Buster Mesquite's Cowboy Band [Hardcover]

Tony Hillerman (Author), Ernest Franklin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Buster Mesquite's Cowboy Band give a quirky southwestern retelling of a classic children's tale, with a much more satisfactory ending. Delightful illustrations by Navajo artist Ernest Franklin, who has been illustrating Tony Hillerman's Navajo policemen for many years. Visual puns and hidden jokes make Franklin's drawings a delight to revisit over and over, always with a fresh sense of discovery. Humor is a large part of Native American life and traditional culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ages 4-7. Hillerman, best known for his adult mysteries with a Southwestern setting, makes a game try at writing a picture book for kids, and although there are kinks, he does better than a number of other adult writers who've tried the genre and better than the ubiquitous celebrity "authors." The real reason this works, however, is Franklin's artwork. The Navajo illustrator draws swirling, lively, cartoon-style pictures in ink and watercolor that are both mischievous and fun. The story stars Buster Mesquite the burro who loses his job and starts a cowboy band, teaming up with a rock-and-roll coyote, a wildcat cowgirl who plays the fiddle, and a crow that can belt with the best of them. The band scares a bunch of outlaws in a plot element that provides a little excitement but doesn't make much sense in terms of movement to the happy conclusion. What does work here is the energy, the wit of the art, and the satisfying cowboy milieu. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

From Booklist Ages 4-7. Hillerman, best known for his adult mysteries with a Southwestern setting, makes a game try at writing a picture book for kids, and although there are kinks, he does better than a number of other adult writers who've tried the genre and better than the ubiquitous celebrity "authors." The real reason this works, however, is Franklin's artwork. The Navajo illustrator draws swirling, lively, cartoon-style pictures in ink and watercolor that are both mischievous and fun. The story stars Buster Mesquite the burro who loses his job and starts a cowboy band, teaming up with a rock-and-roll coyote, a wildcat cowgirl who plays the fiddle, and a crow that can belt with the best of them. The band scares a bunch of outlaws in a plot element that provides a little excitement but doesn't make much sense in terms of movement to the happy conclusion. What does work here is the energy, the wit of the art, and the satisfying cowboy milieu. Ilene Cooper Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --BookList --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Buffalo Medicine Books; First Edition, First Printing edition (July 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914001116
• ISBN-13: 978-0914001119
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,477,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not very good, but plenty loud, January 7, 2002

By 

Nancy Tandberg (Albuquerque, New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Buster Mesquite's Cowboy Band (Hardcover)

Tony Hillerman has assembled four down and out cowboy band wannabees, faintly reminiscent of some other musicians from Brementown, but perfectly at home among the cactus and mesas of the Southwest. Buster Mesquite's Band isn't very good, but it's plenty loud, and they are destined for adventure on their quirky journey to fame and fortune, helped along the way by their unabashed enthusiasm for their music and some plain old dumb luck. Those notorious bandits they stumble upon don't stand a chance when Buster's Band dazzles, or rather startles, them with their latest tune.
Ernest Franklin's energetic illustrations make every page an eyeful that enhances Hillerman's spare and witty style of storytelling. Buster's Band gets a definite A for effort.
Nancy Tandberg
New Mexico Kids! magazine