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Uncle Bill #3
In the saddle with Uncle Bill
While visiting their Uncle Bill on his ranch, two city kids learn the ways of the western range.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1935
16 people want to read
About the author
Will James
141 books38 followersWill James (1892-1942), artist and writer of the American West, was born Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault. It was during his creative years everyone grew to know him as Will James. During the next several years, he drifted, worked at several jobs, was briefly jailed for cattle rustling, served in the army, and began selling his sketches and in 1922 sold his first writing, Bucking Horse Riders. The sale of several books followed.
An artist and author of books about the American west and, in particular, horses, Will James wrote the 1926 book "Smoky the Cowhorse". It was awarded the John Newbery Medal in 1927, and remains in print to this day. Several movie adaptations of the story have been created, including a 1933 version that included Will James himself as the narrator.
His fictionalized autobiography, Lone Cowboy, was written in 1930. He also wrote Home Ranch (1935) and he wrote his last book, The American Cowboy, in 1942. In all, he wrote and illustrated 23 books.
In 1991, Will James was named a member of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.
An artist and author of books about the American west and, in particular, horses, Will James wrote the 1926 book "Smoky the Cowhorse". It was awarded the John Newbery Medal in 1927, and remains in print to this day. Several movie adaptations of the story have been created, including a 1933 version that included Will James himself as the narrator.
His fictionalized autobiography, Lone Cowboy, was written in 1930. He also wrote Home Ranch (1935) and he wrote his last book, The American Cowboy, in 1942. In all, he wrote and illustrated 23 books.
In 1991, Will James was named a member of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 1, 2018
What a charming book. I read this as a child and fondly return to it once in a while when I'm feeling nostalgic. It captures something intangible - the experience of living out in the country and rounding up cattle, where kids spend their time running wild on the range instead of inside watching TV. There's a degree of freedom that the young protagonists are allowed that causes the reader to dream; they end up on all kinds of adventures, the largest one being their summer with the quirky and stoic Uncle Bill. The experience of reading it is certainly unusual because it is so far removed from the modern experience and even modern literature, but the spirit that it captures makes it all worthwhile.
Displaying 1 of 1 review