I am a rodeo junkie! I LOVE the rodeo! To me, it is one of the most captivating sports ever invented. The sights! The sounds! The action! The smells (Yep, even the livestock!)! I love it all.
Some of my fondest memories as a young mother were Friday nights at the rodeo in Mesquite, Texas with Zack as a toddler. One of our fun games then was to cheer for the calf when the cowboy failed to rope 'em. And the Barrel Racers! Oh! I yearn to come back in the next life as one of those brave gals. Yee haw!
In Cowboy Up!, my dear friend Nancy Bo Flood's poetry paired with Jan Sonnenmair's awesome photography captures the community spirit of the rodeo perfectly! This well-crafted book is alive with the essence of the sport and the great folks who participate in it. As picture books go, my friends, this one is one of the best. No lie. Cowboy's honor.
All of this to say, I worked to create an educational guide that would both celebrate the premise of this fine book and, hopefully, help cowpokes to connect with the poems on a personal level. I think I nailed it, podnahs.
In it, you'll find a crossword puzzle, a pictorial match-up game, poetic analysis exercises, guided form poetry lessons, and McSnazzy CCSS annotation tables. As always, it my hope that this guide help will keep Cowboy Up! in the hands of wise educators and the hearts of precious children for a long, long time.
Happy trails to you, until we meet again.