John R. EricksonBesprekingen

A funny book! Imagine if Deputy Barney Fife were a hound dog and you have this book!

Book 78

Hank the Cowdog books were my favorites as a kid, and my dad read them aloud to me and my brother every night for a long time. I followed along and learned to read over his shoulder. The first long-form book I read on my own was a Hank the Cowdog book. This series will always be special to me :)

(Also, my brother and I named our first cats after the people in the books, Sally May and Loper.)

Book 2. Hank meets a confusing little owl while on an adventure

Book 3. Hanks goes to town to visit his sister and her 4 pups.

Book 4. Hank’s Christmas adventure

Book 5. Hank and Dover take an adventure together

Really fun as an audio book for kids

Really fun as an audio book for kids

One of my favorite series I have ever read. I read it when I was in elementary school and it make reading very enjoyable

The Secret Laundry Monster Files starts with Hank being awakened from his sleep one night. If you know Hank, he comes up with all kinds of fancy terms for his body parts and activities. As usual, his little white mutt assistant, the amiable Drover, guesses correctly when Hank thinks up implausible explanations for what's going on,

The action moves to Sally May Loper's garden, where she has left the laundry out overnight. Pete the Barncat is there, happily annoying Hank. The dogs also run into Eddy the rac, a young raccoon that the family helped raise. Eddy's teasing leads to loud barking, which leads to an irritated High Loper coming out and making the dogs leave his wife's garden. (They aren't allowed it it, anyway.)

Eddy tricks Hank into doing something that gets the poor cowdog in trouble with ranch hired hand, Slim Chance. Worse for Hank's ego, John Don, the man bringing new sacks of horse feed to the ranch, has a pretty lady dog in the back of his truck. I haven't seen the printed book's illustrations, so I don't know if Trudy is a cocker spaniel or a Pekingese. (Hank and Drover argue about that.) Despite Hank's previous attraction to Beulah the collie, Missy Coyote, and Miss Scamper the beagle, Trudy inspires Hank to sing a song about her. Will Trudy flirt with Hank or be as uninterested as Beulah?

Eddy comes back that night with a couple of other raccoons. One is his fat second cousin, Bubba. Bubba has some fun with Hank that our loyal cowdog doesn't enjoy at all.

By the way, if you're a fan of 'Also Sprach Zarasthustra,' the tune best known for its use in the movie "'001: A Space Odyssey', have fun hearing head rooster J. T. Cluck crowing to that tune in 'Thus Spake J. T. Cluck'.

It's another fun romp for the whole family.

Hank the Cowdog tickles my funnybone. His proclamations about what life is are so funny! I have to admit I felt a little sad about his love life, and I could see the train wreck in that love life coming, but I still laughed (albeit with a hint of guilt).

And yes, I need to read the next book in the series. Note that this book is simple enough for a child to understand, but obviously amuses adults as well.

Fieldnotes:
Ranch in the Panhandle, Contemporary (p.2003)

Hank the Cowdog - Head of Ranch Security
1 Sidekick who is a Bit of a Doofus
1 Snivelling Barn Cat

1 Brewing Turkey Rebellion
1 Potential Spy in Disguise
1 Run-in While on Mailman Escort Duty
1 Small but Terrifying Pirate
1 Bubblegum Trap
2 Tuna Fish Sandwiches in Dire Need of Protection

1 Dog Stuck in a Pirate Ship Tree
2 Unhelpful Buzzards
1 Lightning Storm
Life-Saving Barking

The Case of the Booby-Trapped Pickup is John R. Erickson's 49th Hank the Cowdog book. The pickup truck hired hand Slim Chance's uses won't start. Ranch owner High Loper doesn't want to buy a new (or used) truck, so he tows the old one to town. Slim, Hank, and Drover go along.

There are over 70 books in this series; I'm going to have to pick up my pace on reading the books if I want to finish them before I am 100! I love the humor in the series and end up laughing out loud. Hank is so full of himself that I can't hold my giggles inside.

In Amarillo, we were having some weather, so this line that "only barbed wire stood between the High Plains and the North Pole" truly resonated. The weather folks on TV often tell us that someone took down the fence when the winds howl and the snow blows.

There are some returning characters in this book, but I think it can be read without having all the background, although with any series it does add some depth if the books are read in order. I also think that it is appropriate to be read to young children as a chapter book, so if questions come up, they can be answered. There are some parts that could feel a bit scary to young children. The good part is the book is entertaining enough to not bore a parent reading it.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys humor, wants to learn more about ranch life, or likes dogs.

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This light-hearted book was the perfect way to wrap up the year. I love Hank and his interesting interpretation of life. I think young ones will get a kick out of the "soap hydrophobia" and will wonder how in the world Hank will get out of this predicament.

Recommended for family reading. That way parents can explain things to younger readers as needed.

This book is a great book to have in a classroom library. It is loved by boys and girls. It is about the adventures of a dog named Hank. This book is another great way to get children engaged and wanting to read. I used to love reading this book as a child. I definitely enjoyed the nostalgia of rereading it. Overall, these a re really good books for early readers starting at the end of first grade.

This is a book that kept me snickering, although I did feel sorry for Hank. (Sorry, Hank, I kept the chapter you told me to cut out.) Hank gets pretty low in this book, mostly due to the dreaded Eye-Crosserosis and its affects. Fortunately the plucky cowdog perseveres and all is well.

I think it is fun for people who like dogs. While you don't have to have read the first book in the series, it makes it easier to keep up with who is who.

Hank discovers that there is another cowdog on the ranch and he is not happy about that. While Hank worries about the other dog, there is a robber on the loose. Hank confronts the other dog to be sure he does not know who the robber is and finally Hank catches the thief. More advanced readers would like this series if they like to read mystery which helps children predict what will happen. Teachers could find suffixes that were used in the book and have students practice with these type of words.

How have I missed this cute series until now? Everyone in the Texas Panhandle seems to know these books, and now I know why. The world that Hank lives in is the ranch life in the Texas Panhandle.

Somehow Hank keeps the Western "voice" while staying true to being a dog. There's a mystery to be solved and a ranch to be kept safe. There is a lot of humor amidst life lessons. I found this quotation to be one of those:

You can’t be safe and cautious all the time. If you’re too timid in this life, you’ll miss out on all the fun and adventure. You’ll just stay home and snap at the flies, and when you get to be an old dog, you’ll look back on your life and think, “All these years I’ve been on this earth, and I’ve never done anything but snap at flies.” And you'll regret that, when the opportunity came up, you didn't sneak a ride into town.

It is well worth the reading by adults who like young adult fiction. It can be shared with middle school aged children on up. I will slowly be adding the entire series of 70+ books.

If, as I do, you enjoy listening to the songs in the audio editions of Hank the Cowdog books, here's your chance to have 45 of them on two compact discs. Each CD is decorated with details of some of the covers to (or an illustration in) the books from which the songs were taken.

CD ONE:

SONGS:

'Leaving Home'
'Me Just a Worthless Coyote'
' How do I do it?'
'I am a Witch'
'Your Mama Wears Old Tow Sack Drawers'
'Cats Are Stupid'
'Kicking My Dog Around'
'Beulah, Good Night'
'The Cold Weather Cowdog Blues'
'Rotten Meat
'Beulah's Song'
'Bark at the Mailman Battle Hymn'
'I'm Locked in the Jailhouse With Buzzards on the Roof'
'I'm Rich!'
'My Heart Goes Wild For You'
'A Fundamental Disagreement'
'Thank You, Lord, for Making Gals'
'Buzzard Love'
'Saddle Up Overture in C-Maybe'
'Daddy Packed His Suitcase 'Cause Mama Was a Mean Old Bag'
'Disorientation'
'I Love All Kinds of Stuff'
'The Storm.'

COVER DETAILS AS DECORATIONS: Hank with a mouthful of feathers, Hank's head from The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, Hank's profile from The Further Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, Hank and two puppies from It's a Dog's Life, one of the coyote heads from Murder in the Middle Pasture, Hank's head from Faded Love, Hank's head with his tongue hanging out from Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, Hank's head with a corncob in his mouth from The Curse of the Incredible Priceless Corncob, Tuerto's head from The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse, a frightened Hank's head from The Case of the Halloween Ghost , Bennie the border collie's head from Every Dog Has His Day, and Hank's profile from Lost in the Dark Unchanted Forest.

CD TWO:

SONGS:

'Wind Song"
'My Heart is Up For Rent'
'My Daddy Had a Wreck Today'
'A Pox, A Pox, on Emily Post'
'Monkey Business'
'I Can See You Now'
'I Must Dispose of the Cat'
'Prarie (sic) Vespers'
'We Don't Give a Hoot'
'Oh, Flee My Love'
'The Chicken Bone Blues'
'Hymn to the Home'
'Just Another Cowboy Day'
'Family Fugue'
'See the Morning Sun Ascending'
'Alas and Alack'
'Poor Me'
'Gloria'
'Ode to a Mother Skunk'
'The Cannibal Way'
'Bitten on the Nose'
'Eating Bugs is Lots of Fun'

COVER DETAILS AS DECORATIONS: Frankie the Fox's head from The Case of the Fiddle-Playing Fox, Wallace flat on his back from The Case of the Wounded Buzzard on Christmas Eve, Pasha's head from Hank the Cowdog and Monkey Business, Pete the Barncat in a red circle with a diagonal line through it from The Case of the Missing Cat, a worried Hank looking over his shoulder, his ears flying in the wind from Lost in the Blinded Blizzard, Hank's head with a gray dog's paw holding it down from The Case of the Car-Barkaholic Dog, the bull's head from
The Case of the Hooking Bull, Slim Chance's profile from The Case of the Midnight Rustler, head shot of Hank's reflection from The Phantom in the Mirror, the head of Mary D. Cat from The Case of the Vampire Cat, and Hank's head from The Case of the Double Bumblebee Sting.

Speaking of covers, I love the way Pete the Barncat is lying on the ground with his tail up and bushy and his front paws over his ears while Hank and Drover are singing behind him. Hee!

Fun read for the kids, 4-6.

The author of Hank the Cowdog shares his knowledge as he has walked down the publishing road for many years. He gives rationale for why he made his decisions and how it turned out.

I appreciated most the philosophy behind why he writes and his critique of today's books and entertainment. It encouraged me to continue to write 'things of beauty' in a culture that knows nothing of what it means to reflect the image of God.