The Case of the Haystack Kitties

Hank the Cowdog #30

by John R. Erickson, Gerald L. Holmes (Illustrator)

Hank has his paws full when he discovers a mother cat and six kittens trespassing in a haystack on his very own ranch. (Have we mentioned cowdogs don’t like cats?) Join Hank as he is trapped in a runaway pickup, surrounded by a herd of stray cats, and forced to battle a raging bull. Can Hank stop the cats from taking over his ranch?

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Mystery, Animals, Adventure, Young Adult, Juvenile

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

John R. Erickson, a former cowboy and ranch manager, is gifted with a storyteller's knack for spinning a yarn. Through the eyes of Hank the Cowdog, a smelly, smart-aleck Head of Ranch Security, Erickson gives readers a glimpse of daily life on a ranch in the West Texas Panhandle. This series of books and tapes is in school libraries across the country, has sold more than 7.6 million copies, is a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and is the winner of the 1993 Audie for Outstanding Children's Series from the Audio Publisher's Association. Publishers Weekly calls Hank a "grassroots publishing phenomena," and USA Today says this is "the best family entertainment in years."

Hank the Cowdog made his debut in the pages of The Cattleman, a magazine for adults, and when Erickson started getting "Dear Hank" letters, he knew he was onto something. So in 1983, he self-published 2,000 copies of The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, and they sold out in 6 weeks.

When teachers began inviting Erickson to their schools, Hank found his most eager fans. Teachers, librarians, and students alike love Hank. According to some Texas Library Association surveys, the Hank the Cowdog books are the most popular selections in many libraries' children's sections. The lively characters make excellent material for reading and writing lessons, and turn even the most reluctant readers into avid Hank-fans.

Erickson was born in Midland, Texas, but by the age of 3, he had moved with his family to Perryton, Texas, where he and his wife live today on their working cattle ranch. They have 3 grown children and 4 grandchildren. His advice to young writers is, "Write about something you know. Try to leave your readers better off than they were before."

Reviews

[Curtis Edmonds]

I have read a lot of the Hank the Cowdog books. Read them out loud, I mean, to my kids. I grew up in Texas but live in New Jersey, where my kids don't have really any sort of accent, but I have one, and it gets, well, a lot more intense when I read in Hank's voice. (I tend to make Hank's sidekick, Drover, sound like my Aunt Beverly, don't know why.)

Anyway, you could spend a lot of time, if you wanted to, going through the Hank the Cowdog books, and ranking them, and that would be a pointless exercise, and I won't do it. But I always like the ones that focus on the lazy bachelor cowboy Slim Chance, and this one does, in spades. Slim's reaction to what a frightened Hank does while trapped in the cab of a runaway Ford pickup may be the highlight of the series. Highly recommended.

[Sheryl Barfield]

fun and cool

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[Nick]

Hank is funny. I love his narrative style. He would be a great subject for unreliable narrator and voice.

[Faith]

Never fails to have me in absolute stitches of laughter, great clean western read for the whole family.

[Angieluila Bradley]

So funny. I love this one. It makes us laugh so hard. It is not one I own but I will soon.

[Ilena Holder]

Another fine "Hank" book. I get emotional when I think of this book because I cried while reading this.

[Connie Welsh]

Cute story. My grandson will love this when this when we can see him again!

[Levi W. A.]

I would give it 75% out of 100%. 📚

[Kyli Kropf]

Gooc first chapter book.

Read this to my four year old and two year old. Great first chapter book for kids. I enjoyed the play on words in the story.

[Loren]

Audio

[Rae]

I love this series! And this book is one of my favorites. There usually is an element of real life in them that is perfectly combined with with how life is actually kind of hilarious if you look for it. For this book the whole Hank stuck in a moving truck and his reaction was the example that stuck out. Dogs can do some crazy things, and sometimes you have to stop and make sure you weren’t what caused the crazy that time. Plus, it’s a lot more fun to laugh at the chaos than cry or get mad.

[Carrie Rolph]

Hank experiences a life and death situation while riding in the pickup in the north pasture, and is left to guard the haystack from a mean (and possibly stupid) bull. Hank's delusions about being the head of ranch security are always entertaining, but Drover and Slim are still my favorites.

[Darryl Cole]

I read pretty much this entire series years ago after I descovered them in my elementary school libary. The plot, and characters are great. Plus these books are extremly funny. I loved this series then and I still love it.

[Wordwizard]

Good ol' Hank is a big old softie.

This is one of four Hank books Blake doesn't have, and it's his FAVORITE. Mom got it for him as a half-birthday present and he was delighted. I read it the next morning over breakfast.

[Linda Rowland]

Liked just a little less than others.

[Suzanne]

We always enjoy Hank's adventures. They are a great real-world. This one was no different, it made us giggle like the rest.

[M Harris]

I enjoy reading Hank for pleasure-- it's humorous, enjoyable, and this one is a fun story with the cats.

[Avery]

This might be my favorite Hank the Cowdog!