John Barclay Armstrong, Texas Ranger

Texas rangers and cattle barons are the stuff of which the legends of Texas are made. John Barclay Armstrong's life captures both legends and stands for the strong men and women who built the state of Texas.

Children's Literature

This book is deceptive looking—the cover of what appears to be a chapter book pictures a cowboy/Texas Ranger leaping into his saddle armed with a rifle and a handgun strapped around his waist. The opening pages feature pictures of Armstrong and his family—the type you would see in an old western town. The story is quite complex, relating both Texas history and that of the Texas Rangers. It skips around a bit, and at times you have to stop and determine at what point in time you are—Texas Republic, Texas statehood, or when Texas was part of Mexico. The story is also quite one-sided, telling about the exploits of the rangers and little about the Native Americans and Mexicans who were on the land before the ranchers/anglos arrived. Unless you have a great desire to learn something about Texas history and the life of Armstrong in particular, this book is not going to have much appeal. The boxes with extra facts do little to really clarify what appears in the straight text. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot

Judy Alter won the Texas Institute of Letters' Best Juvenile Award, The Children's Book Council's Outstanding Social Studies Book for Young Readers, and the Western Writers of America's Owen Wister Lifetime Achievement Award for her writing. She is the author of numerous books for children and young adults.