Real Cowboys

by Kate Hoefler (Author)

Real Cowboys
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
In Kate Hoefler's realistic and poetic picture book debut about the wide open West, the myth of rowdy, rough-riding cowboys and cowgirls is remade. A timely and multifaceted portrayal reveals a lifestyle that is as diverse as it contrary to what we've come to expect.
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Kirkus

An eloquent response to anyone with a simplistic picture of the cowboy as a rough, tough working man and nothing else.

None

Young cowpokes will appreciate the seriousness given to their passion...

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Writing in prose with the lilt and plainspoken poetry of a classic cowboy song, debut author Hoefler makes a winning case that those who are home on the range are self-aware, empathic, conscientious, "as many different colors as the earth," and include "girls, too." Hoefler's text seamlessly blends the workaday with a sense of wonder. "Real cowboys are good listeners," she writes in one such passage. "They're always listening to their trail boss and to the other cowhands. Sometimes they listen for trucks, and wolves, and rushing water. And sometimes they just listen to the big wide world and its grass song." Bean (This Is My Home, This Is My School) beautifully echoes the allusive, musical quality of the text while nodding to the archetypes of the Old West. Working in layers of stenciled four-color imagery, he portrays steers mottled like fine marble, the blinding fury of a dust storm, and an endless night sky of sparkling stars. It may well persuade readers to trade their ninja outfits for chaps, bandanas, and 10-gallon hats. Ages 4-7. Illustrator's agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (Oct.)

Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

PreS-Gr 3--Hoefler takes readers into the daily lives of cowboys. Almost every page turn reveals a different personality trait or behavior, from being "quiet in the morning, careful not to wake the people...in the hollow" to being "strong, and tough, and homesick at the same time." Her portrayal shows skilled and sensitive caretakers who sing to calm the cattle or help them sleep. Always alert to danger and environmental cues, they communicate with other cowhands and their dogs to try to keep their herds safe and to prevent stampedes. When they lose an animal, "real cowboys cry." Bean employs stylized, hand-stenciled shapes in muted, digitally composed scenes. Various shades of brown, depicting the cattle, soil, and other elements, are worked (along with white) into a controlled palette of turquoise, mustard yellow, and orange-red; these colors appear individually or in combination. The moods range from tense--when a dust storm pelts the fleeing animals--to cheerful, when, in a red-and-white Escher-like cattle crossing, an aspiring cowboy waves from the backseat of a car. The language is lyrical, with one or two sentences per page describing the patience and consideration exhibited by these professionals, who "are as many different colors as the earth" and "are girls, too." VERDICT This subtle, expressionistic view may not hold the attention of children who prefer realistic art or constant action, but it provides a fresh, multidimensional glimpse at those who make their home on the range.--Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

ALA/Booklist

...a lovely, quiet book about the personality traits that come in handy when the going gets tough.

Review quotes

 "[Real Cowboys] may well persuade readers to trade their ninja outfits for chaps, bandanas, and 10-gallon hats." —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

 "The illustrations are vibrant, somewhat abstract, and reminiscent of a vintage children's book. Readers will be delighted to learn about the many tasks a cowboy goes through in a day because the illustrations give a colorful portrayal of their livelihood." —School Library Connection

Kate Hoefler
Kate Hoefler is the author of several picture books, including Nothing in Common (illustrated by Corinna Luyken), Great Big Things, Rabbit and the Motorbike, and Real Cowboys, which received two starred reviews and was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Kate received her MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan, where she was a Colby Fellow. She lives in Ohio with her family.

Corinna Luyken is the author-illustrator of ABC AND YOU AND ME (June 2023); THE TREE IN ME (an NCTE Notable Poetry Book and Indie Bestseller); MY HEART (A New York Times Best Seller); and THE BOOK OF MISTAKES (which The Wall Street Journal called "sublime"). She is also the illustrator of IN THE DARK (Aug 2023) and NOTHING IN COMMON, both written by Kate Hoefler; PATCHWORK (A New York Times and Kirkus Best Picture Book of 2022), written by Matt de la Peña; SOMETHING GOOD and ADRIAN SIMCOX DOES NOT HAVE A HORSE, both written by Marcy Campbell; and WEIRD LITTLE ROBOTS, written by Carolyn Crimi. She was raised in Oregon, California, and Hawaii; and studied dance improvisation, poetry, and printmaking at Middlebury College in Vermont. She now lives near the Salish Sea in Olympia, WA with her husband, daughter, and two small cats.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780544148925
Lexile Measure
640
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication date
October 04, 2016
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039050 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emotions & Feelings
JUV025000 - Juvenile Fiction | Lifestyles | Farm Life & Ranch Life
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
JUV006000 - Juvenile Fiction | Business, Careers, Occupations
JUV042000 - Juvenile Fiction | Westerns
JUV070000 - Juvenile Fiction | Poetry (see also Stories in Verse)
Library of Congress categories
Cowboys

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