The Dirty Cowboy [Hardcover]

Adam Rex (Author), Amy Timberlake (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2003 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Lexile Measure: 840L (What's this?)

This ol’ boy needs a bath!

After he finds a tumbleweed in his chaps and the numerous bugs buzzing around him affect his hearing, the cowboy decides it’s time to head to the river. Once there, he peels off all his clothes and tells his trusty old dog to guard them against strangers. He takes a refreshing bath and emerges clean as corn – but so fresh-smelling that his dog doesn’t recognize him! Negotiations over the return of the clothes prove fruitless. A wrestling match ensues in a tale that grows taller by the sentence, climaxing in a fabric-speckled dust devil.

Amy Timberlake has inserted a Western twang into this tale of filth and friendship, and Adam Rex has found many creative means of bodily concealment in his expressive, comical paintings.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-After finding 32 fleas in his hair and tumbleweeds in his chaps, a freckle-faced cowboy decides that it's time for his annual bath. He mounts his horse, calls for his old dog, and heads for El Rio. There he disrobes and commands his companion to guard his duds. After frolicking merrily with a bar of soap (the amusing illustrations show many views of the naked cowboy bathing, while still keeping a G rating), he emerges thoroughly scrubbed and puckered "like a prickly pear." The dog does not detect his owner's familiar "wild boar-like smell" and stubbornly refuses to relinquish the garments. A dust-stirring brawl ensues that leaves the man as dirty as when he started, ultimately restoring his usual aroma. Unfortunately, the togs do not survive the tussle, and the cowboy heads for home, "bare as a shorn sheep." Told in descriptive language that rolls off the tongue, this story makes the most of a humorous situation. Filled with the dusty reds and sundown bronzes of the New Mexico setting, the paintings have a gritty, sinewy look that matches the earthy tone of the tale. Clever touches abound, as the artwork offers framed close-ups of the cowboy's uninvited vermin, a map of his route to the river, and whirling views of the wrestling match. The hangdog expression on the pooch's face when he realizes his mistake is priceless. A fun look at life on the range.
Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library Journal
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 2. A cowboy decides to take his yearly bath, so he heads to a nearby river, where he orders his scruffy dog to guard his clothes. When the cowboy returns from the river, he's so clean that the dog doesn't recognize him. The two get into an extended fracas, leaving the cowboy as filthy as ever and the clothes in tatters. Naked and dirty, the cowboy finally returns home, the dog trotting beside him. For some children, the appeal of this story is in the clever composition of the pictures that manages to conceal the cowboy's private bits. Rex's rich paintings add sparkle to the story's dramatic telling with the attention to detail and humor that may remind some grownups of Norman Rockwell's early work. A simple, slapstick tale that is sure to elicit some giggles. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (August 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374317917
• ISBN-13: 978-0374317911
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #288,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dirty Cowboy - should be on every bookshelf! September 25, 2003

By Foster Billingsley

Format:Hardcover

The Dirty cowboy is a family story that has been handed down to the author, Amy Timberlake. I found it to be well written and loaded with humor. It's evident that this story was written with love and respect for great story telling. It's hard to believe this is Ms. Timberlake's first published work.

The illustrator, Adam Rex has captured Ms. Timberlake's story with accuracy and humor. His illustrations remind me of the early artwork of Norman Rockwell.

This book is not only for the young but the young at heart. Even at the age of 39, this book is a must have on my book shelf!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A WESTERN TALL TALE...Hilarious August 1, 2011

By D. Blankenship HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

"The Dirty Cowboy" is a representation of a story that was told to the author by either his father or grandfather. It is absolutely hilarious. Between the author's wonderful way of telling tall tails and some f the best illustrations I have seen in a children's book recent, we have a very fine read here. The nice thing about this work is that it can be enjoyed by young and old a like...it truly is funny!

A lone cowboy with only his dog and his horse lived in a small tin-roofed shack on the New Mexico range, taking care of longhorns. One morning, after the cowboy noted that his hair housed thirty-two fleas and a small gray spider and that he had tumbleweeds in his chaps and that flies were flocking around his body to the extent that he has hearing loss in his left ear and that the cowboy's stench struck to passersby like mud splashed from a wagon wheel; our lonely cowboy decides he had better take a bath. (This guy really was very, very dirty).

After a long trip the cowboy, his horse and his dog finally find the river. The dog is told "Dawg" he said, "No one touches these clothes but me. Hear?" And the cowboy enters the river for his bath. He becomes very, very clean, top of his head to the tip of his toes. All is well

And then...

The cowboy gets out of the river and attempts to put his cloths back on...things go horribly wrong at this point. The dog, whose name happens to be Eustace Shackelford Montana does not recognize his friend...he simply does not smell like his cowboy!

Our young hero tries everything to no avail and finally figures he must fight the dog for his clothing...and why not as he figures the dog only has two teeth left anyway. And the two go at it; at it to the point they whip up a terrible dust storm....it is quite a battle.

This is a tall tale in the spirit of the old Pecos Bill stories. The art work is absolutely wonderful and the story is an absolute page turner and as I said, it is hilarious.

Now I note that we have one review which I am assuming is one of those infamous "joke reviews" we find posted to Amazon. While this one is pretty funny as it rants and raves about the "nudity" of the cowboy, it never the less gives a very false impression of this book, and I see that at least a couple of people have left comments that show they actually believed what was assuredly a tongue cheek review. Pity. While the cowboy most certainly is naked in this book, you actually see far more skin at a local public pool or on a basketball court. All of the cowboys "private parts" are completely covered up in various ways, i.e. by a frog, weeds, dogs tail, arm, and so on. The cowboy is also drawn is a rather cartoonish was and is much, much more ugly than the old dog he shares the story with. Do not be misled...there is absolutely nothing inappropriate about this book.

This is a great story, well done and an absolute delight.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderfully funny story! September 8, 2007

By A. Dawson

Format:Hardcover

My 3 year old thinks that this is the greatest book ever written. The story is engaging and the illustrations are priceless. My husband and I would read this story even if we didn't have kids. It's awfully hard not to like the dirty cowboy or his dog.