Cowboy Andy

While my son is fast asleep in his flannel cowboy pajamas with the covers kicked off, he won't notice that I am sneeking into his room to snatch Cowboy Andy from his nightstand. I'll be sure to replace it before he wakes up!

This is a vintage book published in 1959 that his Dad likes to read to him. Only his Dad can read it because he knows how to do the cowboy voices just right. Whenever they read this one, I always hear roaring laughter coming from his room and I wonder if he'll ever settle down enough to fall asleep.

Warning! : the first page show's Andy's father smoking a pipe while he plays with toy guns.......

but don't let this stop you from reading further. Andy's father sends him to Cowboy Sam's ranch for the summer. When Cowboy Sam sees Andy's toy guns he says, "There are no guns on my ranch, we are cowboys, not bad men!"

Andy soon finds out that Cowboy Sam does not watch TV and that life on the ranch is much different than life in the city. Through trial and error, he learns to ride a horse and a calf. All of his hard work and perseverance pay off when he wins a prize at the rodeo.

This is an early reader book with 6 chapters and reads much like the Dick and Jane series. There are gorgeous vintage 3-color illustrations by E. Raymond Kinstler on each page.

The author, Edna Walker Chandler has written several cowboy books for children but Cowboy Andy is the best!

While researching this book, I discovered Vintage Books My Kid Loves , a mommy blogger who gives away vintage books she reviews! She also sells them here. I'm sorry I just missed the entry deadline on her last vintage cowboy book giveaway.

Yayyy! This post was just named the Nov. 19th Best Childrens Lit Blog Post of the Day by The Children's Writing Web Journal. You can see a review clip here: