Cowboy Baby

by Sue Heap

Sheriff Pa says it's bedtime. But Cowboy Baby won't go to bed without his toys, Texas Ted, Denver Dog and Hank the Horse. No sirree! So off he goes to find them. But when he's rounded up his gang, Cowboy Baby decides he doesn't want to go home...Offering a whole new storytelling experience, this picture book and DVD edition features a charming story animation, narrated by Kevin Whately. Running approximately 5 minutes.

Genres: Picture Books, Westerns, Childrens

Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Sue Heap has illustrated many books for children, including the New York Times best-selling How To Be a Baby, by Me, the Big Sister by Sally Lloyd-Jones. She is also the author-illustrator of Danny's Drawing Book and the illustrator of Polly's Pink Pajamas by Vivian French. Sue Heap lives in England.

Reviews

[Miss Sarah]

A young toddler and his toys play cowboy for the daya nd then dad joins in. toddler and up

[Kimber Li]

Be sure to use your best Texan accent when reading this one to your little ones!

[Liz]

Nice illustrations and a cute story.

[Neh]

My kid and I love this book. A simple but lovely story.

[Josh Sonii]

This book is about a child that want to go find his friends Texas Ted, Denver Dog, and Hank the Horse. He dad wants him to go to bed but he can not go without his friends. Cowboy baby got dressed up and then went to go search for them. He found them extremely quick but he did not want to go to bed yet. Cowboy baby and his friends decided to hide so that they would not have to go home. They hide behind the tall grass then ran behind a cactus. He father looked and looked but could not find him anywhere. He decided to offer him a deal. He said if you come out I will have a surprise for you. Cowboy baby jumped into his dad arms with his friends then took out his rope. Is he really going to give them a surprise or is he going to tie them up and take them home?

This is an entertaining story that shows how much imagination kids have. I feel like you have to read this book with a western cowboy voice because everyone is in cowboy outfits. They are also in a cowboy type environment with cactuses and dirt everywhere. The beginning reminds me of Toys Story because there are a bunch of toys hiding behind cactuses like they are alive on the front cover page. I thought it was interesting that his dad put on a cowboy costume too just for his son. This story teaches children that anything can be fun with a little imagination. It also teaches children that if they loose something they can go look for it instead of going to bed. I feel like in a lot of children books they have a good lesson and a bad lesson also, but if the parent explains it then they should be fine. Children never really understand the bad lesson anyway and if they do they parents will usually explain to them why it is bad. I also thought it was a little strange that the father lost his son in the desert. I guess every parent loses their child every once in a while.

The illustrations where very good and a few of the pages reminded me of Toys Story. The animals seem to change size on one page when they are by themselves. I also thing that they have a farm or something because there are baby chicks near Texas Ted when he is found. The illustrator also shows the change in time through the sky. The sky goes from blue to a sunset color to a dark star lit night.I also noticed that there where other toys hiding behind the cactuses on the cover. That makes me wonder if he leaves other toys outside or if he only really cares about his favorite ones. On the very last page of the book the horse is looking out the window as if he misses somebody or something. Maybe he just like to be free in the wild like all of the real horses. This book is a great book to read to your child. I think it will show them how imagination can make normal things fun.

[Olivia Lindner]

Meet cowboy baby! In this fun story cowboy baby rounds up all his toys, Texas Ted, Denver dog, and Hank the horse. He rounds all of them up in very adventurous ways making it a fun read. After he finds all his toys he plays hide and seek with his dad Sheriff Pa. After his dad found him he threw his lasso up in the sky and got a star for cowboy baby he pinned the star on cowboy baby and said "now you're my deputy". After that him and all his toys went down for bed. This story is full of imagination and adventure. It's a fun read for kids. The illustrations are very colorful and make it a very easy page turner.

[Rebecca]

Any book that requires a western accent gets at least three stars in our neck of the woods, at least for the giggles that can bring. Little cowboy baby needs to go to bed, but first he must find his friends Denver Dog, Hank the Horse, and Texas Ted. When he just doesn't want to go to bed, Sherrif Pa lassoes up a star from the skies for him so he can be his deputy and then carries him off to bed.

[Breana Fitzgerald]

This book is about a baby that is getting ready for bed, but cannot find his bedtime buddies. He goes out to hunt for them, finds them, and hides from "sheriff pa." The baby's dad finds him and surprises him by making him his deputy. This is a good book to keep in my classroom library. It is a good bonding father and son type of book. This book is for younger kids. It has really nice illustrations.

[Library Quine]

An imaginative tale about a 'cowboy' baby and his extended bedtime routine. Lots of fun (if stereotypical) Western vocabulary. Nice to see that it is Dad (Sheriff Pa) who is doing the rounding up!
Awards:
Smarties Prize Gold Award (1998)

[Molly]

Cowboy Baby can't go to bed without his trusty sidekicks.

This is a good choice for young toddler storytime.

[Gilbert]

One of Mommy's favorite bedtime books set in the wild west.

[Bvlmc Buchanan Verplanck Elementary School]

This repetitive, cumulative tale chronicles a toddler’s attempt to delay bedtime as he searches for his stuffed animals and plays hide and seek with his father.

[Joseph Pomatto]

Has a good story that would catch the kids attention and would be able to keep their attention

[Jess]

July 2016 - Ben really liked this one - the hide and seek stuff, the star, and just saying "cowboy baby" over and over.

[Olson Family Matters]

REALLY cute book. Madelyn loved it. Fun "bedtime" book.