Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Synopsis
Adventures on the trail as Teddy Abbott learns how to be a wrangler.
Carolyn Mott Ford - Children's Literature
This is quite an interesting book. Kids will pick up a bit of history as they read about the adventures of Teddy Abbott who, at the age of eleven, went on a cattle drive along the Chisholm Trail. The story is based upon the writings of E. C. "Teddy" Abbott, who later spent fifty years of his life as a cowboy. In the story he is a young, sickly-seeming boy, so his father hesitates to take him on the cattle drive, but his mother convinces him that it would do Teddy good. Teddy is eager to go and quite excited when they set off. He does not know that his father would hop on a train after picking up the cattle and leave Teddy to the mercy of the trail boss. The men are not happy to have a tenderfoot along, but Teddy eventually proves his worth and earns his spurs. The adventures of working a cattle drive will keep kids turning the pages, and the illustrations capture the excitement of the ride. The hardships are notable but the story does not fixate on them. Part of the "Children of the West" series and a fine book for kids to read on their own. 2005, University of New Mexico Press, Ages 8 to 12.