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Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time
1938 Newbery Honor Book
Bill was just four years old when he fell from the family wagon near the Pecos River on the western frontier. Accidentally left behind by his family, he was raised by coyotes, and he didn't realize he was human until he was an adult. When he did, Pecos Bill returned to civilization and used the superhuman powers he'd developed during his peculiar upbringing to become the best cowboy in the West.
Bill was just four years old when he fell from the family wagon near the Pecos River on the western frontier. Accidentally left behind by his family, he was raised by coyotes, and he didn't realize he was human until he was an adult. When he did, Pecos Bill returned to civilization and used the superhuman powers he'd developed during his peculiar upbringing to become the best cowboy in the West.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 26, 2022
I've always vaguely remembered the tall tales of Paul Bunyan and of Pecos Bill from my grade school days in the 1960's. Are they still taught today ? My wife found this 1937 compilation for me recently, put together by James Bowman & Laura Bannon, with illustrations by Bannon. Apparently the Pecos Bill folk tales were originally written in 1917 by Edward O'Reilly. My son takes me on a long camping trip out west each summer, and sometimes I bring along a topical book for us to take turns reading at the campfire in the evenings.
To dispense with comparisons to the Paul Bunyan stories first, my take is that while both men are folk heroes of legendary acts of bravado and superpowers (with the same initials!), the Pecos Bill stories seem to include more interludes of realism and ordinary human concerns than the Paul Bunyan stories do. Overall, I have to say I found the Paul Bunyan legends to be more amusing. Both share the feature of the hero's deeds creating some of the large (and small) physical features of our continent. When Pecos Bill lassoed and rode a cyclone that stretched about ten miles high, it cut out the Grand Canyon. Out of frustration for being jilted by his soon-to-be bride, he put the horns on horned toads and thorns on mesquite trees and cactuses, and his tears started Butte Falls in Montana.
Pecos Bill starts out as a small boy on a westward migration with his large family, when he is bumped out of the back of a wagon during a river crossing. He cannot catch up, and the when his family realizes he is gone, they turn back but cannot find him. He is befriended by coyotes, and becomes one of the pack, taking on many of their skills such as speed, endurance and knowledge of the animal kingdom. I found one of the coyote's analogies to be poetic - they call death "the long, long trail that has no turning". Later, one of his human brothers comes across him, and convinces him he is human and not a coyote. Then they realize their closer kinship when they notice that each has the star tattoo on the arm that their mother insisted on because of her very large clan. Pecos Bill becomes the best cowpuncher of all time, and his contributions to that world include roping on the fly, cattle branding, cattle roundups, rodeos and Wild West shows, and leather chaps.
When Pecos Bill is "forced" into gunfights with bad guys, instead of killing them, his usual M.O. is to shoot off their trigger fingers, and spiking any gun pointed directly at him by shooting one of his own bullets down its muzzle.
I was delighted to see my former little town of Ukiah, California mentioned in the list of rodeo towns owing a debt of gratitude to Pecos Bill's rodeo idea.
Finally, it was fascinating to read that Pecos Bill and his men were approached by an English Lord who wanted to buy cattle, and an argument ensued about whether the cost should be based on the "book count" of cattle or by an actual head count. I remember that James Michener put a scene just like that into his western epic Centennial.
To dispense with comparisons to the Paul Bunyan stories first, my take is that while both men are folk heroes of legendary acts of bravado and superpowers (with the same initials!), the Pecos Bill stories seem to include more interludes of realism and ordinary human concerns than the Paul Bunyan stories do. Overall, I have to say I found the Paul Bunyan legends to be more amusing. Both share the feature of the hero's deeds creating some of the large (and small) physical features of our continent. When Pecos Bill lassoed and rode a cyclone that stretched about ten miles high, it cut out the Grand Canyon. Out of frustration for being jilted by his soon-to-be bride, he put the horns on horned toads and thorns on mesquite trees and cactuses, and his tears started Butte Falls in Montana.
Pecos Bill starts out as a small boy on a westward migration with his large family, when he is bumped out of the back of a wagon during a river crossing. He cannot catch up, and the when his family realizes he is gone, they turn back but cannot find him. He is befriended by coyotes, and becomes one of the pack, taking on many of their skills such as speed, endurance and knowledge of the animal kingdom. I found one of the coyote's analogies to be poetic - they call death "the long, long trail that has no turning". Later, one of his human brothers comes across him, and convinces him he is human and not a coyote. Then they realize their closer kinship when they notice that each has the star tattoo on the arm that their mother insisted on because of her very large clan. Pecos Bill becomes the best cowpuncher of all time, and his contributions to that world include roping on the fly, cattle branding, cattle roundups, rodeos and Wild West shows, and leather chaps.
When Pecos Bill is "forced" into gunfights with bad guys, instead of killing them, his usual M.O. is to shoot off their trigger fingers, and spiking any gun pointed directly at him by shooting one of his own bullets down its muzzle.
I was delighted to see my former little town of Ukiah, California mentioned in the list of rodeo towns owing a debt of gratitude to Pecos Bill's rodeo idea.
Finally, it was fascinating to read that Pecos Bill and his men were approached by an English Lord who wanted to buy cattle, and an argument ensued about whether the cost should be based on the "book count" of cattle or by an actual head count. I remember that James Michener put a scene just like that into his western epic Centennial.
March 27, 2012
I generally love folktales, tall tales, legends, fairytales, and anything else that might be at home in the 398.2 section of the library. So being bored by this book was a real surprise for me. Pecos Bill should not be boring - he is larger than life and full of surprises! Maybe it was the writing style or the pacing or the so very much that went unsaid and unexplained. If you want Pecos Bill stories, I would recommend looking elsewhere. I would only recommend this one to Newbery completists or those looking for more variations of Pecos Bill's tales. Maybe storytellers would get some ideas from the book - definitely on how not to tell Pecos Bill if you want to keep your audience awake. I'll concede that maybe some people will really love this book, but I hope they aren't missing out on better tellings.
January 24, 2015
I remember, many a year ago, reading about Pecos Bill riding a cyclone like it was a bronco. The story was featured in a section about Tall Tales in our school reading text book. I loved the story back then, and I enjoyed it again now along with all the other "tall tales" in this book. Perhaps I love these stories given the knack my grandfather had for telling his own stories about his father in the old days (late 1800's) on the plains of Nebraska. Whatever the reason, I've always loved the old Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill stories, and really enjoyed taking a look at Bill all over again.
February 23, 2025
The highlight of this book was coming upon this quote: “What brand of squirrel whiskey you been drinking?” … this might just become my new replacement for the more modern WTF.
But overall, I found the often fantastical fish tale stories of Pecos Bill to be a bit boring. A couple were downright cringy. What started as a funny prank on their newest and green cowboy colleague turned into bullying, downright hazing, physical injury, and then victim blaming without a shred of remorse. It would be a good chapter to reinforce to kids what not to do. But I lost all respect for the book when I got to that section.
2.5 ⭐️
But overall, I found the often fantastical fish tale stories of Pecos Bill to be a bit boring. A couple were downright cringy. What started as a funny prank on their newest and green cowboy colleague turned into bullying, downright hazing, physical injury, and then victim blaming without a shred of remorse. It would be a good chapter to reinforce to kids what not to do. But I lost all respect for the book when I got to that section.
2.5 ⭐️
March 10, 2019
2.5 stars. I may have enjoyed these tales more as a child, but as an adult I found them somewhat repetitive - I don't think they should be read back to back to back or else their impact is lessened. Add that they are not truly folklore but tales invented in the late 1910s-early 1920s to immortalize the American cowboy and I am more disenchanted. They are cleverly done however and probably have more than a few kernels of cowboy/American folktales about them(Paul Bunyan anyone?). My favorite fictional re-use was Pecos Bill's Kipling/Mowgli childhood in which he falls off the family wagon, is raised by and lives with coyotes (even believes himself a coyote), and is given the "gift of the wilderness" (peace with all other animals except the rattlesnake and the Wouser). I read this for my 2019 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge (Honor Book, 1938).
December 6, 2022
I think this would make a good read aloud. I would have appreciated it a bit more one story at a time, instead of reading from start to finish. Sluefoot Sue's party of the story was unsatisfying to me. This book managed to talk about the absence of people from the land and the disappearance of the buffalo without glorifying the means by which those atrocities happened, but largely ignored anything except that it had already happened. The tall tale nature of the stories is entertaining. Living in Montana, I am surrounded by the rodeo culture that is credited to Pecos Bill, so I appreciate these stories more than I otherwise would have.
June 25, 2023
This was a slog to finish. I don’t generally appreciate tall tales, so I knew this was unlikely to be a favorite, but I can appreciate good stories of all genres. But I really couldn’t forgive just how long this one was. On the other hand, the illustrations were fun (but that’s about all that is). If this book had taken one story and turned it into a picture book, I think it would be infinitely more readable and a great read. Of course, that was not the genre or common when this book was written.
May 15, 2018
A Newberry Honor book in 1938, I read this aloud to my 11 year old who loved it. I thought it was okay, but enjoyed other tellings of Pecos Bill stories better. I'm partial to tall tales that can be read in one sitting, rather than the longer novel format.
May 20, 2022
It really only gets points because the drawings are just absolutely lovely. However, it is definitely a product of a much different time, and the language is a slog to get through, especially when considering that is a Newbery book that is supposed to appeal to middle-grade kids.
September 14, 2022
A typical retelling of a popular tall tale, it dragged on a bit at parts while at other times, the action increased and story telling improved. There are some parts that young readers might find quite funny, but honestly, I was glad to have this one completed.
October 30, 2018
A gathering and retelling of the Pecos Bill legends for a young audience. S'okay, but not really my favorite genre.
December 24, 2018
What a fun romp of a tall tale - Paul Bunyan for the cowboys.
Want to Read
November 29, 2020Note: I received a paperback copy of this book at ALA Midwinter 2020.
January 4, 2022
Being humorous, this book was all fun and games until chapter 17.
Want to Read
June 13, 20251938 Newbery honor book
March 9, 2016
Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time is a book that was published in 1937. It also received the title of Newberry Honor Book. 70 years later, New York Review Books brought this classic back into print, much to my delight. The book begins with an introduction by the author that explains that these book is folklore. That means that while there may be bits of truth in these stories, they are tall tales for the most part, which were a big part of American literature.
The book begins with young Bill being four years old. His family was migrating westward and travelling by a covered wagon. To his family's knowledge, he was asleep in the back of the wagon. He actually fell out of the wagon; was found by a coyote, who raised him; and taught him everything about the outdoors. Bill, therefore, grew up believing that he was a full-blooded coyote. In Chapter Two, Bill met a human nicknamed Chuck. The two conversed as best they could, and it was here that Bill re-learned the English language. He also finally learned that he was indeed a human and not a coyote. He wasn't happy to learn this, and it took a great deal of convincing, but the bit of evidence that finally won him over was when Chuck realized that Bill was his long-lost brother. Other chapters include Pecos Bill becoming a cowpuncher (a cowboy); Pecos Bill busting a cyclone; and Pecos Bill meeting his love, Slue-Foot Sue.
Reading tall tales about characters such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill should be required reading for all children in the United States. This book is recommended for children ages 9 to 12, and it does have some illustrations in it. That being said, it still is a 250 page book, so if your children are on the younger end of that range, you might want to make it a read-aloud book, which isn't a big deal, because this is a book that the whole family will enjoy. I know mine did. I highly recommend this book for all the cowboys and cowgirls out there.
The book begins with young Bill being four years old. His family was migrating westward and travelling by a covered wagon. To his family's knowledge, he was asleep in the back of the wagon. He actually fell out of the wagon; was found by a coyote, who raised him; and taught him everything about the outdoors. Bill, therefore, grew up believing that he was a full-blooded coyote. In Chapter Two, Bill met a human nicknamed Chuck. The two conversed as best they could, and it was here that Bill re-learned the English language. He also finally learned that he was indeed a human and not a coyote. He wasn't happy to learn this, and it took a great deal of convincing, but the bit of evidence that finally won him over was when Chuck realized that Bill was his long-lost brother. Other chapters include Pecos Bill becoming a cowpuncher (a cowboy); Pecos Bill busting a cyclone; and Pecos Bill meeting his love, Slue-Foot Sue.
Reading tall tales about characters such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill should be required reading for all children in the United States. This book is recommended for children ages 9 to 12, and it does have some illustrations in it. That being said, it still is a 250 page book, so if your children are on the younger end of that range, you might want to make it a read-aloud book, which isn't a big deal, because this is a book that the whole family will enjoy. I know mine did. I highly recommend this book for all the cowboys and cowgirls out there.
June 5, 2008
This 1938 Newberry Honor Book is a compilation Pecos Bill stories. From an American Folklore standpoint the book is interesting, albeit, a little offensive in parts. Depiction of reservations and Native Americans is particularly troubling. However, this book may be useful for critical discussions about the west as well as for some of the tall tales contained within. Grades 3-8.
CIP: Relates some of the legends of Pecos Bill, from the moment he bounced out of his family's covered wagon to the day his long-lost brother appears and explains that Bill is not like the coyotes that have raised him.
"Pecos Bill is a prime favorite among our American folkheroes. Children enjoy the fantastic invention, the riproaring extravagance of the yarns about the greatest of all cowboys, for such tale-spinning is a basic part of American humor."The New York Times
"Children are vastly amused by our American tall tales. 'Paul Buyan'...'Pecos Bill'...'The Jack Tales'...are as indigenous to the United States as popcorn, and too funny for children to miss."Christian Science Monitor
CIP: Relates some of the legends of Pecos Bill, from the moment he bounced out of his family's covered wagon to the day his long-lost brother appears and explains that Bill is not like the coyotes that have raised him.
"Pecos Bill is a prime favorite among our American folkheroes. Children enjoy the fantastic invention, the riproaring extravagance of the yarns about the greatest of all cowboys, for such tale-spinning is a basic part of American humor."The New York Times
"Children are vastly amused by our American tall tales. 'Paul Buyan'...'Pecos Bill'...'The Jack Tales'...are as indigenous to the United States as popcorn, and too funny for children to miss."Christian Science Monitor
June 30, 2014
Not a huge fan of Tall Tale stories and this is no exception. I read it because it won a Newbery Honor. The book is not very considerate in the wording it chooses to describe the treatment of Native Americans by the US government…almost as if people native to this land were responsible for others crowding in on them. For example, “The American Indians of the Southwest, of course, entirely misunderstood was happening. They had, for centuries, been accustomed to prey on the buffalo, and now they insisted on killing the cattle. The result was that the Government at Washington established Military Posts and placed the Indians on Reservations. With the rapid increase in the number of cattle, the price of beef broke sharply. The Military Posts offered the best market, for after corralling the Indians, the Government was obliged to furnish them with meat.”
Example of the language used: “…the best there is in man is the very best there is anywhere. Not even his beloved Coyotes could equal this. Where muscle and nerve and honor and courage are caught in the saddle, there also rides manly joy.”
Example of the language used: “…the best there is in man is the very best there is anywhere. Not even his beloved Coyotes could equal this. Where muscle and nerve and honor and courage are caught in the saddle, there also rides manly joy.”
March 7, 2021
Pecos Bill falls off a wagon when he is four years old, and when his family can't find him, coyotes raise him. His brother, Chuck, finds him as an adult and has to convince him that he is human and not a coyote. Pecos Bill gets voted unanimously into the IXL. He teaches the cowboys how to lasso, and they brand cattle. They come up with contests for ropework, gun play, bulldogging, and hog-tieing. Pecos Bill invents a perpetual motion ranch which doesn't really work. He defeats a snake and a wouser, and the Devil's Cavalry surrenders to him. Pegasus becomes his horse, Black Widow.
The cowboys trick a man with a monocle into buying the perpetual motion ranch. Pecos Bill falls in love with the man's daughter, Slue-foot Sue. The cowboys at the ranch haze Peewee, and Pecos rides a cyclone which creates the Grand Canyon. He almost marries Slue-foot Sue. He defeats Major Duval and his henchmen who steal other peoples' animals. Pecos Bill and Black Widow disappear, leaving Gun Smith and Moon to argue over what happened to him.
I found the stories in this book to be entertaining and sometimes humorous.
The cowboys trick a man with a monocle into buying the perpetual motion ranch. Pecos Bill falls in love with the man's daughter, Slue-foot Sue. The cowboys at the ranch haze Peewee, and Pecos rides a cyclone which creates the Grand Canyon. He almost marries Slue-foot Sue. He defeats Major Duval and his henchmen who steal other peoples' animals. Pecos Bill and Black Widow disappear, leaving Gun Smith and Moon to argue over what happened to him.
I found the stories in this book to be entertaining and sometimes humorous.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2011
Oh my goodness I thought this book was stupid. Almost every page was filled with tall-tales and Pecos Bill worship. And then they did sort of creation-type myths with him like the reason we have the Grand Canyon, Butte Falls in Montana, etc.
AND the book it also fairly racist. You don't see it often, but when the Indians are mentioned it is about the same as animals. You can even find the 'Indian herds' on their reservations.
And lastly, the author seems to be putting quite a bit of disrespect for the law into this book. And even at the end he justifies and explains why it's good to not like the police.
But mostly this book was just filled with stupidity from front to back. I am so glad to be done with it.
AND the book it also fairly racist. You don't see it often, but when the Indians are mentioned it is about the same as animals. You can even find the 'Indian herds' on their reservations.
And lastly, the author seems to be putting quite a bit of disrespect for the law into this book. And even at the end he justifies and explains why it's good to not like the police.
But mostly this book was just filled with stupidity from front to back. I am so glad to be done with it.
March 5, 2016
Read the full review here: http://newberyandbeyond.com/newbery-r...
I really didn’t care for this book. I’m not a fan of mythology and tall tales, as a general rule, and this book wasn’t an exception to that rule. Add to that the casual racism and sexism that comes with many of the older Newbery books, and you come up with a book that I had to force myself to finish. Unless you or your kid is obsessed with American tall tales, maybe don’t bother.
I really didn’t care for this book. I’m not a fan of mythology and tall tales, as a general rule, and this book wasn’t an exception to that rule. Add to that the casual racism and sexism that comes with many of the older Newbery books, and you come up with a book that I had to force myself to finish. Unless you or your kid is obsessed with American tall tales, maybe don’t bother.
July 24, 2012
Good book. You know the saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover"? Don't judge this book by it's cover. The inside of the book was WAY more interesting than the outside I must say;) The outside looked so boring to me that I almost didn't read it! I'm glad I changed my mind.
November 9, 2015
1938 Newbery Honor Book
I was really hoping to enjoy this book since I love the Disney short about Pecos Bill and I generally enjoy folklore but.....this book was so uninteresting! The stories rambled on and on.
I was really hoping to enjoy this book since I love the Disney short about Pecos Bill and I generally enjoy folklore but.....this book was so uninteresting! The stories rambled on and on.
May 12, 2010
Bowman does a good job with the tall tale of Pecos Bill, making a mythical American demigod to rival Hercules and Theseus, with talents and personality as large as the American west.
March 10, 2011
Just finished reading this to my daughter. A wonderful piece of Americana. Thank you NYRB for putting it back in print.
January 29, 2015
What an incredible tale! I loved these stories as a child and revisiting them as an adult brought me back to those days.
September 5, 2011
Newberry honor
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October 22, 2014485edd66-5087-4542-8967-c8452f0e5a55
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