It’s the rare for kids to want to grow up to be a cowboys in this age of video games and sports heroes, but a new book about a former slave-turned-cowpoke might change all that.
“Best Shot in the West, the Adventures of Nat Love” by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack, Jr., (Chronicle Books) tells the story of Nat Love, the youngest child of slaves who was born in a log cabin on a plantation in Tennessee and when on to become a free cowboy known by his peers as one of the best shooters, ropers, and wranglers in the West.
Nat was 7 when the Civil War broke out and his owner, Robert Love, took Nat’s father away to help build forts. When they returned, Love didn’t tell his slaves that they were free and it was quite awhile before they found out the truth.
But the joy of being free didn’t last long. Soon after, times got tough when Nat’s father and sister died. In order to help care for the family, Nat found jobs here and there, mostly working as a cowboy. He learned that he was really good at breaking colts, and was paid 10 cents for each dangerous ride.
When he was 14, Nat gave his mother half his savings and left home. He walked some and rode some until he found work as a cowpuncher.
The other cowboys soon came to respect Nat, who became a trailboss known as “Deadeye Dick” because he was one of the best shooters, ropers, and wranglers in the West.
But then cowboying changed, and so did Nat, who had lived a charmed life for 20 years. But he was getting older, and it was time for different dusty trail.
Based on a the autobiography of Nat Love, the McKissacks bring to kids the kind of story that will ignite their imaginations with tales of the Wild West. Written in comic-book form, it is kid-friendly, and the artwork by Randy DuBurke ropes in even the most reluctant reader.
“Best Shot in the West” is one rootin’ tootin’ read for kids ages 8 to 13.
“Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love,” by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack, Jr. [133 pages, 2012, $19.99].
Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was 3 years old, and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill with two dogs and 12,000 books.
