Other Books By Author
My Daddy Was a Real Cowboy
Fifteen-year-old Joey Burkett wonders if he will ever be successful at anything. He always thought he would grow up to be a rodeo performer as his father, a world champion cowboy, had been, but Daddy died in a rodeo accident. When he grew to six feet tall in the eighth grade, he thought he might be a basketball player, but that would mean college, and he is failing math. Joey hopes that whatever his future, his new peer tutor, Julie Hernandez, who he really admires, will be a part of it, and that Matthew Kane, the new man in his motherโs life, will not. When Joey quarrels with Julie and becomes upset at his motherโs going out with Matt, he goes along with a friend to โborrowโ an expensive sports car. In an attempt to see how fast it would go, they wreck the car. Joey thinks he is headed to Juvenile Detention, but Matt Kane comes up with a plan for Joey to work on his ranch and raise beef calves for the summer to earn money to pay for the damages.. Joey hates ranch work and considers running away to Colorado where Daddyโs old rodeo partner lives. Then, he learns that his mother had mortgaged their home, and he is determined to stick it out until the calves are sold. When the calves are stolen, Joey is devastated, but he pulls himself together, and his quick thinking saves the day. With Mattโs help, Joey gains the knowledge and confidence to work on his math skills and return to school. My Daddy Was A Real Cowboy is set in modern day Western Oklahoma where cowboys still herd cattle on horseback, and rustlers still steal cattle.
Oklahoma Treasure
In 1887, a Texas teenager, Will Merritt, longs to own his own place, but his elder brother will inherit the family ranch, and good land is expensive to buy. Then, an old cowboy who is dying, tells him a tale of gold hidden during the Civil War and shows him a map where it is located.
Will is eager to search for the gold and enlists the aid of his friend, Whitmore Garrett. The gold, however, is located in the Antelope Hills area of Indian Territory, present day, Oklahoma. Since it is dangerous for two people to cross Indian Territory alone, they sign on to work as drovers on a cattle drive going from Texas to Dodge City, Kansas.
They embark on their journey and encounter many dangers and adventures along the way. Although they question the existence of the gold in the beginning, they continue their search. They soon learn that the search was more important than the gold, and not all treasure is yellow and glittery. It might even be a curly-haired girl in a watermelon patch.
Where Are You Going, Maggie May?
In the spring of 1892, eleven- year-old Maggie Mayโs father announced that he was moving their family to Indian Territory in Western Oklahoma where he could stake a claim for 160 acres of free land.
Pa said that there were no towns, no schools, or even churches in Indian Territory, nothing but prairie and Indians. Almost every one Maggie knew said that Indians were mean, treacherous and cruel, and it would be foolish to go near them. But the lure of free land was too great, so they sold their small farm in East Texas and prepared to travel 400 miles by covered wagon to Oklahoma.
The family faced many hardships and dangers as they moved westward. While Maggie was gathering firewood, late one afternoon, a strong wind storm hit the travelers. With little visibility, she was soon lost, but found shelter in a ravine under an overhanging rock. The next morning while the wind still howled, she walked down a hill and came face to face with a young Indian boy. She was terrified and wondered if she could escape.
The boy led her to a large cave with a running spring, where he built a fire and shared his food with her. In the cave, she learned that he had been to school and could speak English. He told her about his people, and the problems they faced as settlers took over their land.
