ALA Booklist

Rail-thin Slim wakes up from a nap in a scrubby canyon to find a coyote riously wearing a mini version of his own denim-and-vest outfit o asks him to deliver a letter to the sheriff of Fire Gulch City. The wily critter sweetens the deal by offering Slim his fancy blue hat, and then hightails it before Slim can turn down the offer. So Slim makes his way from town to town in search of Fire Gulch City, averting disaster in the unlikeliest of fashions. His hat swallers up a flood and a tornado, and he then unleashes them to quench a fire and foil a bank robbery respectively. Wouldn't you know it, by the time Slim gets to Fire Gulch, he's become the very sheriff that the coyote sent the letter to in the first place. Long on text, Langdo's quirky tall tale has the kind of grand whoppers you'd expect and a touch of heart that surprises. Visually, the dusty, appealing artwork has plenty of fine details for kids to get lost in while their ears soak up Slim's crowd-pleasing exploits.

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

In this Western tall tale, Tornado Slim goes from poky cowboy to honored hero with the help of a magical hat and a mysterious letter. Langdo's watercolor illustrations are filled with humorous details (e.g., a man dressed just in a barrel and cowboy boots) and his read-aloud-friendly text is sprinkled with cowboy lingo ("Better high-tail it outta here, stranger!").

School Library Journal (Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

K-Gr 2 Tornado Slim is in for an adventure when a coyote asks him to deliver a letter to the sheriff of Fire Gulch City. The coyote sees that he's a bit hesitant and sweetens the deal by giving Slim his special cowboy hat. The young man travels from town to town, and, as he does, floods, tornadoes, fire, and bandits seem to follow him. He quickly learns that his new hat is not the run-of-the-mill variety; it allows him to avert these catastrophes. An even bigger surprise awaits him in Fire Gulch City as he becomes the new sheriff. Full of cowboy lingo such as "pard'ner" and "sarsaparilla" and food such as smoked ribs and five-alarm chili, this book paints a fun picture of the Wild West. The detail-oriented watercolor illustrations add to the adventure. Appealing as a read-aloud or as independent reading, Tornado Slim will have youngsters laughing up a storm. Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH

Kirkus Reviews

Colloquially told, with an epistolary twist, this Western tall tale of guileless cowboy Slim, who finds himself thrust into the role of a hero, packs a lot of charm. Sweet-talked by an about-to-be married coyote into delivering a letter to the sheriff of Fire Gulch City, Slim also accepts a hat as part of the deal. While all Slim wants at the end of each day is "an ice-cold sarsaparilla," he finds himself instead capturing first a flood and then a tornado in the magic cowboy hat. Finally, in where else but Fire Gulch City, he puts out a fire with the water stored in the hat and then captures Smelly Jim and his Band of Outlaws by unleashing the tornado. In each town, he's feted with a celebration and five-, six- and seven-alarm chili. A surprise in the letter brings this lively tale to a tidy conclusion. Langdo's jaunty, energetic pictures employ highlighted circles to zoom in for the occasional telling close-up. The classically deadpan narration features dialogue liberally strewn with Western-isms and lacking just the right number of terminal g's to give flavor without overwhelming. Decent, likable Slim makes for an excellent protagonist. An ebullient and refreshing venture Out West. (Picture book. 5-8)