"BLACK COWBOY, WILD HORSES: A True Story"

by Julius Lester ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1998

The creators of Sam and the Tigers (1996) proffer this fact-based tale of a black cowboy named Bob Lemmons, famed for his ability to track and capture herds of wild mustangs. Within these pages he follows a herd until he's an accepted member, then, with his horse, Warrior, successfully challenges the herd's stallion for leadership. Lester reworks a passage from his Long Journey Home (1972, 1993), and if he sometimes gets carried away with imagery (""He. . . stared at the land stretching wide as love in every direction. The sky was curved as if it were a lap on which the earth lay napping like a curled cat. High above, a hawk was suspended on cold threads of unseen winds""), it makes for colorful, exuberant storytelling. The text is ably matched by Pinkney's big, dappled watercolor scenes of open prairie and muscular, galloping horses. Lemmons may not have the name recognition of Nat Love or Bill Pickett, but his exploits were no less spectacular.

Pub Date: May 1, 1998

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1998

Categories: CHILDREN'S