A Cowboy's Life

Gr 3–5—Complex topics related to the Wild West are handled nimbly here, making these volumes manageable for elementary school students. Kudos to the authors for smooth and pithy writing. Terms such as stragglers, all-terrain vehicle, and barbed wire appear in bold to point readers to the glossary if needed. Other terms do not appear in bold but are defined adequately in the text. An Old West motif decorates the backgrounds: pages resemble parchment, and there are silhouettes of cowboys. Most of the illustrations are serviceable paintings. Though the illustrations have captions, often there isn't enough information provided. One illustration has the caption "Colonel Custer stands at center in this famous painting of the Battle of the Little Bighorn," but the painting isn't cited, and it is impossible to spot Custer. Sources for text and illustrations are not cited.