THE ENGLISH WESTERNERS' SOCIETY
AUGUST 2009 BOOK REVIEW
This review first appeared in the Tally Sheet (Summer 2007, Volume 53, Number 3)
TEDDY'S CATTLE DRIVE: A STORY FROM HISTORY
By Marc Simmons. 56 pages. 18 colour and 12 black and white illustrations. University of New Mexico Press. Oct. 2005. For ages 6-12. Hard- cover. ISBN 0-8263-3921-2. $18.95.
Seemingly there are more and more books written for children dealing with the Old West, or the Wild West. This volume is the fourth in the "Children of the West” series and is informative, entertaining, and appreciated by those of us who have grandchildren and are concerned about young people being informed about the Old West. Author Marc Simmons certainly is recognized as New Mexico's "historian laureate" who has published over forty books, mainly dealing with some aspect of western history. Among many honors is his receipt of the knightly Order of Isabel la Catolica "for his contributions to Spanish colonial history."
The novel is loosely based on the reminiscences of E.G. "Teddy" Abbott who spent some fifty years of his life as a cowboy. His book We Pointed Them North: Recollections of a Cowpuncher was published in 1939. He mentions at least one outlaw in his book - Sam Bass - and this outlaw plays a minor role in this story.
The premise is that the story of Abbott going up the trial could be reworked to appeal to younger readers. Thus we have the young boy, "too small and sickly for a trip" up the trail, being finally allowed by his father to accompany the drive. The typical experiences of the long trail drive are described: helping the cook, sleeping on the ground, swimming the rivers - in one of which Teddy has to be rescued after his horse throws him - and of course the obligatory stampede.
The illustrations by artist Ronald Kil, are very good, both colour and black and white, and the narrative reads well. Some of us "old timers" will enjoy this work, and hopefully many young readers will be given this for a Christmas present.
The three previous titles in the series are Millie Cooper's Ride, Jose's Buffalo Hunt and Friday the Arapaho Boy.
Chuck Parsons
Copyright © 2009 English Westerners' Society