It's a Dog's Life

Hank the Cowdog #3

by John R. Erickson, Tom Hair (Designed by)

Duped into thinking the world is coming to an end, Hank the Cowdog winds up in town for some more adventures including getting in and out of a case of "soap hydrophobia."

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Animals, Humor, Adventure, Mystery, Comedy

136 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

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

[Sheyda · Rating 2 out of 5]

اینو دوستم بهم امانت داده بود و بالاخره بعد چندین ماه به تعویق انداختن، تو طبیعت خوندمش 🥰
قلم و طنز خوبی داره اما کاملا کودک‌پسنده.

[Mohammad reza khorasanizadeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

از جلدای قشنگ مجموعه هنک سگ گاوچران. هنک سگ خنگ و تنبلی که یجاهایی خودش رو نشون میده و کارای مهمی میکنه

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really really really funny. Recommended to everyone who likes comedy.

[Walt Portillo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one isn’t going to make it to Walt jr.’s or Meg jr.’s Goodreads.

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I enjoyed the first two Hank the Cowdog books, though I haven't read them in years. This one was okay, though I didn't think the story was as good as the others. There were still some amusing moments, usually involving Hank "talking big" without having a clue what's going on (which might go over the heads of some kids, but oh well).

But I was having a rough week and wanted something to read that was fairly mindless and uncomplicated, so this worked well enough for that purpose.

Update: I think the kids liked this one as well as the others.

[Tayebe Ej · Rating 3 out of 5]

طنز خوبی داشت و سرگرم‌کننده بود

[Rob Lund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a hoot to read these!

[Carol Bakker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have fond memories of reading/listening to Hank the Cowdog 25 years ago. This was good enough to like, but not to rave over. There is a lot of Hank talking smack, dogs vs. cats, word play, and funny tight spots.

[Amirhossein Moharramkhani · Rating 3 out of 5]

خاطرات مبهمی ازش دارم، ولی نسبتاً شیرین. یکی از کتابهای مطالعه شده در دوران کودکی

[Daniel Godfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found three Hank the Cowdog books, but didn't find #2. This is the third installment. (May fill myself in through the library.) In this one, Hank gets into trouble at the ranch and ducks off into town to meet his sister Maggie.

I wouldn't have remembered what was in this one from the title and cover alone. But as I read it I would remember parts from the audiobook. (I rarely do things twice: If I heard the audiobook, I probably didn't ever read it.) I think it was one of the ones we heard with our TX grandmother; it's surprising to me how many audiobooks I remember hearing with her, because it doesn't feel like we drove around with her that much.

Curiously, this one reminds me of our NM grandmother too. Mostly because there's a label at the end of the book that says it's from her personal library. (As a gift, she gave my older brother and me The Way Life Works by Hoagland and Dodson with the same label but our names.) It was with the others, so at first I thought it might have been from the same folks (also Texans?) we got those two from. Now I think it might have been with a bunch of books she gave us not long before we moved. We also read Goosebumps and we got the one about the Blob (#55) from her this way, as I recall.

The biggest reason, though, was because our NM grandmother also has a sister named Margaret. And the relationship between Hank and his sister was a very intriguing part of the book to me. Hank's looking for a place to lay low until things blow over at the ranch. (He was executing a stealth mission in the ranch house when he accidentally ate their steaks.) So he meets up with his sister Maggie, who found a family to live with who was closer to town but still on the outskirts. Maggie left because she didn't like ranch living, and she sends her four pups to obedience school. The book doesn't describe in detail how Hank and Maggie grew up, but you get the sense that life was a lot like Hank is living his now. How exactly Hank's relationship with Maggie is doing is unclear to me from this book.

Hank is very optimistic about Maggie allowing him to stay with her, although Maggie is noticeably less enthused. The matter is settled when Maggie's children want to spend time with their Uncle Hank. Maggie needs to lie down, so Hank takes care of the kids. By digging through the trash cans and getting into fights with local cats. So when they come back, Maggie feeds Hank a special Ivory dog bar. Ivory, like the soap... exactly like the soap!

Which makes sense, since not only had Hank (and Maggie's daughters) been digging through trash earlier but Hank also likes to bathe in the sewer down at the ranch, as he has always done. (And apparently as Hank made Maggie do at least once, when they were pups.) So does Maggie not want Hank to stay because of his backward ranch-life ways? Because of Hank's knack for getting into trouble? Being a bad influence on the children? Are/were her feelings toward Hank not as fond as his for her? All of the above? Other?

One would hope the relationship isn't a bad one! The soap causes Hank to foam at the mouth, which the dogcatcher of Twitchell takes for rabies. When caught, Hank is sent to the local pound where he is told he will be decapitated and his head sent to a lab for rabies testing. (Did Maggie know about this? In my opinion, Hank hadn't been that bad a doghouseguest!) But at the pound Hank meets sleepy Ralph the basset hound who says he thinks the soap prank was just to get Hank to high-tail it out of there. I think Ralph is right.

Although I'd like to read more of the series to see if they talk more about the relationship. The feeling I got about it from here is that it was a lot like The Fox and the Hound, where two who grew up together find themselves taking separate paths through life's twists and turns. How was Hank so wrong about her feelings? Was he hopeful out of desperation? Was she someone different when he knew her, perhaps because she felt she had to be (e.g., to be obedient to their parents)? Maybe a little. Was Hank not paying enough attention? Maybe a little of that too. Maggie herself, like Hank, may not have realized how intensely she wanted out of ranch-life until she had lived in some other way. In life some bridges are built and some are crossed (when we get to them), some bridges are burned and some are mended.

I don't think either grandmother said anything about it, but I could see one or the other feeling like Maggie. My understanding is all four of my grandparents grew up in small towns, if not in the country. And they all tended to settle down in cities, not big ones but sizeable. Our TX grandmother said something in passing on my last visit about the young lady working the kayaks being from the town where she grew up...

I didn't know my NM grandmother read these. But the book does remind me of her too in little ways. The red cover especially: She had a red van; ruby is her birthstone; she has lived in Oklahoma, which has "red" in it when translated, and California, home of the redwood and the Golden Gate Bridge. I don't know if my NM grandfather read these. Given his collection of John Waynes and how I'm told he used to dress like a cowboy, he might like them.

Hank and Drover felt a little goofier in the beginning than they were in the first book. But the core of the book is pretty serious (although still light-hearted) as I've been saying. Even though Hank kind of shrugs off a moral at the end, proffering a "We shall return" sign-off instead at the end.

And Hank may actually have a much better vocabulary than I gave him credit for -- if he could just get the words right! -- if he means sprezzatura when he says to his fellow miscreant nephews and nieces: "I'm glad to see we have some spirit in this outfit, some of that good old cowdog spizzerinctum." (He may even be after a word I don't know!)

I liked the first one more and remembered it better. But this one is also very good.

[Courtney Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, this got one star because zero wasn't an option. I usually don't like to do easy-reader type books as read alouds or audio books because I want the kids to read them themselves. But every once in a while we do. We started Hank because Zeke picked it up at the library and I've heard it lauded as a book that really gets kids reading. This book is so freaking terrible that I'm not even sure I'd allow it as private reading material. I definitely won't ever be reading another myself.

1. Poor writing, poor story telling, poor character development...its plain not a good book.
2. Hank is not a hero. He's vain, stupid, and mean, even to his friends.
3. Blatant racism. I give books written several generations ago a pass but come on, this was written in the 80s.
4. Misspellings. I know its part of the "character" but honestly? Why are we having budding readers (and spellers) read misspelled words?

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Originally posted March, 2024)

✨🌷💐🌸 A note for my friends on here who are eyeing me, probably very disappointed in my taste...this series is the traditional read at my aunt and uncle's house, where my uncle reads it out loud and does all the voices, despite the fact that my siblings and I are all way above the traditional age for that. 🤣🤭 Personally, I am not a fan of this series, but hey, another book, right? 🤭 🌸💐🌷✨


Clean, silly, good for little boys and some girls! ☺️ About age six to nine, but there's definitely some flex.

Genres/tropes: Ranch life, dog life, siblings and family loyalty, detective life.

Content notes: a tad of mean-spiritedness, mostly in a rivalry between cats and dogs, if you'd count that as content. 🤭

[Way Eikleberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the bomb

[Esther Filbrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hank the Cowdog has become a family favorite in our household, and my 6-year-old sister, who loves animals, is a dedicated fan. She asked me to read this aloud to her, and before too long, we were both swept away in the story.

This is one of the first “early” books I’ve read about Hank. Most of the ones I’ve read or heard were from the 20s or 30s in the series, so it was interesting to go back in time, as it were, and see how Hank was in his early books. To my surprise, he didn’t stumble over his words quite as much as he does in later books (I love it when his English gets hopelessly mixed up!), but there is still a fair amount of a lack of wisdom in his choices.

Drover is still the same delightful, lovable Drover—perhaps a bit too wise for his own good, and definitely looked down upon by Hank. And when Hank goes to visit his sister…and especially the episode with the “Ivory Dog Bar”? Hilarious!

If you’re looking for a fun read aloud, be sure to pick this book up. It’s a gem, and I’m sure it won’t be the last one we read together before my sister is all grown up!

[Frank Theising · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It ain't the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of the fog in the dog"
- Hank the Cowdog

Most the reviews seem to like this entry in the series less than the others...for whatever reason, I thought it was the funniest thus far. After doing what dogs do when left unattended (in this case, eating steaks left out on the counter), Hank needs to lay low for a while and heads into town to visit his prim and proper sister. I found his interactions with his nieces and nephews hilarious as he teaches them about their cowdog heritage (how to dig under fences, rustle through garbage cans, and bark at cats). If you've ever had the "fun" uncle or aunt that annoys your parents but who you love, you would probably appreciate the humor.

[Cassie Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this third installment of the Hank the Cowdog series, Hank gets into a bother with Sally May yet again, thanks once again to Pete the Barncat. This time he decides to lie low by heading into town to see his sister. But even while visiting family, he can’t seem to stay out of trouble. And when he gets on his sister’s last nerve, things begin to tailspin.

With the same charming narrative and funny perspectives from the first two books, It’s a Dog’s Life introduces even more characters into this lovely world. No matter how much trouble Hank gets in, he’s still a funny character with a heart of gold. From singing buzzards to hydrophobia, this is another great adventure with Hank and Drover. If you enjoyed the first two, this book is for you.

[Pantheios · Rating 4 out of 5]

"مشکل مدرک ها در این که است باید معنی شان را پیدا کنی،مثلا:
۱.سالی می رختخوابش را مرتب کرده بود، چون می دانست که دنیا دارد به آخر میرسد و نمی خواست با رختخواب نامرتب از دنیا برود.
۲.او رختخوابش را مرتب کرده بود، چون فکر می کرد دنیا به آخر نمی رسد. اگر فکر می کرد دنیا دارد به آخر می رسد، به مرتب یا نامرتب بودن رختخوابش اهمیتی نمی داد.
۳. او هر روز رختخوابش را مرتب می کرد. و عین خیالش هم نبود که چه بلایی بر سر دنیا می آید."

[DocHolidavid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erickson pins another, or is it pens another?

Ol’ Hank has to put up with a hoodwinkin’ cat and then accepts the prime steaks left as a reward for nailing down home security. It somehow causes a ruckus, so Hank decides to take a little hiatus at his sister’s suburban home.

On the journey, poor Hank encounters a singing buzzard, then Rip and Snort. Then, he’s unfairly chastised for trying to teach sis’s kids survival techniques – even winding up in jail!

It’s convoluted and complex. Too intricate for your grandchildren. Maybe the essence of this tale is best exemplified by two sentences from head honcho Slim on page 120:

“Hank, I’m kind of glad you’re back, and I’ll be derned if can find a reason why. You’re as dumb as any dog I ever met, and you cause more trouble around here than you’re worth.”

Lot of hidden meaning there. It’d take thirty pages to break it down. But, that’s the way John R. Erickson writes’em – intricate.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may seem like an odd book for me to read. Sometimes I enter writing contests and I looked at a contest for middle grades books. The site recommended Hank the Cowdog as an example of what they are looking for. So, why not read it? A fun book. Not profound. It will not change the world, but it was great fun.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This light-hearted book was the perfect way to wrap up the year. I love Hank and his interesting interpretation of life. I think young ones will get a kick out of the "soap hydrophobia" and will wonder how in the world Hank will get out of this predicament.

Recommended for family reading. That way parents can explain things to younger readers as needed.

[Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1993/1994 someone donated a "box" set of Hank the Cowdog books to the group home I lived in. I remember well that the set included 22 books and I remember flying through them one by one. I'm not sure I was in the age range of the target audience, but I loved them nonetheless. It is a fond memory in a sea of uncertainty. I can honestly say that these books got me through a rough time.

[Matt Gulde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fellers, I'm here to tell you, old Hank will never let you down. This is becoming my favorite read-aloud series, mainly because I love doing Hank's voice so much. I imagine him as a combination of George W. Bush and several of my cousins and uncles.

[Nam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I figured out Maggie's soap trick when he started eating it. The whole, I'll look after the pups because of your headache thing was funny, but the dogcatcher was to cruel. Yes, he believed Hank had rabies, but Hank didn't bite anyone and should not have been accused of it.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super funny and entertaining. A couple of bad words and I would take less use of the words “stupid” and “dumb” but overall Hank kept my kids engaged and laughing and quoting parts of the book in the car. I’d definitely check out more of this series!

[Heidi Mcjunkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audio book with my 1-3 grade class. The audio was HORRIBLE! Way too many distracting noises you could barely hear the narrator over all of the noise. Too bad because the books are great.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter, now 24, still loves Hank. My son who is 9, loves Hank. I guess he is the favorite family dog. I have read them all so far, but only these again so far this year.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really hard for a kid to read. So much slang and phrases that a city kid would never understand. Very frustrating to read with my son

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

My boys think that this is the best Hank the Cowdog book we’ve listened to yet. As always, the author’s narration is perfect.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

we put this down for awhile but came back to it.

read with x

[Kathy Govreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series! I hope to read all of them!