REVIEW of “Cowboys”
Henry chose another pirate book tonight, so I sent him back for something else, and he returned with “Cowboys.” This one is from the Usborne Beginners series; it’s a hardback with 32 full-color pages on nice coated paper. They measure 6-1/8″x 8-3/8″. The Beginners books are aimed at young readers; for those of you who understand how reading levels work (I don’t), they are Fountas & Pinnell Level E (mid-late first-grade reading level) and have a Spache Readability Index of 2.5+. The series is also available in a library binding, for you librarians out there.
In layman’s terms, I guess this would mean that there are lots of pictures and very short paragraphs. There’s a glossary of cowboy words in the back (”stirrups,” “chuck wagon,” etc.), along with instructions for pulling up four fun websites with cowboy activities.
Henry’s favorite parts were about the rodeos and when “that sheriff had a gun.” That would be Wyatt Earp. Lucy said her favorite was “when that horse got burned.” OK, that was actually “cattle being branded,” but she’s only three. She also especially liked the parts about bull-riding and stampedes.
A nice thing about this series is that they use a nice variety of cartoon-like illustrations, old paintings, and photographs (depending on the topic, of course).
Other titles in the Usborne Beginners Social Studies series include Armor, Aztecs, Ballet, Castles, China, Egyptians, Firefighters, Pirates, and Vikings. Other subcategories in the series are Nature and Science. There are also two paperback titles available. ”Cowboys” is also available as part of two different sets. All the Usborne Beginners are $4.99 for hardback and $12.99 for library binding. Click here for more info on “Cowboys.”
