Wrango [Hardcover]

Brian Burks (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

The War Between the States is over, and George McJunkin and his family are among the slaves who’ve won their freedom. Trouble is, the McJunkins still live in a tiny shack, and the money George’s father brings in barely keeps food on the table. George’s parents say the times are changing. They say someday in Rogers Prairie, Texas, there will be a school for black children. They say someday the family will own the blacksmith shop where George’s father still toils for the man who used to own them. But George isn’t so sure about someday. Between 1867 and 1895, more than five thousand black cowboys helped drive ten million cattle up the Chisholm Trail from Texas. One such cowboy was George McJunkin, who set out from Rogers Prairie for the adventure that would change his life.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Grade 4-8-A fictionalized biography of black cowboy George McJunkin's first cattle drive at age 16, Wrango is an affecting history lesson. Wrangling being the closest thing to an equal-opportunity vocation following the Civil War, it attracts George, who joins his mentor, Senor Valarde, on the Chisholm Trail herding cattle from Comanche, TX, to the rail yards in Abilene, KS. Racism surfaces-an ironically fortuitous run-in with the Klan in his south Texas hometown provides the catalyst George needs to cut the apron strings and begin his career as a cowboy; a jealous cowpuncher questions his place on the trail-but the rigors of the cattle drive generally supersede, or at least postpone, individual confrontations. Burks hints at McJunkin's intellectual potential through his desire to learn to read combined with an archaeological curiosity that would lead many years later to his discovery of the skeleton of "Folsom Man" in New Mexico. Indians, horse thieves, cholera, harsh weather, erratic terrain, and even herds of buffalo provide unifying adversaries for this mix of cowboys and vaqueros. Addenda include a frontispiece portrait of McJunkin on his horse taken when he was about 60-years-old, a map of the Chisholm Trail, and a brief glossary of cowboy/vaquero lingo. Fans of Denise Lewis Patrick's The Adventures of Midnight Son (Holt, 1995) will want to read this absorbing chronicle of a slightly older, equally introspective, although perhaps a bit cooler-headed, former slave who is determined to be his own man, proud and free.
John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Basing his story on the early years of African American cowboy George McJunkin, Burks spins a historical tale about a young man who yearns to ride the range. After he inadvertently squares off against the Klan to protect his father, George leaves town to save his own life. It isn't long before he lucks into a three-month stint as a horse wrangler on a cattle drive. By the time the cattle are in the boxcars, he has survived a rattlesnake bite, rescued an enemy from drowning, and helped catch a murderous thief. Supporting characters are not developed, and the events sound cliched. But Burks capably handles the goings on with honest dialogue and a wagonload of action--particularly in the scene describing the crossing of the treacherous Red River. An epilogue sketches in the real George's later years, but unfortunately, Burks never tells how much of the novel is actually fact. A glossary of cowboy slang is appended. Randy Meyer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (August 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152018158
• ISBN-13: 978-0152018153
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,296,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Western cattle driver, September 13, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Wrango (Hardcover)

Wrango is the true story of a teenaged African American boy who has to go away from his home to flee a group of people who kill African Americans at the slightest provocation. George joins a cattle drive with his friend Senor Valard. He becomes a Wrango (one who keeps track of horses on a cattle drive) when the old Wrango cannot stop the horses from escaping due to his drunkenness. Back then, a cowboy is treated equally to anybody else on the drive so a lot of male African Americans chose that job. The cattle went north along the Chisholm Trail to Abilene where trains dispersed them throughout the northern states. There was an over-surplus of cattle in Texas causing them to cost very little, but up north there were very little cattle so the cost was higher. The cow boys drove the cattle up north were they would sell for much more money than the salary paid for cowhands and food along the way. Wrango is exciting and interesting. It might be good for those interested in the Old West. The book is filled with exciting events like a violent prairie storm, raging river crossings, attacks by malicious horse thieves, and rattlesnake bites. George even found an ancient Indian artifact. His interest in this eventually led to one of the most important archaeological sites in America. George was an innovative and resourceful man. I really enjoyed the book...you will too if you have a taste for history and adventure.

4.0 out of 5 stars Wrango- KK Kool J, April 3, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Wrango (Hardcover)

Wrango
By KK Kool J

How would you like to be a 16-year old kid who had to work for his family just to make enough money to live on someone else's land? That is what 16-year old George had to do in the book Wrango. Wrango was a great book on African American culture. This book showed how poorly black people got treated a long time ago. The main character George didn't even have his own last name; his last name was his slave owner's last name. I thought this was a great book and anyone who would like to learn about how bad African Americans got treated should read it.
16-year old George had to learn how to ride a horse when he was 12-years old so he could join a cattle trail to make money for his family. When George lived with his parents on Roger's Prairie they were treated terribly because they were black, but when George joined the cattle trail group everyone was treated the same if they where white or black. On the cattle trail George met up with one of his family friends Senor Valarde, and they helped each other through the worst of times. George and Senor Valarde were always next to each other to help each other out. George joined the cattle trail group to save his parents because the KKK was after George, and to make money for his family back in Roger's Prairie.
My favorite part of the story is when George and his good friend Charley tried to lasso a bull. Charley missed the bull, but George lassoed his horn, and the bull pulled George right off his horse, and dragged him about 50 feet. George cut his lasso and then Charley came to help him up, but when they got up there were Indians chasing them. Charley and George got on Charley's horse and started running back to camp. The Indians caught up to them and they could have killed George and Charley easily, but they didn't they just stopped right next to camp, and turned around. That was my favorite part of the book because George and Charley could have been killed at any time, but they managed to stay alive.
George and the cattle trail group made it to Abilene, and they all got their money. They all went into a diner and people in the diner started to shout "No darkies allowed!" That is when George remembered that blacks got treated terrible outside of the cattle trail, and he was very sad. George wanted to buy some homesteader land and bring his family up to Abilene to get away from the KKK. This book is great if you want to learn about either the cattle trail or how racist people were a long time ago. Everyone should be treated the same, and it shouldn't matter what color your skin is.

4.0 out of 5 stars Wrango- KK Kool J, April 3, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Wrango (Hardcover)

Wrango
By KK Kool J

How would you like to be a 16-year old kid who had to work for his family just to make enough money to live on someone else's land? That is what 16-year old George had to do in the book Wrango. Wrango was a great book on African American culture. This book showed how poorly black people got treated a long time ago. The main character George didn't even have his own last name; his last name was his slave owner's last name. I thought this was a great book and anyone who would like to learn about how bad African Americans got treated should read it.
16-year old George had to learn how to ride a horse when he was 12-years old so he could join a cattle trail to make money for his family. When George lived with his parents on Roger's Prairie they were treated terribly because they were black, but when George joined the cattle trail group everyone was treated the same if they where white or black. On the cattle trail George met up with one of his family friends Senor Valarde, and they helped each other through the worst of times. George and Senor Valarde were always next to each other to help each other out. George joined the cattle trail group to save his parents because the KKK was after George, and to make money for his family back in Roger's Prairie.
My favorite part of the story is when George and his good friend Charley tried to lasso a bull. Charley missed the bull, but George lassoed his horn, and the bull pulled George right off his horse, and dragged him about 50 feet. George cut his lasso and then Charley came to help him up, but when they got up there were Indians chasing them. Charley and George got on Charley's horse and started running back to camp. The Indians caught up to them and they could have killed George and Charley easily, but they didn't they just stopped right next to camp, and turned around. That was my favorite part of the book because George and Charley could have been killed at any time, but they managed to stay alive.
George and the cattle trail group made it to Abilene, and they all got their money. They all went into a diner and people in the diner started to shout "No darkies allowed!" That is when George remembered that blacks got treated terrible outside of the cattle trail, and he was very sad. George wanted to buy some homesteader land and bring his family up to Abilene to get away from the KKK. This book is great if you want to learn about either the cattle trail or how racist people were a long time ago. Everyone should be treated the same, and it shouldn't matter what color your skin is.