Cowpokes by Caroline Stutson

Cowpokes by Caroline Stutson, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Rating: 3.5

A new baby was born into our extended family; his name is Wyatt. So I was in a bit of a cowboy-mood when we strolled into the library last week. This book was standing out from the stacks, on display on the top of the shelves. I had to have it, in honor of baby cowboy Wyatt. We live nowhere near the range, but I sure wish we lived a bit closer, so that a good horse was a required purchase. Sadly, in our area of the country it is not necessary, it's decadent, and not for us. I grew up riding, and the love of horses is still strong!

Of course, I'm trying to pass the interest down to Lorelei, not only so that I can be around horses again and have an excuse to ride and possibly own a horse one day. (When we found out we were having a girl, one of my first thoughts was: Great! I'll ride again!) So I'm always on the prowl for books that will get her excited about riding and horses and all that stuff.

Cowpokes is pretty good. For me, this book does too much; it should focus on one thing--they rhyme of the text or details of the riders in the cattle drive (a la Lili at Ballet) or the characters themselves. But the illustrations save the book itself, as the pictures of the rodeo events and the cattle drive are neat, regardless of how old you are. We probably won't check it out again, but it was fun watching Lorelei pretend that her jump rope was a lasso. I'm glad she wasn't successful in roping one of our weimaraners...that could have been too fun for her, and not so fun for the dogs!