Buckaroo

Rating:
Summary: My children loved this story!
Review: I read Buckaroo aloud to my two girls, ages 9 and 13, and they both were enthralled! It was a sweet, tender, fascinatig story about a boy in the 1950s who has to deal with the loss of his mother and a new life in a strange town. Betty Traylor is a gifted writer who really has a way with words! We are hoping to read more of her work in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt, fun, and a perfect read for middle-graders
Review: I'm not sure the kirkus reviewer read the same book I did. This is not just beautifully written and authentic. It's the sort of book that entertains a young reader and makes him look at issues in a new way. It's a Tom-Sawyeresque adventure with a true social conscience, but the book is so sincere and so wonderfully rendered that the reader will never forget Buckaroo. A must-read for middle-grade readers, even the reluctant ones.

Rating:
Summary: "Shades of Harper Lee"
Review: When I was a kid my mother always reviewed the selections I made on my school book order. When they arrived she would read them, too. I found myself doing the same thing when my own children were in school. I think I have found a wonderful selection for this year's holiday gift giving. Buckaroo not only has a moral lesson that many of us can learn from, but it is a story that pulls at the heartstrings as Preston's life is turned upside down when his mother dies. It tenderly takes the reader through this process through a child's eyes. He still plays, goes trick-or-treating, does his chores and schoolwork, but has quiet times on the front porch swing where he remembers the angel, Mama. Betty Traylor has shown clearly that racial prejudice is a learned behavior. She did a beautiful job of exposing the good that we all have deep within us, although due to culture, geography, and circumstance, it very often remains buried there. Within the first few chapters of the book I was taken back to Mickey Mouse Club days, sitting around a campfire, and hearing Daddy singing "I'll Fly Away." I was held in suspense as her Halloween night events unfolded. For a child of today, this book is pure fiction. For those of us that grew up in the 50s or had children that grew up in that era, this story is a trip down memory lane, back when hero's were Roy Rogers, not Rambo. Betty Traylor captured Arkansas as it really was at that time, and I feel can be considered a gifted southern writer. This is a must read for ALL!