Module 8: The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog

Summary: Hank is a cowdog and he is the head of security at his ranch.   A chicken was killed and Hank works to solve the mystery.  Hank and the other ranch dog Drover have some adventures while trying to solve the murder.  At one point Hank does not feel appreciated and he leaves to roam the wild.  He ends up finding out who murdered the chicken and that there is no place like home.

APA Reference: Erickson, J. (1999). The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers.

Impressions: My son was given a basket full of around 30 Hank the cow dog books several years ago and until this semester they had been in the top if his closet.  I pulled the basket down and as I got ready to read book number 1 I looked inside the back cover and saw that the author lives in Perryton Texas.  That got me to thinking.  Perryton is in the top of the Texas Panhandle and this probably means that the author knows  about ranches and cow dogs.  This book was fun and had a lot of the typical Texas stereotypes.  I think that by the middle to the end of this school year my son is going to really enjoy starting to read these books.  The book was not a hard read and for someone who lives in the country and understands some of the country life that is described it will be easier.  There are some larger words but if a student works at it they should have not problems with the book. Overall I really like the typical cowboy sort of  character that Hank represents.  He gets that aw shucks kind of attitude around a pretty girl but is a big tough guy for his friends. 

Professional Review:

Gleason, G. (1988, September). [Review of the book The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, by J. Erickson]. School Library Journal, 35(1), p. 198.

Note: No DOI and review was retrieved from a database.

Library Uses: I have heard that the audio versions of these books are amazing and they could be used to introduce students to the fact that more than books could be found in the library.