The Dirty Cowboy

by Timberlake, Amy; Rex, Adam

• ISBN13: 9780374317911
• ISBN10: 0374317917
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-08
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Summary

This ol' boy needs a bath! After he finds a tumbleweed in his chaps and the numerous bugs buzzing around him affect his hearing, the cowboy decides it's time to head to the river. Once there, he peels off all his clothes and tells his trusty old dog to guard them against strangers. He takes a refreshing bath and emerges clean as corn but so fresh-smelling that his dog doesn't recognize him! Negotiations over the return of the clothes prove fruitless. A wrestling match ensues in a tale that grows taller by the sentence, climaxing in a fabric-speckled dust devil. Amy Timberlake has inserted a Western twang into this tale of filth and friendship, and Adam Rex has found many creative means of bodily concealment in his expressive, comical paintings.

Author Biography

Amy Timberlake lives in Dekalb, Illinois, and Adam Rex lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is the first book for both of them.

Table of Contents

"Timberlake's keen comic timing and abundant western witticisms fit hand in glove with Rex's farcical golden-and copper-toned illustrations, which call to mind the tall-tale humor of Adam Glass...Transcending the cowboy-tale genre, this raucous romp should tickle bath-averse children everywhere." --Starred, Publishers Weekly

"[A] side-splitting double debut...Inspired by an anecdote passed down in the author's family, this cautionary tale should please all young readers with an aversion to soap and water."
--Starred, Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will revel in the tall-taling, sagebrush-flavored style, the malodorous situation and the slapstick...Rex's slickly highlighted figures have the gleeful grostesquerie of Mad magazine art...The compositions are creative and the scenes are rife with additional details...a rootin' tootin' good read." --Starred, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Told in descriptive language that rolls off the tongue, this story makes the most of a humorous situation. Filled with dusty reds and sundown bronzes of the New Mexico setting, the paintings have a gritty, sinewy look that matches the earthy tone of the tale...a fun look at life on the range." --School Library Journal

"Rex's rich paintings add sparkle to the story's dramatic telling with the attention to detail and humor that may remind some grownups of Norman Rockwell's early work. A simple, slapstick tale that is sure to elicit some giggles." --Booklist