Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
In December, I received an e-mail asking me if I would like to be a member of the Great Kids Can Read Committee, (GKCRead). This is an award that is put together by the Greater Kansas City Association of School Librarians. Of course, I said, "YES!" Of course, Jim said, "ARE YOU SURE? More meetings?" Haha. So, I was given a (still growing) list of 47 books that I am to read and form opinions on by our February meeting date. It will be our job to narrow down the book list to 30 titles, and then that list will be sent out to a group of reader selectors who will read and rate those 30 titles, thus narrowing our list to our 10 award nominees for the school year. I started off my reading with this picture book biography.
"He first rode for prizes at the age of sixteen, but some rodeos and exhibitions shut out black cowboys. When he was allowed to compete, the judges hardly ever treated him fair. It stung, but that didn't stop George. He was set on showing them what he was made of."
So, what did I think?
4 out of 5 Stars
This book tells the story of George Fletcher, (1890-1973). As a young black boy, George's family left Kansas, and headed out on the Oregon Trail. He made friends with several Native Americans from the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and fell in love with horses. He knew he was meant to be with them. After learning to train horses and becoming a rancher, he started competing in saddle bronc contests. However, it wasn't always fair, because George was black, and oftentimes would lose just due to the color of skin, and not his ability to hang on and ride. Eventually, George finds himself at the Saddle Bronc Championship, which was HUGE! After riding not once, but twice, since his first horse didn't buck enough, he still ends up losing to a white rancher. The crowd went crazy, gathering their own money to award him a prize, and giving him the nickname, People's Champion.
I enjoyed this book because I don't really have a lot of schema for this time period. I've just never been very interested in it. I think this is a great story for discussing inequality, and perseverance. I found the research section at the back of the book to be very interesting. Not only did the author provide details about George Fletcher's life, but also about his two competitors from the Saddle Bronc Championship, as well as the sheriff that stood up for George that day. John Spain, the man who won that day, told the Pendleton Live Wire newspaper that, he thought he had won fair and square. He stated that if George would have had a better ride, then the judges would have said so. I can't say, because I wasn't there. But the important thing is that the people took a stand for what they felt was right. I think this is an easy enough read to get younger children interested in this time period.
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