Tall In The Saddle (Cl) [Hardcover]

In this sweet but confusing picture book, a boy imagines his father's work day spent not in an office, but out on the range and tall in the saddle. After a father-son game of cowboys one morning, Dad "leaves for work in his suit and tie, still wearing his boots." From there he borrows a bike from a neighbor (which transforms into a horse) and heads into the boy's fantasy world. After herding cattle, lassoing two neighborhood tattletales and diverting the Rotten Rustler Gang, Dad "rides back slowly up through the city" to meet his son at the end of the day. Young cowpokes will likely be baffled by the unclear chain of events here. Though her premise is fanciful, first-time author Carter fails to make a distinction between the real and the fantastic. McPhail's dusty, sun-splashed paintings depict an action-packed horseback adventure, but also add to the confusion. In most scenes, the boy gallops alongside his father, reporting on his exploits, yet the boy also greets Dad when he returns home from "work" at story's end, as if he hasn't seen him all day. Those willing to cast logic to the wind in favor of pleasing scenery will enjoy McPhail's foray into the Wild West. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Kindergarten-Grade 2 A young boy watches his father leave for work. Then, he follows him a short way down the street. His dad gets on a bicycle that turns into a horse and suddenly father and son are riding off. Along the way, they herd cattle and chase away rustlers. Later that evening, the father rides back home, first on his horse and then on his bike to greet his son, who comes running to meet him. It would appear that this child is daydreaming and fantasizing about what his father does when he leaves home each morning. However, the story line is very slight and the transition into fantasy is confusing. Does his father ride a bicycle to work? Does he really wear cowboy boots? What is real and what is imaginary? The illustrations are colorful and more exciting than the text. The expressions of the characters breathe life into this tale but probably not enough to hold readers' interest. Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Clad top to toe in cowboy clothes, a child follows his work-bound father down the street and sees the familiar world transformed: suddenly a bicycle becomes a horse, Dad's necktie a lariat, and the small-town street an open, dusty trail on which cattle wait to be herded and rustlers chased away. In McPhail's shadowy, obliquely lit illustrations, the change is smoothly accomplished, the playscape every bit as detailed and solid-looking as the young narrator's tricycle and western outfit. The day passes in a twinkling, and in the light of the setting sun, Dad gallops back into town for a joyful reunion. Like Phyllis Rose Eisenberg's You're My Nikki (1992) and Peter Glassman's My Working Mom (1994), this may help ease the anxieties of children and working parents who find each day's parting hard; and the cowboy theme makes it a natural companion for McPhail's Mooney B. Finch, the Fastest Draw in the West (1994). John Peters

A father is not going off to the office in the morning, his son fantasizes; instead, he's riding the range tall in the saddle, rounding up cattle rustlers. Carter's Wild West make-believe works as a vignette about a father-son cowboy fantasy, but is less successful in conveying what in the story is or is not pretend. When the father pedals off to work on a stolen bike, it appears his son thinks of the bikes as horses and they're off on a cattle round-up. First they hogtie tattletale Jen and mean-mouthed Ben (siblings? friends? Is the father justified in going along with their poor treatment?); around the bend lurk cattle thieves, but these two cowboys fend them off. McPhail's illustrations have both realistic and dreamy qualities to them that match the story's mood, yet with the elements of this daydream so poorly defined, the fantasy never takes off. (Picture book. 4-6) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Anne Laurel Carter is a multi-award-winning author of books for children, including Under the Prairie Sky (Orca 2004). When she's not writing, she's reading. Anne lives in Toronto, Ontario, where she works full-time as a teacher-librarian.