It is National Non Fiction November in the UK so we have been reading more non fiction this month. We had never really thought about the details of a cowboy’s life but How To Be A Cowboy has given us a fascinating insight into the world of cowboys and their work.
On the first page a map of North America shows us the states in which cowboys live and work. We are then introduced to stetsons and boots with explanations about their different designs and stitching as well as different kinds of horses, the best kind of cattle to herd, the formation that cowboys ride in and the different roles that they take when herding cattle.
How To Be A Cowboy is a small sturdy hardback and the information is given in bite sized chunks of text which are interspersed between Alice. V. Licken’s lovely, earthy coloured illustrations. This is the kind of book that you can dip in and out of, you can spend time choosing your favourite cowboy boots, a cowboy name or learn some cowboy jargon, ‘rattle your hocks’ (‘hurry up’) is used in our house now! Our favourite pages show the chuck wagon and introduce us to the cookie (the Beanslinger!) and his job. Recipes are included, the Gunslinger Beans sound really tasty but we don’t want to try Sock Coffee!
Not only is this little book full of information but it also includes a page of stickers and a sturdy cardboard cowboy to press out and dress. We also used the book to help us look for the constellations that guide the cowboys home, unfortunately it was too cloudy to see any stars on the night that we chose!
How To Be A Cowboy is a fascinating little book of facts to introduce you to cowboy life, it has provided an entertaining and fun introduction to a subject that we previously knew very little about.
Age Range: 5+
Author / Illustrator: Alice. V. Lickens
Thank you to Pavilion Books for sending us a copy of How To Be A Cowboy. We have learnt lots of interesting and fun cowboy facts.
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