My Name Is America: The Journal Of Joshua Loper, A Black Cowboy [Hardcover]

Walter Dean Myers (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: My Name Is America

Two-time Newberry Honor-winning author Walter Dean Myers writes about an African-American boy's struggles with his first cattle drive and the racial prejudices of the time. A "Dear America" book.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

The teenage son of a former slave joins a cattle drive from Texas to Abilene, Kansas, in an entry in the My Name is America series. Joshua is a competent, level-headed boy who works hard, loves his mother, and keeps God in his heart. Despite the bigotry of the trail boss, the Captain, Joshua is determined to prove himself on his first drive. Through encounters with rustlers and others, stampedes, crew frictions, and the multitude of difficulties and challenges inherent in the job, Joshua holds his own, proves his worth, and earns some respect from the Captain. Myers tells a compelling story in which the source of the drama is the drive itself, and all the hardship of life on the trail. Scene after scene is vividly told, including a downright gory, fatal trampling of one of the cowpunchers during a stampede. Readers gain a real feeling for the period and setting, and a strong sense of what a cattle drive entailed. The hallmarks of Myers's workthorough research and solid writingare evident here. (b&w photos, maps) (Fiction. 8-14) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; 1st edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590026917
• ISBN-13: 978-0590026918
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walter Dean Myers is a New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author who has garnered much respect and admiration for his fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for young people. Winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award, he is considered one of the preeminent writers for children. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Joshua Loper Reveiw, May 5, 2004

By 

Chris (Conway, AR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Name Is America: The Journal Of Joshua Loper, A Black Cowboy (Hardcover)

This story is based after the civil war. Joshua and Doom are the only black people on the herd. They start out in the very back at drags but joshua moves to the front when one man slips up. There are some you could say sad parts like when joshuas horse dies but there are some good parts like when he is asked to go on another trail from texas to oregon.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OKAY BUT NOT GREAT!, April 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: My Name Is America: The Journal Of Joshua Loper, A Black Cowboy (Hardcover)

I read all of this MY NAME IS AMERICA book. But like some of the other books in this series, it lacked excitement, suspense, and was not entirely accurate. I did not feel that the book was written by a 16 yr. old cowboy, though it kept my interest and gives children a feeling of what it was like to live in the 19th century. Much better and more accurate historical novels are THE JOURNEY OF LEROY JONES, A FUGITIVE SLAVE and THE DIARY OF A SLAVE GIRL, RUBY JO.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the journal of joshua loper, April 16, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: My Name Is America: The Journal Of Joshua Loper, A Black Cowboy (Hardcover)

Wow! If you're looking for a Wild West book, this is the one. I'm sure you'll love how the story leads off, and how it ends. This story begins when a teenager reaches the age to go on a cattle trip, and is totally psyched, but did not know what was In store for him. What he learns is
Simple;
1.AIM BEFORE YOU SHOOT 2.HOW TO ROPE A CATTLE.
This is also a very touching, and emotional story, but Joshua puts it together perfectly. The part in this story that I liked the most was when they reached a town called; Abilence. Abilence is a rough town where you're sure to get in a fight ,and you wont be disappointed! Joshua goes through some rough times but makes it through the whole trip. I give this book a 5 out of 5.
Jeremy Snowden.