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Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love
From acclaimed authors Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack Jr. comes a thrilling biography of an unforgettable man told in compelling graphic novel form. Born into slavery in 1854, Nat Love, also known as Deadwood Dick, grew up to become the most famous African-American cowboy in the Old West. A contemporary and acquaintance of Bat Masterson and Billy the Kid,...more
Hardcover, 0 pages
Published
January 18th 2012
by Chronicle Books
(first published September 1st 2009)
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Audience: This graphic Novel is a biography of Nat Love; it is a wonderful novel for both boys and girls to read. This is great for those students learning about slavery. I would suggest this novel to students between fifth and seventh grade, for required or leisurely reading.
Appeal: This novel appeals to both boys and girls that are interested in the aspect of slavery, and maybe want to read a biography of a real slaves life. The artwork with its colors and actions match the novel wonderfully....more
Appeal: This novel appeals to both boys and girls that are interested in the aspect of slavery, and maybe want to read a biography of a real slaves life. The artwork with its colors and actions match the novel wonderfully....more
Aug 17, 2012
Barbara
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
animals,
biography,
community,
death,
families,
friendship,
graphic-novels,
travel,
ncbla2013
The acrylic and pen illustrations in this graphic novel provide a haunting backdrop to the story, told in graphic novel format, of Nat Love, also known as Deadwood Dick. Sometimes it's almost impossible to distinguish the features of the characters or even the setting since the paintings make it seem as though readers are traveling back into the misty fog of time long past. While I loved the story of this man's adventures as a cowboy and felt heartbroken at all the losses he experienced after hi...more
This graphic novel follows the rise of Nat Love, who was born into a life of slavery and poverty in 1954 but managed to become a well-regarded cowboy and sharpshooter better known as Deadwood Dick. After the Civil War, Nat’s family tried to farm until sickness took several family members and made it necessary for Nat to seek employment to support his nieces. He became a cowboy, breaking horses that others couldn’t and delivering horses and cattle across the plains. He braved stampedes, outlaws,...more
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Nat Love was an African American cowboy in the Old West. This book follows him from slavery to cowboy to Pullman porter. This retelling of his story, based on his autobiography, is as enjoyable to read as it is to view. However, I was disappointed when I read the author's note at the end of the book that says the accuracy of Love's autobiography, which is the basis for this book, has been questioned by historians. It would have been nice is some of the finer points of the doubt had been identifi...more
Jan 05, 2012
Monica Edinger
added it
Still mulling this one over. The art is fantastic. It's a great story, well told, and I enjoyed reading it very much. The McKissacks, in a brief end note, mention what is complete fiction on their part and that Love's autobiography on which they based this story has been questioned by scholars for veracity, but they just wanted to tell his remarkable story. And it is a remarkable story! But the historian in me wants to know a bit more about what is true and what is not. Not that child readers wi...more
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An absolutely visually stunning bio of Nat Love, famed African American cowboy, in graphic novel format. The authors do a great job of capturing Love's voice and the illustrations are brightly colored and very well done. Artwork consists of paintings and all of them have a hazy feel to them which gives the story a feel from long ago and almost as if Nat Love is speaking directly to the reader and the images on the page are built of memories. The only thing missing from this book is a recommended...more
It started by breaking colts: ten cents a horse. Then one day Nat got lucky in a raffle and he used his winnings to head out west. Before long he found a cattle team and when they tested him on their wildest horse he showed them what he could do. He joined on and they fixed him up with new clothes, a gun, and a new name. Nat Love became Deadwood Dick as he adopted the cowboy lifestyle. His new life full of adventures and the storms, stampedes, and raids made him feel more alive than he ever had...more
What I thought of this book is that it talks a lot about how a slave became a really famous and well know man for what he did. When people would ask what his name was no one knew so they called him DEADWOOD DICK because a really famous horse man was named that so them named him DEADWOOD DICK because he was good at riding horses. His family and him were slaves before anything he done happened there after awhile his family was free from slavery as so as the other people there that were slaves to b...more
Great graphic novel for upper elementary and older. Interesting biography of Nate Love, aka Deadwood Dick. Engrossing tales of cowboy life, the Old West, etc. I did not know this legend was African-American. The way he was treated in the west and his perspective gave me a fresh insight into racism.
I am sure this would be very appealing to boys, but also a fun read-aloud that is fascinating and informative. The art is color and top notch.
I am sure this would be very appealing to boys, but also a fun read-aloud that is fascinating and informative. The art is color and top notch.
Gorgeous art with a so-so story. I read Nat Love's auto-bio a few years ago and this reads pretty much like it, taking us from one "hey, look at how cool I am" tale to another. It's very difficult to develop an emotional connection to this guy as it's written, and I think there are a number of ways the authors could have played with Nat's story to make it more moving. Too bad, 'cuz I do think there's a great story to tell here.
I might add that the only thing I don't really like about this book is the pictures. They are a little hard to follow. After a while I sort of got used to it though. They are just really vague(?). I had a hard time telling the difference between the different characters in the book. Aside from that, the graphics were unusual and cool, just a bit hard to understand at times.
While I think the artwork matches the setting of the story wonderfully and the graphic novel format is appropriate for adapting the autobiography, I struggled with the depictions of the Indians in this story. I do realize that this account is being told from Nat Love's point of view and not McKissack's, but an author's note could easily have cleared that up.
The McKissacks have done it again--with the help of illustrator Randy DuBurke. This graphic novel about the life of African American cowboy Nat Love is just about perfect. The framing device of Love as an old man working as a Pullman porter recalling his adventures in the Wild West works beautifully. I hope teachers will accept this graphic novel as a resource for a bibliography.
I don't read too many wild west stories, but I liked the this graphic novel biography of Nat Love, an African-American cowboy, based on his autobiography, The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known as "Deadwood Dick." He was born a slave in 1854, and struck out on his own in his teens to become a cattle driver and crack shot.
5th, 6th, 7th, 8th Nat Love's adventures are told in flashback form as he writes about them for a Kansas City paper. I think boys would like the adventures, though none are explored in-depth. Fell a little flat for me, although it is a cool slice of American history.
A Junior Library Guild selection, this young graphic novel was an easy read today. It tells the story of Nat Love, the former slave who becomes known as Deadwood Dick and ends his career as a railroad porter. Great addition to any school who covers the Old West.
American Indians are shown as "bad Indians" without any content that would challenge that idea. My discussion of it is at my site:
http://americanindiansinchildrenslite...
http://americanindiansinchildrenslite...
Public library copy. Interesting bit of wild west history, but the book itself seems undecided in being a comic book or a children's picture book with prose. There is a difference.
A graphic novel retelling of the adventures of the famous African American cowboy, Nat Love, portrayed in lively acrylic and pen illustrations. Reviewer 8
I read an ARC, so I don't know how the final color art will look, but it was great historical fiction in graphic novel format.
I loved that this graphic novel used paintings, not comics. This would we wonderful for middle school students.
I particularly liked how the art was done in a b & w newspaper photograph style. And was left wondering: is breaking a horse as simple as holding on long enough? horse people, please inform me.
Graphics include color splattered on part of drawings. The story, though interesting especially with the additional visual information, goes fast through the life of Nat Love. The memory of reading is one of a visual feast.
A good format for getting readers interested in a little known figure from the Old West.
An exciting graphic presentation of the Old West legend.
The structure of the story felt wonky and I wasn't super crazy about the illustrations. Good piece of history though.
Mar 22, 2012
Mary
marked it as to-read
Graphic novel about black cowboys
ALA ALSC Notable 2013
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