Cowboys of the Wild West, written by Russel Freedman, is a specialized nonfiction book about cowboys. Even though this book covers specific and limited information about the topic, the information in this text is geared to the personal interests of children in grades 4-6. Filled with real photographs with descriptive captions are interlaced in the text to help bring to life the realities, not the myths, involved in being a cowboy or cowgirl. Freedman did his research before writing this book, and it is spelled out in the twenty-two sources cited in his Acknowledgements and Bibliography. One of the most interesting parts of this book is the four line poem written as an epigraph. In the chapter titled “Ranch Life”, the following lines set the tone for the life of a cowboy as it relates to the section:
I am a wandering cowboy,
From ranch to ranch I roam;
At every ranch when welcome,
I make myself at home.
This book would be great for children in order to extend the content area of interested students in a social studies unit on Westward Expansion or Frontier Living. It would also dispel some of the folklore and/or baggage that sometimes come along with cowboys and the Wild West. Informative read. ( )