Review: BUBBA THE COWBOY PRINCE: A FRACTURED TEXAS TALE, Genre 2, Traditional Literature

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ketteman, Helen. 1997. BUBBA THE COWBOY PRINCE. Ill. By James Warhola. NewYork: Scholastic. ISBN 0590255061

2. PLOT SUMMARY
This book is a Southwestern take on the traditional Cinderella tale. The gender roles have been reversed, Bubba the Cowboy is mistreated by his stepbrothers and stepfather. Miz Lurleen is the rich ranch woman looking for a husband. A fairy god cow assists Bubba in getting to the ball and when the spell is broken at midnight Miz Lurleen is left with a cowboy boot. She searches for and finds the owner of the boot, her true love Bubba, and they ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is a very funny take on the Cinderella tale. The setting is in the southwest and the great vocabulary (“downright disgraceful”) and dialogue (“You’re sorrier than a steer in a stockyard”) certainly supports this. When read aloud in a country twang, the story is very entertaining. The writing is fun and rhythmic. There are magical elements present. The fairy godcow swishes her tail and Bubba is magically dressed in a crisp, shiny, dazzling and a “whiter than a new salt lick” suit and an ordinary steer in transformed into a beautiful white stallion. The story ends with love conquering all and the happy couple “rode off into the sunset” and “lived happily ever after, roping, and cowpoking, and getting them doggies along.”

The illustrations really add to the text in this story. They are bright, vibrant, and full of action. The expressions on the character’s faces are full of emotion. They really help to show what Bubba and the other characters are going through and what they are feeling at the time. The illustrations are loud and colorful just like the language in this story.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS AND AWARDS
Nominated for Children's Book Award (North Carolina), 1999 Nominated for Washington Children's Choice Picture Book, 2000 Nominated for Arizona Young Reader's Award, 2000 Nominated for Children's Book Award (Colorado), 2000 Reciepient of Golden Sower Award, 2001 Kirkus Reviews - "Bubba and babe, hair as big as a Texas sun, ride off to al life of happy ranching, and readers will be proud to have been along for the courtship."

5. CONNECTIONS
*This book can be a fun addition to a unit on ranching or farming.
*This book can be used to illustrate interesting dialogue in a writer’s workshop.
*This book can be used in conjunction with other southwestern takes on Cinderella or other fairy tales. Some examples include:
Lowell, Susan. CINDY ELLEN: A WILD WESTERN CINDERELLA. ISBN 0064438643
Holub, Joan. CINDERDOG AND THE WICKED STEPCAT. ISBN 0807511781
Lowell, Susan. THE BOOTMAKER AND THE ELVES. ISBN 0531071383
Lowell, Susan. THE THREE LITTLE JAVELINAS. ISBN 0873585429.
Huling, Jan. PUSS IN COWBOY BOOTS. ISBN 0689831196
Johnston, Tony. THE COWBOY AND THE BLACK-EYED PEA. ISBN 069811356X
Hopkins, Jackie. THE HORNED TOAD PRINCE. ISBN 1561451959