Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

That ol' rascal Cowpoke Clyde is back in the saddle again for another rollicking ride on the range (Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg, 2013), this time on one of them newfangled machines called a bicycle. The lanky, white cowboy decides to trade in his horse, ordering up a shiny, red bicycle from a mail-order catalog, or "cat-y-log" in Clyde's colloquial manner of speaking. The pitch-perfect rhyming text is filled with amusing, old-fashioned expressions in Clyde's strong cowboy voice, just begging to be read aloud with a believable twang. When Clyde takes off on his first ride, he's followed by his trusty, dusty Dawg, a faithful Old English sheepdog in a red bandanna. In subsequent action-filled scenes, they meet a "horny toad," a hare, a porcupine, and some bighorn sheep, which the devoted Dawg chases out of his path just in time. Thoughtful art direction sets up each new critter encounter with dramatic pacing and a page turn to reveal the next animal obstacle, with the new creature's name set in huge display type. Vibrant digitally produced illustrations give Clyde a distinct personality and meet the challenge of capturing a cowboy in motion on a bicycle, and close-up views of the prickly porcupine and bug-eyed bighorn sheep effectively animate the critters so they seem ready to jump right off the page. Another doggone funny cowboy caper chock full o' chuckles. (Picture book. 3-8)

ALA Booklist (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

Cowpoke Clyde may be an experienced cowhand, but after seeing an ad for a shiny red bicycle, Clyde decides to get one. Hoping it'll be better than a bucking, biting, neighing horse, Clyde orders the bike from a catalog, and when it arrives, he thinks, "Piece of cake." But whoa, Nelly! Riding isn't so easy when you don't know how to steer or brake, especially when several animals unexpectedly appear in your path, including a horny toad, a hare, a porcupine, and a herd of bighorn sheep. Despite these obstacles and a few spills along the way, Clyde proves he's got grit: "He grabbed his hat and started back, / heading for his comfy shack. / But as he walked, he thunk a bit. / How could a cowpoke up and quit?" Mortensen's melodic and twangy couplets beg to be read aloud, and Austin's illustrations provide graphic-novel-like perspective, such as looking upward as Clyde pops a wheelie to avoid the porcupine. With more than 70 books under her belt, it's clear this isn't Mortensen's first rodeo.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

That ol' rascal Cowpoke Clyde is back in the saddle again for another rollicking ride on the range (Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg, 2013), this time on one of them newfangled machines called a bicycle. The lanky, white cowboy decides to trade in his horse, ordering up a shiny, red bicycle from a mail-order catalog, or "cat-y-log" in Clyde's colloquial manner of speaking. The pitch-perfect rhyming text is filled with amusing, old-fashioned expressions in Clyde's strong cowboy voice, just begging to be read aloud with a believable twang. When Clyde takes off on his first ride, he's followed by his trusty, dusty Dawg, a faithful Old English sheepdog in a red bandanna. In subsequent action-filled scenes, they meet a "horny toad," a hare, a porcupine, and some bighorn sheep, which the devoted Dawg chases out of his path just in time. Thoughtful art direction sets up each new critter encounter with dramatic pacing and a page turn to reveal the next animal obstacle, with the new creature's name set in huge display type. Vibrant digitally produced illustrations give Clyde a distinct personality and meet the challenge of capturing a cowboy in motion on a bicycle, and close-up views of the prickly porcupine and bug-eyed bighorn sheep effectively animate the critters so they seem ready to jump right off the page. Another doggone funny cowboy caper chock full o' chuckles. (Picture book. 3-8)