Cowboy Cartoon Story Book

Cowboy Small by Lois Lenski

ISBN: 0375810757

Opening up the world of the classic ranch-hand cowboy, Cowboy Small is a treat for you to read to your child that both you and he will enjoy.

Fun for toddlers today, as it was over 55 years ago, this classic was originally published in 1949 and was republished by Random House in 2001. In it you and your child follow Cowboy Small thoughout a couple days in the life of a cowboy on the open range and in the bunkhouse.

Our two year old asked for this one to be read often.

The simple and appealing illustration style Lois Lenski used back in 1949 has a great 'retro' look to it that is endearing to adults, and clear and uncluttered for children to follow Cowboy Small and his horse, Cactus.

Because it was written about 'cowboying', something we don't often have an early 20th century insight into, it provides great examples of things that were common in the past, that you can point out to your child to enhance their understanding of the world around them today.

For example, Cowboy Small and Cactus spend their time on the range mending fence, making camp and eating over a campfire-cooked dinner, rounding up cattle, eating at the chuckwagon, riding (and getting thrown from) a bucking bronco, and roping a calf and helping brand it. You can tell your child that when (Great)Grandpa and (Great)Grandma were their age, that there were a lot of cowboys who had this job and now there are fewer.

Each page only has an average of 20 words of simple toddler relevant vocabulary that can help expand your child's horizons while keeping their interest in the world of Cowboy Small and Cactus. This is a fun book to read, that doesn't grow tiresome with each repetition - as some other books do.

If you're not comfortable having your child see a cartoon of a calf being branded, it might help to explain that it's how cowboys helped people understand who the cattle belonged to. Today we have identity tags for dogs and cats for in case they stray and get lost, people can get them back to us. Branding cattle was one way of identifying who owned that cattle, so that both good neighbors could help return lost cattle and so that sherrifs and marshalls could catch bad-guy, rustlers, from stealing cattle. You'll need to determine if you child is ready for these concepts. Our two year-old was slightly confused, but eventually indicated he understood that branding was a necessary thing.

I still recommend this book.

5 Mommy-Stars out of 5.