Cowpoke Clyde Rides the Range, written by Lori Mortensen, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Summary: This is the second book that features Cowpoke Clyde. This time, he is looking through a “cat-y-log” and thinking about buying a bicycle. Cowpoke Clyde is used to riding horses and can’t imagine a ride that would not eat, stray, buck, bite or neigh. He decides to give it a try and finds that riding a bicycle is not as easy as some might think. It takes time to get used to it and figure out the brakes. A horny toad lizard, hare, porcupine, bighorn sheep almost get run over by the “new-fangled” steed. But after a while, Cowpoke Clyde was “ridin’ like a pro in some two-wheeled rodeo.”

Straight Talk for Librarians: I would say that this book makes for a good read-aloud with all the rhyming text. I am not totally sure how younger readers will react to the old-fashioned expressions and Clyde’s colloquial way of speaking. There was a noticeable lack of necessary twang when I tried to read it out loud in my Michigan accent (dialect?). Somewhat laughable, really. But the book captures what I would imagine a western ranch would look like. The animals fit with what I think lives “out west.” The illustrator did a fantastic job with the facial expressions on Cowpoke Clyde’s face when he was scared or frustrated. The animal expressions are also laugh out loud funny. The story ends with a positive message of not giving up. We face things in life that are new or not always easy and it’s important to stick with it. I think if readers like this book, they will go to the library looking for Cowpoke Clyde and the Dirty Dawg. So be ready!