Cowpoke Clyde Rides the Range: A Funny Rhyming Picture Book About a Cowboy Learning to Ride a Bicycle with His Dog for Kids

by Lori Mortensen, Michael Allen Austin (Illustrator)

Cowpoke Clyde is plumb confused. An ad in his favorite catalog says he oughta buy a bike. But why should he do that? After all, he’s got a horse. Still, a bike wouldn’t buck or bite, and he wouldn’t have to feed it. He orders one, and when it comes, he mounts up and sets right off, wibble-wobblin’ down the road. Good thing he’s got his trusty friend Dawg to look out for him. Turns out learning to ride a bike is just a tad bit harder than he thought!
     With its rip-roaring rhyming text and turn-the-page revelations, this book is pure read-aloud fun.

Praise for  Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg :
* “Plumb funny, fer sure.” — Kirkus Reviews , starred review 

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, 1st Grade, Westerns, Bicycles, Poetry

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2016

About the author

Lori Mortensen is an award-winning children's author of more than 100 books. Her books, which reviewers have praised as “stellar” “as good as it gets” and “begs to be read aloud,” have been published by such notable publishers as HarperCollins, Henry Holt, Abrams, Bloomsbury, and Peachtree. Popular releases include, Arlo Draws an Octopus, illustrated by NYT bestselling author/illustrator Rob Sayegh, Jr., If Wendell Had a Walrus, illustrated by NYT bestselling author/illustrator Matt Phelan, Cowpoke Clyde Rides the Range, a Bill Martin Jr., Picture Book Award Nominee and the sequel to Amazon bestseller Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg, and picture book biographies Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey and Away with Words, the Daring True Story of Explorer Isabella Bird.
When she’s not greeting geese at the lake, or putting her nose in a mystery, she’s tapping away at her keyboard, conjuring, coaxing, and prodding her latest stories to life. Today, she lives in the foothills of Northern California with her family and all birds that flock to her feeder—including a gluttonous squirrel.

Reviews

[Patricia Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a cute book to have in an elementary classroom! The cowboy bought a bike and started to ride it, then he started to go super fast and had to swerve to get out of the way for different animals. When he crashed he almost gave up, but then he realized he shouldn’t give up. Then after chores he would ride his bike. I would use this book in my classroom as a way to teach the lesson of never give up even if things get too hard.

[Judy Desetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like a book that lends itself to reading aloud and bringing laughter to the children. This one seems to be a good bet. Kids loved the first book about Dirty Dawg!

[Jazmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on never giving up. Teaches kids how to keep going after facing adversity. Great rhyming and illustrations.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun to read (read it out loud), but the most impressive element of this book was the illustrations. Wow.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A humorous story of a cowboy who purchases a bike and has to learn how to handle it. A good one for kids are struggling with persistence.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another clever installment of Cowboy Clyde and Dawg. The story arc is a little one-note for me...same challenge (animals in the way) over and over. But the art is so darn cute.

[Theresa Grissom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Cowpoke Clyde! Really liked the first book, and this one is just as good. Love the rhyming lines and the illustrations. I can't help but read it in a western accent. The kids at the school will love this.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laughter awaits children age 3 -7 when they experience the antics of tough cowepoke Clyde as he is determined to get the hang of riding a bicycle. Delightful page-turn surprises will encourage children to finish the rhyme scheme. This would be a great book to use in the classroom when introducing a unit on poetry or rhyme.

[Clare Rossetter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will have to steal a line from Kirkus Reviews, "Plumb funny, fer sure." This is a great rhyming tale about a cowboy who learns to ride a bike for fun. It is a great read aloud due to the rhyming and the illustrations. On each two page spread we see Clyde trying to ride the bike and then it leads to the next with fun text-you turn the page and the font size and color has changed for the first word or two to emphasize what is happening. Hard to describe you just need to see the book to appreciate this full effect. The vocabulary used is great, such words as blundered, and hurtled. The story is about not quitting and practicing until it works. Along the way Clyde nearly collides with a number of animals who manage to stay safe-but Clyde does not he crashes in the dirt and starts to walk away from the bike. He realizes that cowboys don't quit and he goes back for the bike and the adventure continues until-" YAHOO! He didn't crash. He didn't fall. In fact, he weren't half bad at all."

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mortensen, Lori Cowpoke Clyde Rides the Range, illustrated by Michael Allen Austin. PICTURE BOOK. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Clarion), 2016. $16.99. Content: G.

When Cowpoke Clyde sees an advertisement to buy a bicycle, he decides to try one out. They are easier to take care of than a horse (“It wouldn’t eat. It wouldn’t stray. It wouldn’t buck or bite or neigh!) and it looks like it might be fun. Cowpoke Clyde is in for a real wild ride.

The text is rhymed, written in the dialect of a cowpoke. So fun to read aloud, with ellipsis before you turn the page so the reader can try to guess what’s going to happen next. A great lesson on persistence.

EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL Lisa Librarian
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2016/...

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever weaving of cowboy setting with an unexpected object: a bicycle! Many words and terms nicely make the crossover, even though done in western vernacular. The rhyming text works well, and encourages the reader to turn the page to see what animal he will run over next.
I'm not familiar with the first book, "Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg" but it doesn't take away from this episode.
Colorful illustrations done digitally in acrylic & colored pencil. It takes great skill to make animals look realistic in a funny story like this one.
I got a chuckle out of the catalog title: "Kit N. Kaboodle & Co.".

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Cowpoke Clyde sees an advertisement to buy a bicycle, he decides to try one out. They are easier to take care of than a horse (“It wouldn’t eat. It wouldn’t stray. It wouldn’t buck or bite or neigh!) and it looks like it might be fun. Cowpoke Clyde is in for a real wild ride.

The text is rhymed, written in the dialect of a cowpoke. So fun to read aloud, with ellipsis before you turn the page so the reader can try to guess what’s going to happen next. A great lesson on persistence.

crossposted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fun easy read for younger children that is about a cowboy riding a bike and what he sees while riding his bike. Its written with goofy words and slang that might get the attention of younger readers. It also has great illustrations and is fun to look through as a picture book as well.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book, and it will be good for storytimes (that break before the animal is revealed is a great one for kids to guess the rhyme!). The pictures are very detailed, which is not *as* ideal for a storytime situation, but it's still clear enough to see what's going on, and the story is pretty funny.

[Michelle Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This will make a fun read a loud to the camp kids I read to at work. :) I loved the illustrations!

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very cute story in rhyme about a cowboy breakin' in a bicycle.

The illustrations were beautiful and funny.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun rhymes, but I didn't love the illustrations, they lacked a certain sense of whimsy I felt the story needed.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cowboy Clyde learns to ride a bicycle.

[Rebecca Gomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite a few bumps in the meter, this book is just plain fun! Love the cowpoke voice.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book that begs to be read aloud.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the dialect and the playful characters.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh-out-loud fun! Cleverly written.