The Rough-riding Adventure of Bronco Charlie, Pony Express Rider

History's Kid Heroes

by Marlene Targ Brill

On a ranch in California . . . a boy dreams of becoming a pony express rider.

California, early 1860s. Julius loves horses so much that he leaves his job as a sailor to work on a ranch. He is so good at taming horses that the other men at the ranch call him Bronco Charlie. He wants to become a pony express rider, but everyone tells him he’s too young. When a pony express horse gallops into town without its rider, Charlie volunteers to take his place. Can Charlie deliver the mail and prove his worth as a rider?

32 pages, Library Binding

First published July 1, 2010

Reviews

[Lucy Takeda]

I taught 4th grade in California, so the Pony Express intrigues me. This is an okay graphic novel . I didn’t find it very compelling.

[Nick]

This graphic novel for kids is the tru-ish story of the youngest rider of the Pony Express. Because the stories he told to others over the years included at least some exaggerations, this tale is compiled from a variety of sources, but it includes factual information about the Pony Express. As a company, it was a financial failure which only existed for a couple of years, but its impact on U.S. history and the American imagination is much larger.
As an example of a boy who did a lot through sheer determination, this is a great story...on the other hand, I'm not sure I would encourage kids to follow his example, since he also ran away from home at the age of 9, apparently because he wanted to be a cowboy instead of a sailor.