Teddy’s Cattle Drive: A Story from History
This is a wonderful book to add to a collection of Wild West tales. Historian Marc Simmons tells the story of Teddy Abbot, an eleven-year-old boy who is thrust into his first cattle drive in 1871, when his father decides to take the train back to Nebraska and leaves Teddy in the hands of the sage trail boss, Vito Cross. Teddy must learn the cowboys’ ways as they drive the herd of cattle from Texas to Nebraska. The story is based on the life of E.C. “Teddy” Abbott, who spent fifty years of his life as a cowboy. This rather lengthy picture book is filled with details of western cattle drives. Ronald Kil, a cowboy himself, does a wonderful job blending black and white sketches with full-color illustrations. A glossary of cowboy words and a note on sources are included at the end, which help make this book a perfect addition to an elementary curriculum. (Ages 6-12)
