Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse (Every Cowgirl #1)

It's her birthday and Nellie Sue is hoping for a horse. Her parents have gotten enough hints: she wears cowgirl duds from head to toe, uses words like moseyed, drops her g's (as in Yee-haw! We've got herdin' to do!), and has elaborate plans for converting the family home into a barn and paddock. Instead, Nellie Sue gets a bicycle: All eyes were on me, and I felt like I swallowed a hay bale. Debut author Janni and Avril ("Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School") clearly appreciate their heroine's fantasies, but don't always succeed in getting inside her head. Avril's pink-hued watercolor cartoons have a birthday-card geniality, giving little sense of either an internal drama or a romantic vision of life on the range. The extent to which Nellie Sue takes the bike-as-horse fantasy makes for some overly precious lines (I walked over to her with my palm out flat so she could get a good sniff, she says, approaching the bike), but readers should identify with her longing, as well as her powerful sense of imagination. Ages 35. "(Feb.)"

Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Cowgirl wannabe Nellie Sue is convinced she'll get a horse for her birthday. In her imagination, she already is feeding, watering, lassoing, and riding her dream steed as she does routine chores on the big day. When her parents proudly present her with her new horsea bikeshe is taken aback but then gamely approaches "Beauty" and saddles up. As she and her bike survive a crash and repair, Nellie Sue finds her imagination is strong enough for her to see her bike as a horse and she happily pedals into the sunset. The child's fresh voice and twang will have children cheering as she starts out making the best of a situation and then finds she is perfectly happy with the outcome. The bright, sketchy, watercolor and ink illustrations are suffused with pinks and purples and capture a child who tries to live up to cowgirl ideals of helping others, looking on the bright side, and being strong. The lesson on dealing positively with disappointment is gently delivered. Perfect for one-on-one sharing or reading alone, this is a cowgirl story that readers will take to heart."Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.