From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3 Rogers, an American original, is described in this picture book as a tall-tale hero a la Pecos Bill. True elements from his life are exaggerated almost beyond recognition, as when the author has Will roping a horse (at age five) and plowing up 300 acres with his feet. Young Will continues these exploits, even roping things in his sleep. When he grows older, he travels the world doing tricks and telling jokes. At one point, he gets a crowd in Africa laughing so hard that "their tears ended a twenty-year drought." Encouraged by Lucky Lindy, he tries to rope the whole earth, creating such a big wind that every chicken in the world loses its feathers. And so it goes. Goto's bold, glitzy illustrations suit the over-the-top tone; his people resemble big dolls with painted-on grins. An afterword, labeled "The Truth," attempts to clear up any misunderstandings with which readers might come away. But it just doesn't work. It is hard to believe that readers of this book will have any inkling of who Will Rogers was and why he was so important. Rather than a cultural icon, he comes across merely as a silly phantasm. Ruth Semrau, formerly at Lovejoy School, Allen, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ages 5^-8. Dadey's account of the lasso artist who became one of our most beloved funnymen is certainly true to its title. A dedicated rope man from birth (Will's ma says, "Put that diaper back on and stop lassoing every varmint that isn't nailed down"), Will grows up to perform a series of astonishing feats, meanwhile entertaining millions with his unique, clear-sighted brand of humor--" My ancestors didn't come on the
Mayflower, but they met the boat." Ultimately, at the suggestion of his friend Lucky Lindy, he lassos the entire Earth ("Let's call that rope the `equator,' because there's nothing to `equal' that trick"), though the backlash sends him to Mars, and on the rebound he inadvertently scoops out the Grand Canyon. Goto's full-bleed illustrations seem larger than life, too, pulling viewers into the center of whirlwind action with muscular, laughing figures that look carved and polished. Carefully separating fact from fancy in an afterword, the author of
Shooting Star: Annie Oakley, the Legend (1997) again spins historical straw into tall-tale gold for a memorable introduction to an American humorist.
John Peters
