Oklahome History Paramount in New Cowboy Story

Prairie Dog Cowboy
By V. Gilbert Zabel
ISBN: 978-0-9797513-7-0
Publisher: 4RV Publishing
Genre: juvenile/ historical/ fiction

Review by Jacque Graham, author and editor

One of the newest young adult books to be released is the historical fiction book
Prairie Dog Cowboy written by Oklahoma author Vivian Gilbert Zabel using the name V. Gilbert Zabel:

Five-year-old Buddy sits in his snow-packed tumbleweed igloo dreaming of becoming a real cowboy who rides a horse. When he crawls out to run after one of the family's wayward cows, he sees cowboy rancher Caleb Hyman from the neighboring ranch riding toward him. When Buddy confides his dream to Caleb, he is told that if he practices his roping skills until he can rope a prairie dog Caleb will hire him to work on the Hyman ranch.

Buddy spends his days in the pasture guarding the family cows and throwing his rope
toward the prairie dog villages, eventually becoming adept at roping the small animals.

Two of his older brother's friends observe Buddy's pastime and tease him about being a "Prairie Dog Cowboy."

True to his word, Caleb hires Buddy. The boy successfully breaks horses to saddle
as he works for the ranch and on his family’s farm. Buddy is accepted by the Hyman
family and older ranch hands as he becomes a successful cowhand. The Hyman family
arranges to keep Buddy at the ranch, knowing that this will free him from the abuse he experiences from his family.

Zabel uses the Oklahoma Panhandle as the setting for this story and incorporates
some of her husband's early cowboy experiences for a realistic story of pre-statehood
Oklahoma. This book captures the young reader's attention while giving a realistic view into early frontier life as Buddy grows up.

This is a book that should be in every school library as well as in the hands of young adult readers. Find it at any bookstore, Amazon.com or 4RVPublishing.

The author of Prairie Dog Cowboy blogs at Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap. She reminds readers that everyone who leaves a comment on this blog will be entered in a drawing for a 4RV Publishing canvas bag. Four will be given away at the end of the book blog tour. A comment per stop equals one entry in the drawing so check out Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap, too.


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