Cowboy Dreams [Hardcover]

Kathi Appelt (Author), Barry Root (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

A little cowpoke is lulled to sleep by dreams of the sights and sounds of the Western landscape at night.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To the soothing accompaniment of Root's (Someplace Else) moonlit prairie scenery, Appelt composes a lullaby for young buckaroos. As a soft sundown casts grassy hills in glowing orange, a blond boy in western attire ambles home to his mother's calls. He hangs up his white cowboy hat and slips under his covers. With a "Shhhhhh...," the scene shifts to a chuckwagon, a herd of sleepy steers and a crowd of cowhands lazing around a campfire. Despite the range-riding theme, there is no hooting or hollering. The boy rides up on a graceful palomino pony and dismounts quietly. A radiant pale-yellow moon gazes gently upon the tired group: "Close your eyes now, li'l pardner,/ lasso up those cowboy dreams./ La Luna's warmed your blanket/ in her satin silver beams." Appelt (Bat Jamboree) captures the romance of the bronco life in drawled, alliterative rhymes, and she spices her verse with a Tex-Mex flavor ("La Luna casts her lantern light/ across the chaparral"). Root's peaceful spreads, rendered in beefy brushstrokes of earth-tone gouache, evoke the same sundown hush as the text. Coyotes watch the campsite from a nearby rock, and a rusty-brown whippoorwill darts across a blue-green, starry firmament. Readers of Kate Banks and Georg Hallensleben's And If the Moon Could Talk will find the same tranquillity, albeit transplanted to a serene outdoor setting with sleeping bags and a crackling fire. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1?Rhythmic rhymes and imaginative artwork combine in a cozy bedtime tale for young cowpokes. Addressed to a boy heading toward bed in his cowboy gear, the verses describe the nighttime beauty of the range: "Can you hear the river murmur/cross the valley deep and green?/Can you hear the night wind whistle/through the river's bedside trees?" As the evening scenes unfold, "La Luna" watches from above: "She'll keep her lantern glowing/as she slips across the sky." The moon and stars illuminate each double-page spread, softly lighting the world below and creating night scenes that are warm and inviting. In his imagination, the boy brushes down his horse, joins the cowhands around the fire, and falls asleep under the stars, head on his saddle. In the final scene, he is still dreaming of the open range. While bedtime tales are plentiful, this title stands out because of the setting. A gentler story than most cowboy yarns, it captures the peaceful side of the Wild West.?Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, OR
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060277637
• ISBN-13: 978-0060277635
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,980,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a real cowboy's dream, November 18, 2000

By 

D. Bolar "moe" (Prairie Village, KS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cowboy Dreams (Library Binding)

My little 3-year old cowboy loves to read this book before bedtime. It's lulling, rhythmic text is a wonderful "wind-down" book before turning in. It has helped to perpetuate his cowboy dream and has taught him about different wildlife present in the desert or on the "range." He's even nicknamed himself Cowpoke and his brother, Camp Cookie, after reading this so many times. It's one of our favorites!! Perfect for any boy or girl showing interested in the cowboy or cowgirl life!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different twist for bedtime reading, July 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Cowboy Dreams (Hardcover)

This is a fun book to read at bed time that offers something different than the usual good night books. It's wonderful the way the words roll off of your tongue - you almost can't help reading it with a slight 'twang'. The illustrations are beautiful, too. This is one of the few books my son and I both enjoy reading.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good poetry, great art., July 25, 2008

By 

David E. Goldweber (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cowboy Dreams (Hardcover)

What a wonderful idea for a children's book. I wish some of the poetry was better... several of the verses are awkwardly phrased or awkwardly rhymed, and difficult to read aloud. But the art is great throughout, with a perfect blend of warm colors for the smokey Western nighttime mood. And - perhaps most importantly - my toddler loves it! He asks for it by name (he calls it "la luna") and wants it every night. That's fine with me. See also Cowboy ABC by Demarest.