Cowboy Rodeo

Describes the atmosphere and the events of the rodeo in its early days.

Using colorful, Southwestern, cowboy vernacular, Texas Jack, the long-eared jack-rabbit, tells the story of how rodeos came about.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-5-- Fans of Rice, whose Texas Night Before Christmas (Pelican, 1986) is a legend in the genre, will relish this dual account of the development of the rodeo. Rice writes a brief statement--usually one sentence--about some facet of the rodeo as it emerged from plain, ol' cattle ranchin' and rasslin'. Then his alter ego, Texas Jack (a jackrabbit) adds a similarly brief, illuminatory comment. The text is illustrated with two-page spreads of Rice's inimitable cartoon sketches. Readers who know about rodeos will take to this like a horned toad to an anthill. Others may have more trouble understanding it, but they can just enjoy the pictures and pick up whatever they like as they read along. --George Gleason, Department of English, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield

James Rice, in his long, distinguished career as an author and illustrator, has produced fifty-plus children’s books, among them illustrations for an addition to the Night Before Christmas series, Gullah Night Before Christmas. With more than a million and a half copies of his books in print, he ranks among the nation’s best-selling creators of children’s books.