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Dexter
Book by Bulla, Clyde Robert
- GenresChildrens
68 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
About the author
Clyde Robert Bulla
109 books106 followersBorn to be a Writer
Almost as far back as he can remember, Clyde Robert Bulla wanted to write. Born on a farm in a small town in Missouri, Mr. Bulla's first school was a one-room country schoolhouse. One day his teacher asked each first grade student what he or she would do with a thousand dollars. Young Clyde answered that he would buy a table. His classmates laughed heartily, and his teacher was puzzled. “What I really meant,” says Mr. Bulla, “is a desk or other flat surface on which to write my stories!”
First Stories
Mr. Bulla's first piece of writing was titled, “How Planets Were Born.” The ambitious opening sentence was, “One night old Mother Moon had a million babies.” All through school, Mr. Bulla continued to write stories mostly, but plays and poetry, too. After years of gathering editor's rejection slips, Mr. Bulla sold a magazine story, then several more. Soon after, Mr. Bulla wrote a novel and a publisher accepted it.
The Difficult Years
In the excitement of publishing a novel, Mr. Bulla wrote two more books. Unfortunately, no one wanted to publish them. His luck took a turn for the worse when the publisher of his first book went bankrupt. For several years, he worked at a local weekly newspaper where he struggled with linotype, kept books, collected bills, and wrote a weekly column.
Success!
A couple of Mr. Bulla's weekly columns caught the attention of a well-known author and illustrator of children's books. She wrote to Mr. Bulla, suggesting that he try writing a children's book. He immediately sent her a manuscript for a children's book he'd written a year before. Within one week, an editor of a New York publisher read the manuscript,and it was accepted. The book was The Donkey Cart, published in 1946. Since then, Mr. Bulla has written over twenty books for children, as well as the music for several children's song books.
About The Chalk Box Kid
“When I was young,” explains Mr. Bulla, “I sometimes found it hard to cope in new surroundings, and I was apt to get off on the wrong foot. This is the story of a boy who got off on the wrong foot in a new school and how he tried to cope.” In describing the chalk garden, Mr. Bulla says, “I gave Gregory something I've always wished for: a big, blank wall that I could cover with my own drawings.”
Almost as far back as he can remember, Clyde Robert Bulla wanted to write. Born on a farm in a small town in Missouri, Mr. Bulla's first school was a one-room country schoolhouse. One day his teacher asked each first grade student what he or she would do with a thousand dollars. Young Clyde answered that he would buy a table. His classmates laughed heartily, and his teacher was puzzled. “What I really meant,” says Mr. Bulla, “is a desk or other flat surface on which to write my stories!”
First Stories
Mr. Bulla's first piece of writing was titled, “How Planets Were Born.” The ambitious opening sentence was, “One night old Mother Moon had a million babies.” All through school, Mr. Bulla continued to write stories mostly, but plays and poetry, too. After years of gathering editor's rejection slips, Mr. Bulla sold a magazine story, then several more. Soon after, Mr. Bulla wrote a novel and a publisher accepted it.
The Difficult Years
In the excitement of publishing a novel, Mr. Bulla wrote two more books. Unfortunately, no one wanted to publish them. His luck took a turn for the worse when the publisher of his first book went bankrupt. For several years, he worked at a local weekly newspaper where he struggled with linotype, kept books, collected bills, and wrote a weekly column.
Success!
A couple of Mr. Bulla's weekly columns caught the attention of a well-known author and illustrator of children's books. She wrote to Mr. Bulla, suggesting that he try writing a children's book. He immediately sent her a manuscript for a children's book he'd written a year before. Within one week, an editor of a New York publisher read the manuscript,and it was accepted. The book was The Donkey Cart, published in 1946. Since then, Mr. Bulla has written over twenty books for children, as well as the music for several children's song books.
About The Chalk Box Kid
“When I was young,” explains Mr. Bulla, “I sometimes found it hard to cope in new surroundings, and I was apt to get off on the wrong foot. This is the story of a boy who got off on the wrong foot in a new school and how he tried to cope.” In describing the chalk garden, Mr. Bulla says, “I gave Gregory something I've always wished for: a big, blank wall that I could cover with my own drawings.”
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 31, 2008
I loved this book. I went through a period of time when all I would read was horse books, so naturally I checked this out at the library and fell in love with it. Not sure about the cover, as mine had a horse and boy on the cover, but if its the same book, its worth picking up if you can find it.
Its about a boy who makes friends with a boy who is in the circus with his family and his horse, Dexter. As the winter comes, Dexter breaks out of his stall and takes off into the woods and the boy is forced to leave without his beloved gelding so his friend agrees that if he finds Dex, he will care for him until they return. Needless to say, it is awhile until the horse is found; bony, matted and in need of care. It teaches that sometimes you need to keep your promises even when it was difficult to and you will be rewarded in ways that you don't even think of. All in all, a wonderful book to curl up with after school or with a child to read together.
Its about a boy who makes friends with a boy who is in the circus with his family and his horse, Dexter. As the winter comes, Dexter breaks out of his stall and takes off into the woods and the boy is forced to leave without his beloved gelding so his friend agrees that if he finds Dex, he will care for him until they return. Needless to say, it is awhile until the horse is found; bony, matted and in need of care. It teaches that sometimes you need to keep your promises even when it was difficult to and you will be rewarded in ways that you don't even think of. All in all, a wonderful book to curl up with after school or with a child to read together.
August 16, 2023
Very quick read, but not lightweight in terms of emotional content. This centers on the friendship of two boys (one new to the area), their love of an Indian pony, and the relationship of local families, et al. to the outsider family. Not everything is rosy.
Bulla is a great writer who had a wide range of talents and interests. This is maybe not as traumatic as something like Bridge to Terabithia, but it has something of the same flavor. Sensitive readers will appreciate it.
Bulla is a great writer who had a wide range of talents and interests. This is maybe not as traumatic as something like Bridge to Terabithia, but it has something of the same flavor. Sensitive readers will appreciate it.
September 24, 2023
Someone recently suggested this book to me and since Bulla wrote one of my favorite books when I was a kid (The Ghost of Windy Hill) I found a used copy and gave my night over to reading this one. It is not an easy read. It is dark and rather hopeless and it makes nearly every person in the book appear to be shallow, close-minded, and unkind. I guess you could call the ending a happy ending but I did not come away from this one feeling anything positive. It is well written and I am sure that such a story could totally happen but it left me feeling lonely and empty. If I were reading this with a youngster there would be a lot to discuss and there is plenty of opportunity for life lessons in the actions of the characters but it was not what I wanted or needed at the moment.
April 13, 2026
2 stars -- This is so unlike me, but I think this is a horrible book. The people aren't nice. The lawyer is horrid. The sheriff is dumb. Dexter is mistreated and neglected. Dave Weber, the main character, is the only responsible one, and as a 12- to 13-year-old, he sets an example that even his parents could follow. I don't know. I just don't get it. Dave goes through a lot, and while the story has a positive ending, I was too frustrated to care. #25 in the 2026 Search & Purge, it has no checkouts & is at no other library, district or public. Farewell.
December 23, 2024
I found this book kind of depressing. The author was attempting to call out prejudice (not even racial prejudice, just prejudice against anyone who is an outsider or different). He did a good job in his portrayal, but I found his resolution was quite incomplete. I know that's true to real life, but I would have enjoyed it more had he written the ending of the book differently.
October 30, 2026
Look, Take Care of Dexter is the kind of book that sounds boring on paper and turns out to be impossible to put down. Clyde Robert Bulla makes the small stuff feel like life or death, no fluff, no filler. A couple of chapters circle the drain, but the good ones are great. Perfect for people who like quiet stakes, skip it if you need explosions.
May 6, 2016
There are a lot of bad books out there. I know that may surprise you, Gentle Readers, but it's true. In your lifetime, the odds of you reading more bad books than good books are really high. I estimate that I've read about 10,000 books, and at least 85% of them sucked.
This is why I keep going back to the books of my youth, often the Scholastic Weekly Reader days, to read a great book to help repair the mental damage done by a book that sucked. "Take Care of Dexter", original title Dexter, is just such a book. In fact, I missed my childhood copy so much that I bought a replacement.
I've only read about seven Clyde Robert Bullas, but this is far and away the best book of the bunch. In racing terms, this book laps the field.
There's lot going on in this book. For a children's book, it's complicated. I think I was seven when I first got this. I did not understand everything that was going on, so I just concentrated on Dexter the pinto. He's the A plot, but still that A plot was enough to keep me satisfied.
As I got older and read the book again and again and again, I understood more of the other plots. The book was sitting there waiting for me to figure it out, finding little Easter eggs here and there.
I'm a conissour of horse books. This is right up there with The Black Stallion. It's actually more complex than The Black Stallion. Dexter is a frigging legend.
This is why I keep going back to the books of my youth, often the Scholastic Weekly Reader days, to read a great book to help repair the mental damage done by a book that sucked. "Take Care of Dexter", original title Dexter, is just such a book. In fact, I missed my childhood copy so much that I bought a replacement.
I've only read about seven Clyde Robert Bullas, but this is far and away the best book of the bunch. In racing terms, this book laps the field.
There's lot going on in this book. For a children's book, it's complicated. I think I was seven when I first got this. I did not understand everything that was going on, so I just concentrated on Dexter the pinto. He's the A plot, but still that A plot was enough to keep me satisfied.
As I got older and read the book again and again and again, I understood more of the other plots. The book was sitting there waiting for me to figure it out, finding little Easter eggs here and there.
I'm a conissour of horse books. This is right up there with The Black Stallion. It's actually more complex than The Black Stallion. Dexter is a frigging legend.
August 10, 2014
Dave is excited when he hears that a new family is moving into the old Temple place; there are two men, a woman, a boy, and a spotted horse. One day, Dave walks by the farm's pasture hoping to see the horse or the boy. All of a sudden, they both appear. As Dave jumps to get out of the way, he falls and hurts his hand. Alex takes Dave up to the farm house where Alex's mother cleans his wound. From then on, Alex and Dave are good friends. Dave learns that Alex's family used to be circus performers. An accident on the trapeze caused Alex's father and uncle to retire. Uncle Arvin sustained a head injury. After they come to the farm, Uncle Arvin’s behavior becomes more and more erratic. Finally he evicts the rest of his family from the farm. In the ensuing chaos, Dexter, the horse, is injured. Alex leaves the farm thinking that his horse is dead, but he isn’t. Dave finds Dexter and takes care of him through the winter until Alex can come back for to claim him.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
January 5, 2015
Anyway this is another vintage book that has survived the times of my youth. Although having read it a few times when I was younger it was a book that haunted the edges of my thought and even though I couldn't truly remember the story much it has stayed with me throughout all this time. And as a result I have been blessed to read it while I think it is one of those books that grows on you throughout time.
Due to its age the book may not be for everyone. The writing is simple, easy to understand and follow while there doesn't seem to be much of a storyline. And yet it is the emotional depth of the story that now reaches me while holding my heart. It is a story of bypassing familiar boundaries, of survival, of fighting for what is right even when you stand alone and to continue to be there for one who doesn't seem to have the odds in their favor whether they are right besides you or gone from your eyes.
It is truly a gem that has stood the times even though it won't hit the Classics mark....
Due to its age the book may not be for everyone. The writing is simple, easy to understand and follow while there doesn't seem to be much of a storyline. And yet it is the emotional depth of the story that now reaches me while holding my heart. It is a story of bypassing familiar boundaries, of survival, of fighting for what is right even when you stand alone and to continue to be there for one who doesn't seem to have the odds in their favor whether they are right besides you or gone from your eyes.
It is truly a gem that has stood the times even though it won't hit the Classics mark....
December 1, 2015
A very quick read and an unusual story. A lot of time passes in this slender volume. A story about being different, friendship and loyalty. A strong young boy as the central character. I was disappointed in the parents. The child seemed to have more heart than they did. They weren't much of an example.
April 26, 2015
my daughter's book.
September 15, 2007
Not sure what's going on in the cover art they show here. . . my copy just had a horse on it.
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September 18, 2007Bulla, Clyde Robert
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews