Pecos Bill

by Brian Gleeson (Adaptation), Tim Raglin (Illustrator)

Take a rollicking ride through the Wild West with the original cowboy, Pecos Bill. Raised by coyotes to brave the great frontier, Pecos rides his wild mustang Widow Maker and invents the first rough-and-tumble cattle drive. Then he mounts a runaway cyclone like a buckin' bronco to create the Great Salt Lake. Rich in language, imagery, and sheer nonsensical fun, Pecos Bill is a fast and furious fantasy your family is sure to enjoy.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Audiobook, Fiction

36 pages, Library Binding

First published November 1, 1988

Reviews

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 80’s Rabbit Ears had made their trademark as one of the most popular series for children. “Pecos Bill” is no exception as this story won numerous Grammy Awards. With Robin Williams’ narration, Tim Raglin’s drawings, and Ry Cooder’s music, “Pecos Bill” is surely a story you will want to watch over and over again.

Robin Williams’ narration, Ry Cooder’s music and Tim Raglin’s illustrations are the true highlights of this story. First off, Robin Williams narrates with high-energy and a cowboy accent to boot. Whenever, Pecos Bill goes through any peril, Robin Williams is loud and excited about the situation as if he was there when Bill performed these spectacular acts. Next on the list is Ry Cooder’s country music. Ry Cooder’s solo guitar performance has provided the perfect mood for the story, going from a light and happy tune highlighting Pecos Bill’s early adventures to dark and intense when Pecos Bill goes against the cyclone, which Cooder’s music may have foreshadowed Pecos Bill’s disappearance from Texas in this scene. Finally, Tim Raglin’s colorful illustrations have greatly influence the mood of this story. Raglin’s drawings are colorful and rich as he greatly details the plains and the cyclone in fluent colors. Raglin also illustrates Pecos Bill’s life in a humorous way, such as, the scene where Pecos Bill is shown throwing around the rattlesnake like a lasso. Tim Raglin’s highlighted illustration was of Pecos Bill himself, as Pecos Bill is drawn with white, fluffy pants, a polka-dotted handkerchief, and suave red hair that make him have the appearance of a true hero.

“Pecos Bill” was considered to be Rabbit Ears finest half-hour story. Well, I think that they were right about that. “Pecos Bill” has everything that you would expect from a natural cowboy movie. The story has loads of adventure, comedy, romance, and suspense and each scene describing these genres is greatly enhanced by the narration, drawings and illustrations. “Pecos Bill” is loads of laughs and shocks and is a perfect film for the entire family.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know that Pecos Bill, a cowboy who was half coyote, started the first cattle drive, used the first lariat, and tamed the first wild mustang. Pecos Bill loved to howl at the moon, eat beans, and ride twisters (on his favorite tornado-riding adventure he dug out the Grand Canyon!).

With tons of tongue-in-cheek humor and humorous, colorful illustrations, Pecos Bill by Brian Gleeson is a great addition to a tall tales collection.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robin Williams delivers a hilarious recording of this lively tall tale. It is many years since I listened to it, but I can still hear his voice in my head reading key passages. Now that's memorable!

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great version of the tall-tale. Bill was raised as a coyote, but since Texicans and coyotes speak essentially the same language he lived fine as a cowboy. He invents the cattle drive as they lead a herd of cattle to Kansas. He finds his true love, Slew-Foot Sue, riding a 53-foot catfish up the Rio Grande. He then lassoes a tornado that flies him across the country before they disappear.

As this story is told by Robin Williams, whom we know as the inventor of much of his scripts in movies, it makes the listener wonder how much of this fantastic tale was invented as he told the tall-tale.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers an entertaining look at the life of an American folk hero - Pecos Bill. The narrative is a bit long, and I was tired, so we broke up reading the book over two nights. But otherwise, we were fascinated by the tall tales and the descriptions of life on the prairie. The illustrations are colorful and complement the story nicely. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Lyndsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this as a child. The illustrations are vivid and wonderfully creative. Robin Williams reads along on a cassette. He is perfectly hilarious. This is the kind of story told in just the right way to make you love and and appreciate good storytelling.

[Ashley B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tale of a great cowboy who tamed the Wild West. This cowboy was named Pecos Bill and he started the first ever cattle drive and other things cowboys do today. Pecos Bill was raised by wolves, but a cowboy found him and changed him into the legendary cowboy he is today. Pecos Bill worked hard with other cowboys to move the cattle to another ranch and along the way he met the woman of his dreams. The story goes on to tell the tale of his wonderful adventures and how he ended up living among the stars. This is a great book for kids who like cowboys and/or anything to do with the Wild West.

[Kaci Beesecker]

Take a rollicking ride through the Wild, Wild West with the original cowboy, Pecos Bill. Raised by coyotes to brave the great frontier, Pecos rides his wild mustang Widow-Maker and invents the first rough-and-tumble cattle drive. Then he mounts a runaway cyclone like a buckin' bronco to create the Great Salt Lake.

This book could be a good book to use when teaching about tall tales. Have the students read multiple tall tales, and then have them fill out different graphic organizers to answer the questions about the book.

[Hannah]

The Story of Pecos Bill and his life in the Wild West. Is full of dramatization including the fact that Pecos Bill grew up with a family of Coyotes and thought he was a Coyote. Bill goes on many wild tall tale adventures and it ends when Bill and Sally wrangle a tornado together and ride it to the heavens. This would be a good book for the kids to pick a dramatization and tell why it is a dramatization and create their own.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember having a teacher read this book to our class when I was in elementary school. This is about a cowboy who was raised by a pack of wolves until another cowboy came along to take care of him. Pecos Bill is now known as a legendary cowboys. He spent a lot of time working on ranches with his cattle. This book is full of adventure, and I think it would be a great book to share with kids.

[Billy Noecker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tale of a young boy raises by wolves who is discovered by a cowboy and soon finds himself being a cowboy himself, with his snake rope and trusty steed. There is nothing he wont tackle until he finds himself face to face with a mighty twister. Will Pecos Bill be able to rope the tornado? Great story for kids. Full of adventure and a great message. I highly recommend this book.

[Michael Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible:
The sole reason I purchased this book was because Robin Williams was the narrator. his performance was not a let down I give it five star! I know, I know the story itself is a children's book but I didn't find it quite as appealing as I used too. but I still gave the story a four-star it was good.

[Nathaniel Buffington]

A American legend about a larger than life character and his persistence and endurance. This book is great at teaching students about myths and legends, and how those legends aren't just overseas from Europe or Asia.

[Breyanna Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book presents the tall tale about one of America's favorite heroes, Pecos Bill. The story explains to the readers that if it wasn't for Pecos Bill, there would be no Wild West.

[emyrose8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read a Pecos Bill story in a while, but this one fits my memory. Note he 'dies' in the end/goes up in the clouds and isn't on earth any more.

[Talon Roseland · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my traditional literature book I chose Pecos Bill. This book would be great for younger kids as it is a tall tale. You could read this book when you are talking about the wild west and the history of cowboys. Their is no content concerns in this book. Pecos bill is the rankest cowboy that ever lived and could do anything anyone could do and more.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great legend, not quite a great treatment.

[Lorraine Der]

Library Catalog

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gift to crw.
Gift baby H.
Gift baby B.

[sch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read-aloud for the kids.