RAILROAD JOHN AND THE RED ROCK RUN

Granny Apple Fritter and Lonesome Bob are countin’ on Railroad John to bring in the Sagebrush Flyer on time to Red Rock because Lonesome Bob is going to marry Wildcat Annie at exactly 2:00. But none of them have counted on calamities like Bad Bill’s gang robbing the train of all its coal, or the Cripplesome Creek being washed out, or a whirlwind swirling them off the tracks. Good thing Granny’s Hard-Shell-Chili-Pepper-Corn-Pone Muffins are hotter than coal; Lonesome Bob’s guitar strings make a leap-the-bridge lariat; and the whirly-wind set down that train at the station at exactly 1:59. But where is Wildcat Annie? Minutes later, she roars up like a dust storm, having rousted the outlaws, retrieved the coal, baked a platter of Granny’s muffins and bought Lonesome Bob a wedding gift of guitar strings. The exaggerated acrylic illustrations spur on the outlandishness with offbeat sepia tintype images, giddy perspectives and clever compositions. Lonesome Bob looks like a Martin Short character and a recipe spoof for muffins lists rattlesnake milk, cactus flour and pure dragon’s tooth extract. It’s mighty tall-tale telling, just waitin’ for a teller and a passel of kids. (Picture book/tall tale. 5-8)