The Original Adventures #1 (Hank the Cowdog)
by John R. Erickson
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Book Summary Information
Author: John R. EricksonIllustrator: Gerald L. Holmes
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-08-01
ISBN: 0141303778
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: Puffin
Book Reviews of The Original Adventures #1 (Hank the Cowdog)
Book Review: Amusing.
Summary: 3 Stars
John R. Erickson, The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog (Puffin, 1983)
I have no idea how this came to be on my list, though I have now started something that may take longer than I have left alive to finish; the Hank the Cowdog series, which is still going, stretches to fifty-three volumes as I write this. I obviously can't do just one a year, or if Erickson stops with this last volume, I'll finish up when I'm in my mid-nineties. That's not gonna work, so I'm gonna have to step it up. Judging by the first book, that shouldn't be difficult at all.
Hank the Cowdog is Head of Ranch Security. Which is a tough job, but someone's got to do it. With his flaky sidekick Drover, Hank is tasked with keeping predators away from the livestock. Only problem is, Hank himself has quite a taste for chicken. So when something starts sneaking into the farm and killing chickens, and Hank rationalizes that since the chicken's already dead there's no sense letting it go to waste, he finds himself accused of the murder. Hank and Drover have to solve the murders--but Hank, ever proud, is so miffed that the humans would think he killed the chickens (despite him being caught with his nose, quite literally, in a mess of blood and feathers) that he would rather run off and join the local outlaw coyote band...
It's a fun little story, kind of basic (the complexity of the mystery is right in line with those in the Encyclopedia Brown books I was so fond of back in the seventies; does anyone still read those? If not, rediscover them, they're awesome), but what really struck me is how Erickson gets at the heart of a concept I had a great deal of trouble understanding when I was that age, the unreliable narrator. Erickson goes out of his way to cast Hank as an unreliable narrator without ever seeming like he's going out of his way, which is an admirable thing. While it seems a touch simplistic for the mid-grade crowd, it's a fun little story, and I'll definitely keep going with the series. ***
Summary of The Original Adventures #1 (Hank the Cowdog)
While investigating a vicious murder on his ranch, Hank finds himself the number one suspect. Resigning in a fit of despair, he heads for the hills to become an outlaw--but it's not as easy as he imagined.USA Today calls the hilarious Hank the Cowdog series "...the best family entertainment in years."
Hank is a scruffy, smart-alecky supersleuth with a nose for danger and an eye for the ladies. And as Head of Ranch Security on a West Texas ranch, he's usually up to his ears in all kinds of amusing trouble. Whether he's called upon to bark up the sun, investigate suspicious goings-on, or defend the ranch against marauders, Hank's hilarious, hair-raising adventures will delight readers young and old alike.
"Rip-roaring fun...[a] marvelous situation comedy." --School Library Journal
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