Pecos Bill

While the book is filled with huge illustrations, the edge has been taken off the story. Part of what made the Pecos Bill story appealing when I was a child was the danger involved and the rough and ready lifestyle. This is just too "white bread" - boring, bland, yawn inducing. They completely domesticated Widowmaker (his horse), referring to him as "Lightening" for the majority of the story. On the plus side, the story retains a few more elements than Kellogg's abyssmal rendering of Paul Bunyan.

Pecos Bill is a good witten fantasy childrens book. Pecos and his family are moving and Pecos falls out of the wagon and raised by a pack of coyotes when he was young. Later he finds he is great at wrestling animals. Pecos finds a white stallion that is the fastest ever and helps heard the cattle so the town can do things without them in the way.

Pecos Bill takes place in Texas after he falls off the wagon. One thing I liked that the author did was make it a fast pace book and not run on. The problem was mainly that the texans were looking to get the cattle out of the way of their town. The best audience for this book are yong kids mostly boys. The author leaves the reading level basic and doesnt usse and confusing words. Steven Kellogg did a great job writing Pecos Bill

From wrestling giant bulls to the catching of a demon horse in a green forest, Pecos Bill can do it all. He's the perfect boy for the western way of life. Pecos starts off as a little baby in a wagon, when he casts out his fishing line and a huge fish grabs the line and rips him off the boat. He gets into deep trouble with devilish snakes and some Don't-mess-with-me bulls. Also, they explain why cows have shorter hooves, but you'll have to read the book to find out more.
The variety of characters gives this book a real western kick. Chuck, a westerner, helps Pecos to act more like a human being. Pecos used to live with the coyotes and he acted just like one. After that weirdly creative event, he wrestles a giant gorilla-tarantula right to the ground. He did the same with the green rattle snake. Next comes the Hell's Gulch Gang, the baddest and brutest gang in the west. But, they are afraid of a white horse, with the worst temper. That is why they call her Lightning. Pecos easily catches the horse with his rattle snake rope. Finally comes Sue, the girl of his dreams. Pecos asks her to marry him and she says yes. They then get booted into the air and they eventually land on Pecos' family's wagon and live happily. Now hop on the saddle, and start trotting your way into a wonderland with Pecos Bill.

A legend about a boy who falls out of his family wagon as they are crossing the country. He is forced to raise himself in the wide open west and learn how to protect his life.
This was an ok book from my point of view. The illustrations were amazing they really kept my attention. However, the writing was nothing too spectacular. The story of Pecos Bill is one of adventure and I just didn't feel like this version of the story captured the really adventure of the legend. This book sends the message of standing up for yourself and never giving up on your dream. I think it did a good job of getting the message across and my second graders knew what the message was as soon as a closed the book.

This mild, but event-filled re-telling of the Pecos Bill story lacks the incorrigible air of tongue-in-cheek humour and bold-faced lies of the typical tall tale. However, and especially if your young`uns never heard a tall tale, the wonderful illustrations will partially make up for this. When we started to read this book, we thought those sweet-faced, round-eyed, snub-nosed cowboys looked a little familiar: this guy is the same feller who illustrated HOW MUCH IS A MILLION? which we like alot. My boys love the snake lasso, and we return many times to the fantastic "critter" that Bill wrassles into submission. But breaking-in "Widder-maker" is an let-down after that adventure, I am afraid. I recommend Adrien Stoutenburg`s AMERICAN TALL TALES for older children (9-12yrs) which has few illustrations but whose style is far better suited to the dramatic and poetic nature of the tall tale genre. My seven-year old loves to hear me read those aloud.