White Dynamite & Curly Kidd

by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, Ted Rand (Illustrations)

Lucky Kidd watches her father ride a mean bull at the rodeo and thinks about becoming a bull rider herself.

Genres: Family, Realistic Fiction, Picture Books, Fiction, Humor, Animals, Contemporary

32 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1986

About the author

Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) was an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet. His more than 300 books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See ; Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear ; Panda Bear Panda Bear What Do You See ; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom , are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children. Martin held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. Born in Kansas, he worked as an elementary-school principal in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he worked in publishing, developing innovative reading programs for schools. After several years, he devoted himself full-time to writing his children's books. He lived in New York until 1993, when he moved to Texas. He lived in the east Texas woods, near the town of Commerce, until he passed away in 2004.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/billma...

Reviews

[Lauren Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a bull rider and his child! It's full of rodeo fun and can be a great read Aloud book for the classroom! I would recommend this book to Intermediate students if they are reading alone but any age if you are reading it to your students!

[Katie Ritoch · Rating 4 out of 5]

White Dynamite and Curly Kid follows a little kid and their dad while dad is preparing to ride one of the meanest bulls alive. The story is mostly carried on through the child and as the dad gives short responses but you can tell the child is excited. The child watches the bull ride excitedly and decides to become a bull rider herself. This book is full of great illustrations and carries the message that you can defy stereotypes and become anyone you want to. This book would be great for teaching children they can be anything they want to be. Also a fun read aloud.

[Annalisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for students around grades 2-4. This book is a good story between father and child, it shows how children look up to parents. In this book the dad is a bull rider and is facing a big ride and the child is encouraging him. This child is a girl which shows the inspiration and girl power for a girl to want to do something dominated by men. This would be good to use in the classroom to help young girls see they can dream to do things that are "for boys" and to encourage boys to support girls in this and not put them down.

[Shantell McCune · Rating 5 out of 5]

White Dynamite & Curly Kidd by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault. Illustrated by Ted Rand. Date Published: 1986. Read aloud for primary/early elementary aged students. Story about a child and dad at a rodeo child is nervous watching dad bull ride. Includes rhythm and rhyming. Breaking gender stereotypes. The book is very cute and would be good in a classroom because it helps students understand that because you are a certain gender, you need to play with or do a specific kind of thing based your gender. There is also a little bit of humor in how you can read the book which was fun to read.

[Sandra Sy]

"White Dynamite & Curly Kidd" by Bill Martin Jr was published in 1986 and is a great read-aloud option for 1st-3rd graders. Stories are an informal way to teach students the importance of perseverance and the values of family. This book is about Curly Kid cheering her dad on as he gets ready to ride one of the scariest bulls out there. Students will be able to understand the importance of a child-father relationship and how you can achieve anything you set your mind to. Students can talk about times in their lives when they were scared and what they did in those situations.

[Michelle Gallegos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story Curly Kidd the bull rider and his daughter. His daughter, Lucky Kidd, loves to watch him ride but also gets butterflies and nervous. Just like her dad, Lucky names all the places she'd like to visit one day making her nerves go down as she watches her dad. This story illustrates a healthy relationship between a dad and a daughter, with the daughter looking up to be just like her dad. This story shows girl power, which I find it fitting to be read in a classroom to let know that girls can do anything boys do and vise versa.

[Anna Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is best suited to be read aloud to early elementary kids.
A conversation is held between a bull rider and his young child while at the rodeo. The whole book is told via conversation which creates an interesting rhythm for younger audiences to follow.
The book is supportive of families as shown through the strong connection between the two main characters. It is also breaks gender stereotypes.

[Emily Bruns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could be used for a read aloud for the primary grades.

A father prepares to ride a bull at the rodeo as his child asks him many questions. He patiently answers his excited, yet nervous child. When his child expresses a desire to be a part of the rodeo one day, he is supportive.

This book could be used to break the stereotypes of what type of jobs are appropriate for certain people.

[Niquilla Blodgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book and how it introduced girl-empowerment in a career field that is predominantly a male field. In this way it was also an unexpected ending and way ahead of its time for what is typical in society at the time it was published. It also is a different topic than what is typically wrote about in children's books, but still brings a valid message.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: White Dynamite & Curly Kid
Author: Bill Martin Jr.
Illustrator: Ted Rand
Date Published: 1986
Age Appropriateness: Early Elementary (K-2)
Summary: Child (who's gender is unknown) is nervous about their dad's 8 second ride on White Dynamite.
Review: I liked this book! I think it had good rhythm, and style. It was an interesting book, and the ending was unexpected!

[Taylor Relacion · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a child who has a famous bull rider for a father. She helps him prepare for his rodeo. The child is inspired by him and in the end it is revealed that the child is a girl. This book is a great one for grades 2 through 4. There's lots of fun illustration and the content isn't dense. It will be a book that captures the students attention.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl has a conversation with her dad before his bull riding event. They discuss how and what he thinks about while he's up on the bull, when they pull the gate and he's looking to make a decent eight second ride on a ton of White Dynamite.

[Megan Wilks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could be read aloud for primary/early elementary students.
A story about a dad and child at a rodeo; child is nervous watching dad bull ride. This book includes rhyming and rhythm. Breaking gender stereotypes.

[Lauren Anderson]

Engaging read aloud for both primary and intermediate students. Intermediate students may enjoy reading this book independently. This is a book about a father and child as the father prepares to ride a bull at a rodeo.

[Evan Teter]

Engaging read-aloud for primary students, intermediate students when they are reading by themselves. This book is about a father and daughter who share a dialogue as the father is preparing for a bull riding competition.

[Ryan Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this book has a really powerful message about a kid and their dad. The father was very supportive of his kid's dreams. However, the dreams his daughter has are generally stereotyped as a males role.

[Evan Teter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book to read to lower elementary students, and individual read for upper elementary students. In this book, a daughter is talking with her father while he prepares to compete in a rodeo.

[Jaelyn Cloepfil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows the relationship between a rodeo dad and his daughter. This is a great story of family and breaking barriers. I would love to read this aloud to a 3-5th grade class. I would choose the older grades so they could really get an idea of how important this story is!

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martin Quest #27
Young kid extolling the virtues of bull riding father in rodeo.
The father is almost non-verbal the kid banging on like a banshee.
Little twist in the end.
Interesting, mot sure if it extols the virtues of fathering though.

[Sarri Tate Gibson]

Engaging read aloud for early elementary students. This is a book about a father and child as the father prepares to ride a bull at a rodeo.

[Amy]

Easy book for primary, especially if it's a read aloud. Nice flow of words, dialogue, and fun family dynamic. Story about a girl aspiring to be like her bull-riding father.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dialogue in this is really well done-- very authentic of a curious child. The twist at the end is nice.

[Matt Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging read aloud for primary students. This story is family book about a father and is kid talking about riding a bull at a rodeo.

[Sailer Galusha-McRobbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud for primary/early elementary school students
A story about a dad and child at a rodeo, child is nervous and talks a lot to father, father remains calm, father rides a bull and child is proud of him at the end. Rhyming, rhythm, word play. Breaking gender stereotypes
Fun, humorous book,

[Jeani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The creative way the story is told is fantastic. Sets it apart from anything else.

[Hannah Atwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be great for read aloud for primary/ elementary students.
This is a story about a child who is nervous to watch their dad bull-ride. There is rhyming and rhythm.
This book is a great example of breaking gender stereotypes and could be used to bring diversity of gender roles to a classroom .

[Evan Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud for primary/ elementary students.

Story about a father and child at a rodeo, the child is nervous and excited about the father on the bull ride. Rhyming and Rythm

Breaking stereotypes.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dialogue is the driving force in this book. Lucky Kidd is having a conversation with Curly Kidd, the dad, before he goes to ride on the meanest bull in the USA, Dynamite. Lucky seems to be the type to talk when nervous, but Curly is more of the type to stay quiet. He answers the questions, but doesn't go into much detail. The one tip he says is that while he is riding, he thinks of places he would like to go. Lucky picks that up and while the ride is going, Lucky is shouting/thinking about places to go as well as thinking about what the bull is doing. Lucky also wants to be a bull-rider, so it is important to learn what all to do. Lucky takes it all in.

I really like the pictures in this book. They are bright and colorful, and they really show the emotions of Lucky and Curly. The pictures also show how much dust is kicked up and the anger of Dynamite.

Although it is not stated, there is a small twist at the end of the book, but you will have to read it to see what it is. I would recommend this book to ages 4-7. I think they would like the rhythm and rhyming of the words. It is a fun book to read, and it would be fun to also map out all of the places shouted during the ride.

[Mr. Moser's Class]

I looked this book because a man rode a bull and survived. I liked the book because it had a lot of action. I liked the book because of the bull. The book had a surprise ending. It was like a rodeo. The bull rider rode the meanest bull in the USA. It had a lot of information. This book is very sensitive.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read when you give the character's voices. The book is about a child named Lucky Kidd goes to the rodeo with her dad. This is a great book to read when needing a mentor text for internal monologues or surprise endings in writing. This is also just a fun read aloud for entertainment as well.