Reviews

Cowboy Up: Ride the Navajo Rodeo by Nancy Bo Flood

crystal_reading's review

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4.0

I loved the blend of poetry and non-fiction. There are some fabulous photos here and it is great to see a Navajo sport up close. I think my students will enjoy learning about rodeo with this book.

drpschmidt's review

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4.0

Beautiful photographs intermingled with amazing poetry; I love that this book expands our stereotypical notion of a rodeo.

abigailbat's review

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4.0

In poems, prose, and brilliant photography, readers get a glimpse inside a Navajo Nation rodeo. The book's written to take readers through the entire day at the rodeo, explaining the various events including woolly riding (for the littles), calf roping, barrel racing, and the deadly bull riding. This book will fit the bill for kids interested in cowboys and rodeos, as well as anyone looking for books about modern Native American life. A brief author's note gives a little background history of the rodeo.

carolsaller's review against another edition

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5.0

This is a great book on so many levels. First, it includes a thorough nonfiction treatment of the rodeo with details that both kids and adults will find fascinating, taking us through the traditional events like barrel racing, calf roping, bareback and bronc riding, and steer wrestling. But in addition, the author weaves in poems in the voices of child rodeo participants, showing us their excitement, frustration, fear, dedication, and triumph as they learn to rope and ride. I didn't even know that such young children participated in rodeo events. COWBOY UP! is a good book for reading aloud to very young children: depending on their age you can focus on the more simple poem-statements and/or read the extended explanations. The photos are amazing. The text and photos combined leave you wanting to attend a rodeo yourself.
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