My First Horse

by Will James

ANNOTATION: Through Will James' accomplished storytelling and expressive drawings, readers of all ages will enter a magical world in which a precocious young boy ropes chairs and chickens from the back of a homemade rocking horse-an ax-hewn cottonwood log with a horsehair mane and leather ears. The boy's love of horses grows from his make-believe rides around his "territory"-the porch of the ranch house-until, on his fourth birthday, he receives his very own black pony. First published in 1940, this is the only full-color children's book by acclaimed cowboy artist and storyteller Will James. Twenty pen-and-ink illustrations with added watercolor enliven the story.

38 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Will James, 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.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe more appealing if you've actually always wanted to be a cowboy. Despite plentiful engaging illustrations and a small format friendly to small hands, this is longish memoir of the artist's first four years, and not likely to be enjoyed by preschoolers.

Btw, fans of Will James & cowboys should visit the Northeastern Nevada Museum in Elko (guess where that is?): http://museumelko.org/. And while in town, try the pasties and pies at B.J. Bulls: http://www.bjbullbakery.com/.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a review of the 2004 Mountain Press edition. You can enjoy this at the Internet Archive.

This was one of the last books Will James ever wrote -- and it was one of his best. Not all artists get better as they get older, but James did. There is a color illustration of a bay horse in here that was the most lifelike horse he ever drew.

The most recently published editions of Will James books were cleaned up of any words or phrases considered politically incorrect, but I do not know if this was one of them. I haven't seen an older edition to compare.

This was the most grammatical of James' books I read. Whether that was intentional or a result of the new edition, I don't know.

I do know that it contains one of the powerful last sentences I have read. It ranks right up there with the last sentences of In Cold Blood and Joyce's story "The Dead."

James' first horses were, as the cover suggests, toys. He was very observant of the cowboy life even as a toddler, since he housed his toy horses outside ... because the real horses on the ranch lived outside.

I think we all had a Blue that we loved and lost.

Five stars.