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Name: Rough, Tough Charley: Kay, Verla, Gustavson, Adam: Amazon.com: Books
Rating: 4.5 (14 reviews)

Rough, Tough Charley Hardcover – Bargain Price, May 1, 2007

by Verla Kay (Author), Adam Gustavson (Illustrator)

4.5 14 ratings

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Stagecoach driver Charley Parkhurst spoke few words but rode many miles. Throughout the West, folks trusted and respected Charley despite his crusty demeanor. After years on the road and even losing an eye, Charley retired, bought a house, and joined the Odd Fellows. But only in death was Charley's life-long secret revealed.

In their first collaboration, Verla Kay and Adam Gustavson share the inspiring story of a very able woman who lived life "as she would. Drove and voted, cause...he could."

Reading age

7 - 11 years
Length

32
Pages
Language

EN
English
Dimensions

11.1 x 0.4 x 8.8
inches
Publisher

Tricycle Press
Publication date

2007
May 1
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

As in titles such as Orphan Train (2003) and Tattered Sails (2001), Kay uses short, clipped verse to dramatize history for a young audience. In this picture-book biography, she introduces stagecoach driver Charley Parkhurst, whose astonishing secret was revealed after death: Hold your horses / Huge surprise . . . / He's a woman in disguise. Rhyming couplets follow Parkhurst from orphaned stableboy to Old West legend, known for coarse behavior and consummate driving skill. The pace is sometimes jarring, but Kay admirably distills the facts with the fewest possible words. Young people will quickly understand the unusual freedoms Charley enjoyed, in contrast to those of other women: They were bound by / Petticoats. / Couldn't drive or / Cast their votes. Realistic, oil paintings evoke the period and create a strong character in rough, formidable Charley. A final, innovative spread places chronological facts onto a U.S. map. Although particularly appropriate for sharing during women's history month, this accessible, rapid read-aloud will spark kids' curiosity throughout the year. Engberg, Gillian

Review

Amelia Bloomer Project selection
2008 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, NCSS-CBC

"Kay's strict meter keeps Charley's inner thoughts at a distance from the readers, so that Charley effectively holds onto her secret until the book's end....Gustavson's lush, realistic oil illustrations are a lavish counterpoint (and) are suffused with the romance and roughness of a bygone era." - STARRED review, Publishers Weekly

"The illustrations make excellent use of perspective to involve readers in the story and create a fitting counterpoint to the spare narrative." - School Library Journal

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004JZWLP4
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tricycle Press (May 1, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 32 pages
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 7 - 11 years
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.12 x 0.41 x 8.81 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.5 14 ratings

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About the authors

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Adam Gustavson
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Adam Gustavson is the author and illustrator of the critically acclaimed picture book, The Froggies Do Not Want To Sleep (2021, Charlesbridge). His artwork has appeared in over thirty books for children, as well as magazines, public murals, and galleries.
He serves as an adjunct professor at both the Fashion Institute of Technology, in New York, and Rowan University, in Glassboro, NJ. Since 2014, he has co-owned the Renaissance Art Studio in Millburn, NJ, with his wife (and manager) Denise, offering individual art lessons in a variety of media.
He lives, paints, teaches, writes, and plays several musical instruments in New Jersey, with his wonderfully quirky family and their neurotic poodle.
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Verla Kay
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Verla Kay is passionate about her writing and she loves cooking, playing computer games that have lots of puzzles in them to be solved and she also plays a lot of board, dice and card games with her family and friends (especially pinochle). She lives in a tiny town in eastern Washington, close to Spokane and the Idaho border with her husband of over 55 years and two long-haired Himalayan cats. Family is very important to her and she has four grown children (one married), four grown grandchildren (two married) and six great grandchildren that range in age from one year to fifteen, most of whom live within visiting distance from her. She has previously had eleven historical picture books published, ten of them by Putnam. Wings Forever is her first self-published book and she is VERY proud of it! Visit Verla at: https://verlakay.com
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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

14 global ratings

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Gabriel Flores, EdD

Lots of great Lessons

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2020

Verified Purchase

Charley lived life as a man but until his death did others finally discover he was a she.
Words written in DrSeuss / Western style. Great lessons on LGBT people and how they lived and lots of lessons on the language used in the text.

One person found this helpful

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Ulyyf

Pretty good, few caveats.

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2009

Verified Purchase

One-Eyed Charley. Not really somebody you see a lot of biographies about, especially for kids. For some reason we can't tell, Charley was a girl who decided to live her life as a man - and did. Popular and successful by most measurements, too, and that was a secret that stayed well hidden, nobody knew until Charley died.

This picture book is fast-paced, a good clean rhythm and rhyme scheme, very tight story... and it has a detailed afterword (with a map) for those of us who didn't catch all the information when it was written in short, catchy couplets. Good illustrations, a moral message (women can do what men can do, even if society says otherwise) that's factually based and not overstated, and a wonderfully flawed hero for kids - said to swear and be antisocial! What sort of kid isn't gonna eat that up?

A few points, though. First, the story itself is maybe a little *too* short and catchy at times. One particular verse - "Charley don't have/accidents/sprung those horses/he's got sense!" - springs to mind. Even with the illustration, this didn't make ANY sense until I read the afterword and found the event that verse was referring to. And of course you're not going to run to the afterword in the middle of a rhyming book - or any book! I'm not sure how this could be improved without drastically altering the book, though.

The other minor issue has to do with pronoun use. Mostly during the book, Charley is referred to as "he" when pronouns are used. This is appropriate, people no doubt referred to Charley in the masculine. However, after the discovery (after death), the pronoun "she" is used a few times to make the moral point. Nowadays, I'd say that if somebody chooses this or that pronoun, that's the one we use, regardless of genitals. That's just polite. And while we can't go back and ask Charley if he was just dressing like a guy for convenience or if he really felt himself to be male, it seems likely that people don't spend their entire lives hiding out just for the heck of it. At any rate, this is a minor quibble. The book seems very respectful of Charley, so it's not like I'm reading it going "Wow, they're making fun of this person's life" here.

16 people found this helpful

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Ginny

Book for kids🐴

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2018

Great little book

Cute and funny account of Charley Parkhurst's life!

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2011

Verified Purchase

This is a nice companion book to use with Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan. Every girl should read Charlotte/Charley Parkhurst's story!

3 people found this helpful

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Armchair Interviews

Children will love hearing this story over and over

Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2007

In the old west, Orphan Charley lived and worked in stables from a very young age while carefully hiding a potentially life-changing secret. Though he was gruff and unusual, he was also punctual and in high demand as a stagecoach driver. Late in life, Charley ran a stage stop, voted in elections and joined a lodge. It wasn't until his death that it was discovered that Charley was really a woman.

Based on a true story, Rough, Tough Charley is a unique children's book to be treasured. Verla Kay's "cryptic rhyme" is reminiscent of Nancy E. Shaw of Sheep in a Jeep fame and Kay's folksy style will appeal to fans of Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books (Winters), yet she blends the styles to create something nearly exotic with flawless cadence. The illustrations perfectly complement the text to fashion a children's book for the ages. This author has won many awards for her work.

My three children give it six thumbs up. This mama agrees.

Armchair Interviews says: Both boys and girls will love the story of Charley who lived a life unlimited by gender in a time when gender mastered what a person could be.

6 people found this helpful

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S. Goad

Thumbs up!

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2007

Verla Kay did a great job of entertaining and informing in Rough, Tough Charley. In a quick cryptic rhyme read I was finished with this book and smiling. I am not a historical fan but I am glad that I have added this book to my collection. She has made history fun. And the ending....I didn't expect. Clever, very clever!

One person found this helpful

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