard. (K-3)

A bootmaker ``so poor even his shadow had holes in it'' wakes one morning to find his last piece of leather made into a pair of eye-popping, shiny new cowboy boots, bright with stars and roses.

Murdoch, David Hamilton, Cowboy, Eyewitness Books, Knopf, 1993. (Grades 4-7)

From ancient Mongolian herders, to the cowpokes of the American West, to South American gauchos, a photographic study that captures the history, lore, and lifestyles of the world's cowboys.

Pinkney, Andrea D., and Brian Pinkney, Bill Pickett, Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy, Gulliver, 1996. (Grades PreK-3)

This storybook biography traces Pickett's early life and eventual rise to the upper ranks of professional rodeo fame and provides historical information about black cowboys.

Ross, Stewart, Fact or Fiction: Cowboys, Copper Beech, 1995.

Profiles the legendary heroes of the American West, including accounts of the exploits of Wyatt Earp, Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hickock, and other famous figures.

Savage, Candace, Cowgirls, Tenspeed, 1996.

Savage provides a fine history of the cowgirl, exploring the lives of women in the American West and blending historical review with excerpts from journals and over 100 images from archives and private collections of cowgirls in action. Enjoy a pleasing blend of visual excitement and historical lore.

Ulmer, Wendy K., and Kenneth Spengler, A Campfire for Cowboy Billy, Rising Moon, 1997. (picture book, Grades K-3)

Grab your hats and ride along with Cowboy Billy on his mail run to 44th Street. Follow Billy on his adventurous journey as he weaves through an imaginary landscape where he dodges rustlers on bicycles, sheriffs directing stalled traffic, and chuck-wagon cooks dishing up hot dogs. Billy's imaginative journey will delight cowboys, cowgirls and tenderfeet of all ages.

Willis, Jean, and Tony Ross, I Want to Be a Cowgirl, Henry Holt, 2002. (Grades K-2)

In this playful ode to the Wild West, a small girl would gladly exchange her big city life for big sky country. Her three-piece-suited daddy seems bemused by her longings, patiently trying to reclaim his converted hat and the white shag rug (with a suspicious chaps-shaped hole cut out of it). But "I don't want to be a girly girl / Who likes to sit and chat. / I just want to be a cowgirl, Daddy, / What's so wrong with that?"

Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom

Ag-Related Books for Children and Young Adults