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Smoky the Cow Horse

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 2,276 ratings · 135 reviews

Smoky knows only one way of life: freedom. Living on the open range, he is free to go where he wants and do what he wants. And being a smart colt, he learns what he must in order to survive. He can beat any enemy whether it be a rattlesnake or a hungry wolf. He is as much a part of the Wild West as it is of him, and Smokey can't imagine anything else.

But then he comes acro

...more

Paperback, 324 pages

Published April 1st 1993 by Aladdin Paperbacks (first published 1926)

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Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

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Sep 20, 2008 Wendy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: newbery

So glad I'm finally done with this book.

The written-in-dialect thing is interesting, and occasionally even poetic, and I might have thought this was a fairly good book if it was really, really short. But 300+ pages of double negatives and other grammar mistakes was hard to wade through.

As others have said, it does get more interesting in the last 100 pages (there's a story), but it's still not that great; and there's a dreadful racial stereotype (evil "halfbreed" Mexican/African American, always...more

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Jan 28, 2009 Antof9 rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008-read, animals, depressing, read-the-newberys, wanna-change-the-ending

There were several reasons I didn’t like this book, the main being that the book as a whole is, to me, illustrative of the fact that there just wasn’t quality children’s lit being written around the time that this book was written.

The primary reason I didn’t like this book? The grammar/writing style/tone. It’s one thing to write something “colloquially” for adults. It’s quite another to write poorly for an audience of children. Part of how we learn grammar, vocabulary, and spelling is from readi...more There were several reasons I didn’t like this book, the main being that the book as a whole is, to me, illustrative of the fact that there just wasn’t quality children’s lit being written around the time that this book was written.

The primary reason I didn’t like this book? The grammar/writing style/tone. It’s one thing to write something “colloquially” for adults. It’s quite another to write poorly for an audience of children. Part of how we learn grammar, vocabulary, and spelling is from reading. If a child sees “creathure” 100 times in a book, they’re going to think that it’s 1. a real word, or 2. the correct spelling for “creature”. I find that irresponsible of the writer and the publishing house.

Another reason I didn’t like it? The underlying racism about “the breed”: “All of him, from the toe of his gunny sack covered boots to the dark face which showed under the wore out black hat, pointed out as the man being a half-breed of Mexican and other blood that’s darker, and noticing the cheap, wore out saddle, the ragged saddle-blanket on a horse that should have had some chance to feed instead of being tied up, showed that he was a halfbreed from the bad side, not caring and with no pride.”

Of course, that preceding paragraph is another reason people under age 40 say “could of”, “should of” and “would of” instead of using the word “have”.

After forcing myself through three-quarters of the book, and starting to care about a certain horse, a little bit, I got to this part, which so disgusted me, I had to call another member of the Newbery Support Group to read it to her over the phone: “But there was no good range in that country, not for many miles. The stable man had lied to save the girl’s feelings, - and instead, realizing that he couldn’t turn the horse loose only maybe to let him starve, and being he couldn’t afford to keep and feed a useless horse, there’d been only one way out. He’d sold him to a man who bought old horses and killed ‘em for chicken feed.”

Nice.(less)

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Mar 16, 2013 Deborah Blair rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: children and adults who love horses, nature and real old time cowboys

Recommended to Deborah by: My dear maternal Grandmother - Florida Bell Irvine Leitch

Shelves: children-s-books

This was one of my most cherished books as a child. My maternal Grandmother, Florida Bell Irvine Leitch, was an educated school teacher at the turn of the 1900s, when few ladies had educations - - - she would hitch rides on milk wagons to get to the one room school houses that she taught in. Her family were poor, but good, Presbyterian Scots who dedicated themselves to educating and helping the poor miners' children and others. Although she could only guess at what my mother and aunts were doing...more This was one of my most cherished books as a child. My maternal Grandmother, Florida Bell Irvine Leitch, was an educated school teacher at the turn of the 1900s, when few ladies had educations - - - she would hitch rides on milk wagons to get to the one room school houses that she taught in. Her family were poor, but good, Presbyterian Scots who dedicated themselves to educating and helping the poor miners' children and others. Although she could only guess at what my mother and aunts were doing to their children, the torture and incest, extremely damaging psychological abuse - she tried to be there for each of us.

Born early with deformed lungs and inability to take antibiotic because of deathly allergies - I was often near death in bed. My grandmother gifted me with books that my abusive mother was not able, because of her pretense of "social normality" able to take from me. My grandmother told me stories of Robert Louis Stephenson also being deathly ill as a child and how he wiled away the time with making mountains of his knees and valleys with the covers that he could make up stories with his tin soldiers and others. He read and then would use his imagination to wile away the times of pain and fever. I know my grandmother's stories and the inspiration of how Robert Louis Stephenson coped in childhood helped me to do the same - whether when ill and near death or lying in painful shambles after a three hour beating - - -

One of the books my Grandmother gifted me with was and original copy of Will James' Smoky The Cow Horse. It contained plate illustrations that James - -a real cowboy, artist, writer and personality had done. Being able to read at age 3 1/2 on I spent hours reading and rereading passages and looking at the plates. I so wanted a horse - I had loved animals from the time I can first remember before age one - -- literally being brought up with LOVE by Teddy, a Collie cross, Jody a boxer, and Storm a devoted German Shepherd -and King the Cat - a Siamese my Grandmother had gifted me with. I spent hours imaging I was living with Smokey - - -and living in the safety of nature with him.

If you love horses and animals this is a beautiful read. It is a real cowboy tale written by a real cowboy. And if you love it - it is worth searching out on Amazon's used book sellers a copy of the original with the color plates of Will James' illustrations - - (less)

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Nov 14, 2012 Wayne S. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Smoky is a mouse-colored horse which is born on the range. After a couple of years, he is taken to the Rocking R Ranch where he is trained by a thirty-year-old cowboy named Clint to be a cowhorse. The cowhorses work during the spring, summer, and fall on the ranch, but are let back out on the range to forage in the winter. Clint, who is especially fond of the mouse-colored horse, always tries to check on Smoky through each winter, but one year he is detained for several reasons, and when he fina...more Smoky is a mouse-colored horse which is born on the range. After a couple of years, he is taken to the Rocking R Ranch where he is trained by a thirty-year-old cowboy named Clint to be a cowhorse. The cowhorses work during the spring, summer, and fall on the ranch, but are let back out on the range to forage in the winter. Clint, who is especially fond of the mouse-colored horse, always tries to check on Smoky through each winter, but one year he is detained for several reasons, and when he finally goes out on the range he finds that the cowhorse, as well as the whole herd with which he has been hanging out, is gone. What has happened to Smoky? And will Clint ever see him again?

This 1927 Newbery Medalist, sometimes considered to be the original American “horse tale” for children, has a lot of details about horses, their breeding, their moods, the lives of cowboys, and cattle roundups, along with a strong indictment of cruelty to animals. It tells about Smoky’s life as a wild mustang, a cowhorse, a bucking bronco named “The Cougar,” a stable riding horse called Cloudy, and finally a harness horse. There are some references to smoking and “cussing,” although no actual cuss words are used besides the “h” word uttered once by the villain and found in a couple of expressions such as “hell to breakfast” and “hell bent for election,” along with a few common euphemisms and a lot of “daggones” and “doggones.” Otherwise, there is nothing objectionable.

The narration is done in a folksy “cowboy” slang style—“Smoky must of been in the middle of some bad dream…the stars was fading away and the buffalo hunters had went to rest.” Obviously, the book should not be used to teach good grammar (except perhaps by negative example). Some people have objected to the bad grammar saying that it is hard to read, but like the Southern slave dialect of the “Uncle Remus” stories or the Scottish brogue of Kidnapped, it is simply preserving in print a way of speaking common to a certain time and place. A few times I had to read back over something to make sure that I understood it, but for the most part the grammar won’t keep one from enjoying the story, and, in fact, the writing style just adds to the charm. It is highly recommended for young horse lovers.(less)

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Apr 24, 2012 Ensiform rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, newbery

This 1927 Newbery Winner follows the life of a range horse, from his birth to being put out to pasture for retirement. James makes the horse the center of the story, and tells it as realistically as possible while making Smoky an exceptional beast. (He never voices an opinion, let alone talks; James tries to express silent instinct or antipathy without anthropomorphizing the animal.) Smoky isn’t actually his name, except inasmuch as a bronco buster named Clint calls him that for a while. Most of...more This 1927 Newbery Winner follows the life of a range horse, from his birth to being put out to pasture for retirement. James makes the horse the center of the story, and tells it as realistically as possible while making Smoky an exceptional beast. (He never voices an opinion, let alone talks; James tries to express silent instinct or antipathy without anthropomorphizing the animal.) Smoky isn’t actually his name, except inasmuch as a bronco buster named Clint calls him that for a while. Most of his life he’s free on the range, learning to stay with the herd, avoid and kill rattlesnakes, fight wolves, and so on. Annually he is corralled and made to do range work, herding steer, which he grows to enjoy. He later goes by the Cougar as a famous cowboy-killing bucker, and then Cloudy as an indifferent riding horse for dude equestrians. Things look bleakest for him when, older and enfeebled by a lifetime of action, he’s sold as a workhorse, regularly beaten and mistreated. Of course there’s a happy ending, but James lets it unfold with patience; nothing is neatly packaged or trite, and Smoky is far from a pet, or even tame, even at the end.

It’s a superior animal story, made a bit difficult by two factors. One, James writes in a sub-literate dialect (“them horses was running,” “If Smoky could only knowed, there’d been a lot of suffering which he wouldn’t had to’ve went thru”), which may have been intentional or not, but either way it’s not charming or conducive to good reading practice. Words such as “gait” are even misspelled, which indicates that the dialect may have been the best James could do. Second, and far worse, there’s a deep racism in the book. The two villains are Mexican; one is referred to with contempt as a “breed” (half-Mexican, half “other blood that’s darker”) with no morals. The other is a similarly immoral, cruel man who is beaten in front of a laughing sheriff who stops the fight only because it would make work for him, “same as if he were a white man.” Unfortunate, because James is a decent storyteller, and though I don’t care for animal tales as a rule, this one drew me in. It’s a product of its time, certainly.(less)

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Mar 14, 2012 Aimee Conner rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book surprising in many ways. The language the author chose to write in surprised me, using a cowboy dialect with sentences that – at the beginning at least – were painfully long. “Smoky wasn’t quite an hour old when he begin to take in interest in things, the warm spring sun was doing its work and kept a pouring warmth all over that slick little black hide and right on thru his little body till pretty soon his head come up kinda shaky and he begin nosing around them long front legs...more I found this book surprising in many ways. The language the author chose to write in surprised me, using a cowboy dialect with sentences that – at the beginning at least – were painfully long. “Smoky wasn’t quite an hour old when he begin to take in interest in things, the warm spring sun was doing its work and kept a pouring warmth all over that slick little black hide and right on thru his little body till pretty soon his head come up kinda shaky and he begin nosing around them long front legs that was stretched out in front of him”. Like that. And the way he interchanges the words “Stallion”, “pony”, “horse”, and “gelding” made me want to shriek with frustration. As a matter of fact, I think I did shriek at one point.

Also, most of the book is about Smoky growing up till age four and then being trained to be a cowhorse. The adventure part of the book started about 2/3 of the way through, something I do not expect in a novel. Clint, the cowboy who caught and trained him, spent a lot of time and effort in breaking and training Smoky, and we don’t miss a minute of it. Not. One. Day.

Now, having been snarky, I need to apologize a little, because in the end I liked this book. I think Mr. James’ intention was to give the reader an understanding of how gently he was trained — not really broken, after all. I daresay those parts could have been shorter for my tastes, but I don’t think he was writing for me. He was writing for kids who liked horses. The treatment Smoky got after he was stolen was outrageous, and later, thoughtless to the point of almost killing him. The early story of Smoky, and later Clint and Smoky, is a very important base upon which to understand the later horror he was forced to accept. I never really liked rodeos, now I hate ‘em.

Since you all know this is a spoiler blog, (I’ll keep apologizing) this story has a very satisfactory conclusion. Clint and Smoky are reunited and — while Clint remains as loving and tender as ever while trying to nurse his favorite horse in the whole world back to health, He can’t really tell if Smoky recognizes him, or if there is even any spark of the young stallion he once knew. At the end, tired, broken and sad, Smoky comes back to a point where Clint realizes that he does recognize him, and we are left to believe that their retirement together was a quiet one — one which they had both earned.

So what surprised me? That I liked the book well enough to get past the language and dragging storyline to eventually be sorry to see it end. Well, mostly sorry, since it’s time to mosey along. Good story, even for those of us who never wanted to be cowgirls.(less)

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Jan 31, 2013 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: animals

This books followes life of a single horse and gives an excellent view of America in the early 1900s. I enjoyed the dynamics of horse herd - fights for leadership, struggle with weather and predators and especially Smoky's friendship with an old herd leader.

I also liked reading about cowboy life and work, since all my knowledge about cowboys was based on western films. This book reminded me that cowboys were herdsmen above other things and worked a lot with horses and cattle, risking their heal...more

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Aug 17, 2009 Emily rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: good-for-boys, newbery-winner, j-fiction, animals

This 1927 Newbery winner has a bit of a slow start, and occasionally the language is dated (using “tho” instead of “though” is an example). Humans don’t really enter the story until halfway through, which may not bother some readers. This is the story of one horse, Smoky, and his life, including the 4 years where he just grazes free, his time as a working cowhorse, being stolen by a horse thief, years as the star of the rodeo, and time as a pony-for-hire for pleasure rides. It is also a bit of a...more

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Apr 04, 2009 Josiah rated it 5 of 5 stars

"There was so much life wrapped up in that pony's hide that it was mighty hard for him to settle down and behave...he sometimes had to bust out and do things that wasn't at all proper..."

--Smoky the Cowhorse, P.47

"The poor (horse) had sure got a reason to be mean, and I guess he's at the point where he figgers no human is his friend any more." --Smoky the Cowhorse, P. 229

Wow. My expectations for a book with the Newbery Medal gracing the cover are always sky high, but Smoky the Cowhorse met ea...more

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May 12, 2011 Susannah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book when I was 12 and it left a very lasting impression on me. At one point in my life about 15 years ago I was in a book group and I said this book was one of my favorites. My friends, under the influence of wine, laughed. I was mortified. Later, one of them who is a really GREAT friend bought me an original copy from an antique store - which I treasure. There is actually a Will James Society in Montana, so I think I am not crazy when I say that this book contributed greatly to my...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childhood, horsey-books

Definitely one of my favorite horse books. It's not the high adventure of El Blanco, but it's a fantastic portrait of a horse, and the intelligent working relationship between cowboy and cowhorse. A full two thirds of the book is devoted to Smoky's youth running free on the range and then his training and time with Clint. The last third of the book follows the Black Beauty mold as Smoky is stolen, mistreated, and lives new lives as a man-hating rodeo bronc, a placid saddle plug, and a worn out c...more Definitely one of my favorite horse books. It's not the high adventure of El Blanco, but it's a fantastic portrait of a horse, and the intelligent working relationship between cowboy and cowhorse. A full two thirds of the book is devoted to Smoky's youth running free on the range and then his training and time with Clint. The last third of the book follows the Black Beauty mold as Smoky is stolen, mistreated, and lives new lives as a man-hating rodeo bronc, a placid saddle plug, and a worn out carthorse. Like Black Beauty, Smoky suffers hardship, finds kindnesses along the way, lives a full life, and the ending is a happy one.

The illustrations, also by James, are AMAZING. Full of life and movement.

Again, like Black Beauty, this book has some pretty strong things to say about the treatment of horses. James is particularly hard on the livery (rental) stable. Unlike Black Beauty, the story is not told in first person from Smoky's perspective, but Smoky is still written with emotions and personality. He's intelligent and clever and he forms attachments to humans and other horses. Horses like that really do exist in the real world.

As a horse crazy kid I didn't mind that for much of the book "nothing happens", that most of it is simply about the horse. Before rereading this I would have said that the horse-napping happened much sooner in the book than it did!

This is definitely not a book for a kid to read if they're wobbly on spelling and grammar. I have no idea how authentic it is in terms of the language of the old west, but it feels pretty darn close, and it paints a very effective picture. An example passage: "The buckskin hadn't hardly been noticed, the wolves had passed him up as too old specially when there was such as the young colts which could be got easy. The old horse had watched 'em catch up with the bunch and go past him for a younger victim, he had no way to know that they didn't want him, and he could of kept well in the lead of the bunch if he'd wanted to but he'd made hisself guardian over the little colts and he couldn't for the life of him have left 'em behind, of course the little fellers' mammies would of fought for 'em too but they was at the stage where they felt every horse was for himself, they'd scared into a stampede and was all a running for their own lives." (pg. 67) Plus there's "et" for eat, "eddicate" for educate, "crethure" for creature, "figger" for figure, would of, could of, thru and lots more. The first 100 pages or so were hard to get through until I could wrap my brain around the grammar and run on sentences. (By contrast, I devoured this book as a fifth-grader. Clearly my brain made the leap much quicker back then! Also, I probably chalked the questionable grammar and spelling up to "old west, not how things are done now" and moved on.)

I found it interesting that James referred to cowboys travelling to and working in different "countries". It's confusing at first but I'm pretty sure he meant different areas of the United States - i.e. hill country, low country, farm country, bat country - rather than foreign countries.

James uses the terms colt, horse, pony, stallion, and gelding almost interchangeably, which made me gnash my teeth in frustration. The narrator intrudes on the story with "I" a few times for no purpose that I could see.(less)

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May 16, 2012 Darlis rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had to hurry up and read this so I could help my grandson Bryan with a book report. I was actually surprised that I liked the book. The first part appeals to my environmental nature by explaining what life is like for wild mustangs out in the wild. I love the descriptions! The second part appeals to my love of cowboys in the Old West. I loved the descriptions of branding, roping, cattle drives, round ups, and tales of ranch life. I liked (that might not be the right word) tales of what happene...more

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Mar 25, 2008 Bronson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-read-with-my-kids

We read this a couple years ago and my boy who was about 6 at the time loved it. I enjoyed it as well although I found it difficult to read out loud because the grammar the characters use is terrible! But that really adds to the fun of the story. Its follows the life of Smoky through good times and bad. I would recommend this to anyone who likes horses or longs for the old west.

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Aug 29, 2011 Jill rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: newbery-medal

I'm almost embarrassed to admit the little I know of cowboys and roundups I learned from watching City Slickers. That's pretty bad. So, while I'm not a huge fan of this book, it did "learn" me a lot about that lifestyle. The author chose to write with a slang dialect so I imagined an old cowboy reading the story to me. Crazy, I know, but I appreciated it much more!

"But it was different with Smoky; she was his mammy and there was none other that could take her place. He'd growed up at her side an...more I'm almost embarrassed to admit the little I know of cowboys and roundups I learned from watching City Slickers. That's pretty bad. So, while I'm not a huge fan of this book, it did "learn" me a lot about that lifestyle. The author chose to write with a slang dialect so I imagined an old cowboy reading the story to me. Crazy, I know, but I appreciated it much more!

"But it was different with Smoky; she was his mammy and there was none other that could take her place. He'd growed up at her side and even tho other little colts had come she was and always would be the mother he knowed when he was wobblety legged and needed her."

"The little horse realized somehow as he sized up the contraption that the end had come to all he'd enjoyed with the freedom he'd had, cool shades, clear streams, and grassy ranges tho all roam on as he pleased had been took away from him; he didn't know what was to come next, but he did know that he was on that creek bottom, close to corrals, and there to stay for a spell."

"The cook drives his chuck wagon, the "flunky" (cook's helper) drives the bed wagon, and the "nighthawk" (rider who herds the remuda at night) drives the wood wagon. Them three wagons which is called "The Wagon" is the cowboys' home while on the range. It carries his grub, his "war bag" (bag of clothes), his bedding, and strips of rawhide which he salts down and sometimes cuts into strings and braids things like "bosals" (nose bands) or such."

"The boys, girls, and grown ups kept a setting on the old horse; and not knowing, but sure and steady, was riding and dragging him down to a death that'd be way ahead of the time when it should come. They'd compared well with a pack of wolves, for like that kind, none of 'em would ever wanted to come within a hundred yards of the horse when he was up and a fighting. None of 'em would ever dreamed of wanting to set on his back when he was The Cougar and hankering to fight and kill, but now and at last he was down; there was no fight in him no more, and like the pack of wolves they compared so well with, they all closed in on him. The only difference was the wolf pack killed their victim quick. They don't leave the life drag on for days, weeks and months, nor let the victim suffer to finally die slow and by degrees. Then again, the wolf killed to eat and live. But there was no blame ever attached to these human wolves who was killing the horse only for the pleasure they'd get in riding him, and the fine exercise that went with it. Most of 'em meant well; only they didn't know."

""Daggone his old hide," says the cowboy, "it looks to me like he's good to live and enjoy life for many summers yet"; then thinking strong, he went on, "and maybe in that time he might get to remembering me again--I wonder." He watched Smoky a while longer and till he got acquainted some, and at last deciding it'd be for the best to let him go, he reined his horse out of the gate and let the bunch run by. The old pony seemed to hesitate some as the bunch filed out. He like their company mighty well but something held him back. ...Clint sat on his horse and watched the bunch lope out over a ridge and out of sight; and with a last glimpse at the mouse colored rump he grinned a little, but it was a sorry grin, and as he kept a looking the way Smoky had gone, he says: "I wonder if he ever will.""(less)

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Nov 21, 2009 Chandra rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: newbery, kids-young-adult, 2009-reads

*2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Smoky is a spirited mouse colored horse. This story follows his adventures and misadventures and largely centers on his friendship with a gentle cowboy named Clint. It’s an earnest story about kindness, loyalty and friendship and I think it has a lot to offer young animal lovers – particularly horse lovers.

But this book does have some things going against it too. The 'cowboy dialect' is really awful. It feels unnecessary in that it’s not just the dialogue, but the entir...more

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May 31, 2010 Eleni rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 24, 2009 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it 3 of 5 stars

A story of a great horse. Smoky is taught to be an excellent cowhorse, but even in his training, the cowboy teaching him sees the unusual abilities of this horse. Smoky spends many years as a cowhorse with Clint and the other cowboys, but one year, he is stolen by a renegade. The renegade treats Smoky harshly and turns Smoky into a bucking bronco, the fiercest horse in the West. Smoky spends many years establishing a reputation as a killer bronco, but gradually he grows old and tired and is sent...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Madeline Henricksen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a really good book about a horse's life. Smoky was once a cow horse (a horse use for important odd jobs around the ranch). Then he was stolen by a horse thief who was an expert at covering up ranch brands and making his own brand. Smoky was sold to the rodeo circuit as an outlaw bucker and he was nicknamed, "The Cougar". Later in his life, when he got tired of bucking, he was sold to a horse livery who rented him out to people who misused him. He ended his life with his first owner, bein...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Wendy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horses-fiction

I first read this book in the fifth grade (oh, so long ago...) and I loved it. I re-read it every year until I graduated high school and loved it every time. I'm not sure I'd still love it quite so much if I was reading it for the first time as an adult, as I haven't read it since, but I look on it with fond memories.

If you have a horse crazy son or daughter, I would definitely add this book to their library, right next to The Black Stallion, Black Beauty, Misty of Chincoteague and My Friend Fli...more

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Sep 23, 2010 Grandma rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

Even though I would like to read other works by this author (because of his great insight into animals) I would not recommend this one. I knew nothing about it when I picked the book up at the library, based on the paintings by the author and its old book feel. I really liked the first segment since it is seen from the horse's point of view. Later one man, basically a horse whisperer, enters the horse's life. At this point, tensions in the story are resolved fairly quickly. Later, though, the ho...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, children, fiction, horses, newbery-medal, western, pre-2004

I read at least part of this when I was a kid, but I don't think I finished it. And now that I've returned to it and read the whole thing, I understand why I would have given up as a kid, even when horse stories were my #1 A+ Super Favorite thing to read. The story is slow and the antiquated, proper-grammar-resistant cowboy dialect takes a while to get used to. Who to recommend it for? I guess the rare young reader who is interested in horses, westerns, and is willing to devote some time to a bo...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Jen rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kids, newbery, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm beginning to feel very depressed on behalf of the children who were reading books in the early years of the last century. And before that?! Wow. I challenge anyone who would say that writing children's or young adult literature is easy to read something from the last few years and then compare that to one of the early winners of the Newbery Medal. There's no contest! As the market and demand for well-written kid lit has grown, more and more authors have turned their talents to crafting beaut...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Diane J. Reed rated it 5 of 5 stars

I fell in love with this book by Will James as a child because of the author's extraordinary tenderness in depicting the bond between the cowboy and his horse. And his illustrations are superb. Yes Will James is one part raconteur, but the other part of him put aside the common male bravado of the cowboy era and dared to be sensitive about his love for his four-legged partner. Long before the movie War Horse came out, there was Will James, and his charm, honesty, and desire to treat his equine c...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Kathy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: newbery

I never saw a mouse that was the rich black color shown on the cover of this book and in the line drawings within the book. So I did not like that Smoky was continually called a mouse colored horse. I also did not like the old cowboy grammer. I cannot imagine any modern child I know being able to get through this book. Near the end, when Smoky said exactly what I think my horse on few and far between trail rides is saying about me, I had to laugh and think that Clint, Smoky, and Will James reall...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Magda rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, historicalfiction, newbery

Somehow reading this book seemed to take forever, especially at the beginning, but then I got much more involved in the past few days and read longer portions, maybe the last half today alone.

The colloquial language in direct speech does not bother me, but I wanted to punch someone by the third "could of" from the third-person narrator. And it just KEEPS GOING the whole book through. So not really something I would suggest for children who would think that this is worthy of emulation. Verdict: c...more

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Jul 08, 2012 LeeVi rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an enlightened and, by all accounts of the author, true story about a lowly cow horse that devoted himself to his work and friendship with his rider that went on to be a rodeo sensation and top attraction. The book follows his life from birth in the high country of Montana to his abusive life under cruel masters. The book ends with his return to his first master and friend. They return to the country that he grew up in. I think this is a good book to read over and over, you'll always fin...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Mirrani rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-and-reviewed

I can easily see why this book won the Newbery Award. While I was reading I felt that I was sitting down at the campfire after a long day at work, listening to the story being told to me. The casual words of the cowboy just came naturally through, spelled and used as they would have been right there on the ranch. Though it is quickly described as being like Black Beauty with ranch hands, it was very entertaining and educational to follow the life of one ranch horse and see what could happen to h...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Sjauna rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read this as part of my quest to read all of the Newbury Award winners. There weren't many on the library shelf when I picked it up, and as I drug my feet through the first couple hundred pages, I could see why it was one of the few that hadn't been checked out, and I almost reconsidered my plan. The writing was awkward, and although I think it was supposed to be on purpose, it sure didn't seem like it. But, like most books that I end up recommending, I was happy to have read it. Sweet and end...more

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Aug 17, 2009 Janis rated it 4 of 5 stars

The eventful life of Smoky the horse, written and delightfully illustrated by someone who clearly loved horses and the old American West. I loved the dialect used throughout and learned a lot about horses, round-ups, and life on the trail. I came to love both horse and cowboy so felt the story lost some of its punch when one of them disappeared from the narrative for a time. I'd recommend this 1927 Newbery-winner to strong readers (with a caveat -- watch out for insensitive stereotyping).

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Nov 22, 2009 Angie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Hmmm...not the best horse book I've ever read. The beginning was SO slow and dull - a human didn't even appear in the book until Chapter 4! Also, I am not one for all the cowboy lingo, but that is just a personal preference. I am thinking that this might be kind of a 'boy' book.

Still, the ending was quite good - a little bit like Black Beauty. If you are looking for a good horse book, I would reccomend something by Walter Farley or the Misty of Chincoteague books (Marguerite Henry) over this on...more

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About Will James

Will James (1892-1942), artist and writer of the American West, was born Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault. It was during his creative years everyone grew to know him as Will James. During the next several years, he drifted, worked at several jobs, was briefly jailed for cattle rustling, served in the army, and began selling his sketches and in 1922 sold his first writing, Bucking Horse Riders. The s...more

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Quotes from Smoky the Cow Horse

“For that pony had got tangled up in the cowboy's heartstrings a heap more than that cowboy wanted to let on, even to himself. He couldn't get away from how he missed him.” — 4 people liked it

“There was so much life wrapped up in that pony's hide that it was mighty hard for him to settle down and behave...he sometimes had to bust out and do things that wasn't at all proper...” — 2 people liked it

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