ALA Booklist (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

K-Gr. 2. Ten-Gallon Bart, canine sheriff of Dog City, is about to retire when he hears that Billy the Kid, the roughest, toughest, gruffest goat in the country, is coming to town. After rounding up his deputies and the other animal residents of Dog City to support him, he faces Billy in a dramatic showdown with a surprise ending. Crummel's colorful language is complemented by Donohue's detailed, three-dimensional collage illustrations, which work best from a distance. The text harks back to the 1950s television westerns, with the repeated description of Bart as brave, courageous, and bold (the Wyatt Earp theme song) and a character named Miss Kitty (Gunsmoke ), who at one point screeches like a cat on a hot tin roof. Along with deputy names Wild Bill Hiccup and Wyatt Burp, these references are more likely to resonate with grandparents than with young children. Even so, with its flavorful and often funny text and its large-scale illustrations, the book is a natural for reading aloud to groups.

Horn Book (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

On the day he plans to retire as sheriff of Dog City, Ten-Gallon Bart must deal with Billy the Kid--the roughest, toughest goat with plans to eat the entire town. A brawl ends with Billy as a reformed goat, no longer mean. Though this simple story resolves too easily, the playful use of language and colorful cut-paper collage illustrations have appeal.

Kirkus Reviews (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Meet Ten-Gallon Bart, sheriff of Dog City, the most peaceful town in the West, because he's done a bang-up job. But Bart's tired of being brave and bold, he's ready to hang up his star and retire. Then the headline shrieks, "Billy the Kid on the Loose! Headed for Dog City on the Noon Train." Bart rounds up Miss Kitty, Wyatt Burp, Wild Bill Hiccup and Buffalo Gal, who stand behind him (literally) when he meets the train. But the minute Billy the Kid licks his lips and yells, "I'm BAA-AA-AA-D," everyone in town runs for cover except Bart. He faces the big bad goat head-on, but Billy head-butts him out cold and chomps his hat and star. The town comes to Bart's rescue and together they alter Billy's personality. The textured collages corral every bit of Wild West punnery in this laugh-out-loud romp. The large format gives full rein to Donohue's artwork to detail the wild and woolly action and close-ups, personify the animal characters and exaggerate the ten-gallon hatful of humor overall. A quick-draw of quick-witted guffaws, guaranteed to get your goat and make readers grin. (Picture book. 5-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Even with Crummel's (Plaidypus Lost) snappy wordplay and Donohue's (All in One Hour) elaborate collages, this Wild West parody never stirs up much excitement. Bart, the sheriff of Dog City, is all set to retire when word arrives that a ravenous goat named Billy the Kid is heading to town. """"He'll munch our flowers! He'll chomp our trees!"""" Miss Kitty pleads, eventually convincing the peace-keeping canine to postpone his retirement. A nasty fight ensues-with Miss Kitty getting in some impressive licks of her own-and Bart inadervently discovers what ails Billy and saves the day (all the villain needed was the equivalent of some Heimlich Manuevers; he had indigestion). Crummel combines Western-style cadences with playful puns (Billy says to Bart, """"I see this place is goin' to the dogs,"""" to which Bart responds, """"You gotta bone to pick?""""), but readers may find the narrative bogs down in the extended joke set-up that takes Bart around town recruiting deputies (""""We'll be there. We'll do our part. We're behind you, Sheriff Bart!""""), only to have them vanish the minute the villain hits town. Donohue clearly knows Westerns well enough to spoof them, and there's an impressive level of detail at work here (e.g., Billy's and Bart's bristly fur is composed of hundreds of tiny angular shapes). But ultimately, the tale unfortunately feels inert and unfocused. Ages 5-8.

School Library Journal (Wed Jul 06 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

PreS-Gr 3-Bart, a dog, is looking forward to retiring as sheriff of Dog City. Then on his last day on the job, he learns that Billy the Kid (a goat) is headed toward town. Miss Kitty (a cat) implores him to stay on, promising that she and the other residents will do their part, too. Deputies Bill Hiccup and Wyatt Burp (pigs), Dixie and Pixie (chicks), and Buffalo Gal (a cow) all wait for Billy, but when he does appear, they scatter and only Bart is there to resist him. After the Kid butts Bart and chomps on his hat, the other animals come forward and help; and as the sheriff jumps on Billy's back, the old goat coughs up rope and soap, saddles and paddles, and socks and clocks until he feels a heap better, and the town settles down into being a peaceful place again. Crummel has captured the feel of the Old West, with language that is playful and sometimes rhymes. At times the text twists and turns across spreads, and the beautiful textured papers and collage characters are full of detail and humor. This is a terrific read-aloud, with lots of wordplay that may be beyond the youngest listeners, but will be enjoyed by older kids.-JoAnn Jonas, Chula Vista Public Library, San Diego, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.