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The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show invites us into Rowdy Randy’s world and the fun of a wild west show. Take a light look at the animals of events of this historical period. Watch a strong female character organize her own Wild West Show.
The Basic Details of The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show
From the author: “The wildlife of the West inspired the Rowdy Randy series,” says Rislov. “Many people travel to Yellowstone and other National Parks to see these magnificent creatures. Rowdy Randy, the cowgirl horsefly, came about as the main character … We continued this second story with creating her own Wild West Show that is based off U.S. Western History. She is still the strong character that she was in the first book. In this book she is also a leader of many- and that all girls can be leaders too. I hope this series sparks a love of nature for children and brings more families outdoors to create their own brave adventures.”
You’ll find The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show to be a fast-moving story told over 32 pages in a hardcover book with dustcover. Filled with full-colour images and a story suitable for children 5-7 years of age. Animals are featured from all over the wild west with glimpses into US history.
Seeing the Specifics
Striking full-colour images fill the pages. The bright greens of a mallard, bright blues of berries, and muted grey of mice are just some of the colours that will grab your attention. Some of the animals are attired in human garments such as hard hats and postal bags.
Not all the animals featured are real such as the jackalope, but in a book for children, I kinda expect some pretend to occur.
You’ll find Rowdy Randy hard at work throughout, delegating people when she needs to, and encouraging people to be involved. Before you know it, you see animals travelling by stagecoach, covered wagon, and on animal back. You’ll find some references to US history in how people travelled, the pony express, and at the close of the book, to another, more well-known wild west show.
Most of the time the language used suits the vocabulary of younger children, but more advanced language was used as well. This occasionally made it harder to read out loud as these words didn’t flow as easily off the tongue. I also wonder if the intended audience would understand them.
Acrobatics, marksmanship, climbing events and more were the attractions of the Wild West Show hosted by Rowdy Randy. I actually found this part of the story to be the weakest. The writing occasionally left me confused as to which characters were involved.
Add it to your repertoire?
I don’t know. I loved the full-colour images. But the lack of ease of reading aloud, some of the more difficult words, and the minimal referencing of US history. It just didn’t feel like enough… do you know what I mean?
It’s not like The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show is an unacceptable book, but I wanted more. I wanted a touch more depth to the story as well as more definition of animals seen in the wild west. This could have been mitigated by adding a glossary of animals. Additionally having a teacher’s section where one connects the US history to events in the book. As is, it could be used at the close of a schooling unit to see if children could pick out the wild west elements.
