Customer Reviews

Matthew the Cowboy: An Albert Whitman Prairie Book

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There seem to be very few books for toddlers on cowboys. This is the best, and will continue to be even if others are written. Matthew gets a cowboy outfit for his birthday, and then "becomes" (in his imagination) a real cowboy, solving a mystery and capturing the bad guys in a non-violent way (the only "weapon" is a lasso, and the only visible pistol remains in the sherrif's holster). The book is PC: the storekeeper is oriental, and cowhands Slim, Tex, and Pete seem (from the wonderful illustrations) to be a senior citizen, woman, and Afro-American, respectively. My two-and-a-half-year-old son, who believes himself to be a real cowboy, has me read this to him at least twice each night, asking questions about the pictures, and generally being thrilled with it. If you have a toddler who's a cowboy, this is definitely the book for you. (Amazon.com's suggested age range of 4-8 may be about right, but, as I noted, my son is quite a bit younger and ! loves it.)

This book is good fun. The illustrations are charming and full of detail, and Matthew really saves the day from the cattle rustlers. He is a smart young hero, and the story helps you learn the names of cowboy gear such as chaps, bridle, spurs, etc. which is a really nice touch by the author. I also enjoyed the little desert creatures that seemed to follow Matthew around.

The story of cows being re-branded has been done before, but of course that does not mean the author borrowed, it is just the same idea. In the Donald Duck story from October 1948 "Sheriff of Bullet Valley" written and illustrated by the great Carl Barks, the rustlers re-branded the cattle over the existing mark.
It is still a fun book, and well worth the very affordable price here at Amazon.com. []

The stoy is fine but the condition of the book was very bad, it was filthy and full of stckers, very disapointing!! I had to scrub it with clorox wipes and pull many sticers off.