Dear Reader,
Thank you for even thinking about reading COWBOY UP, Ride the Navajo Rodeo. Maybe you wish you could have your own horse, ride like the wind, twirl a lasso and catch a run-away calf. Or maybe you are curious about what it would be like to be a cowboy or a rodeo rider.
One great thing about this book, you don’t even have to read it, you can just look at the pictures. They tell a mighty fine story.
I wrote this book to share what it’s like to be inside a rodeo arena, getting ready to race out of a chute. We’ve all experienced the nervous “can’t sleep and can’t eat” jitters before a big event. Maybe yours was getting ready for a recital or performance, or try-outs for a team. Cowboys and cowgirls getting ready to rodeo feel the same way. It’s scary.
When I was a kid I liked reading, for two reasons. It was one way to get away from seven brothers and sisters and chores. I would climb a tree, hide in the branches and read. The other reason is that books had pictures, especially National Geographic magazines. I’d read the descriptions under the pictures and read some of the article if I wanted to learn more.
Read anything. You learn interesting stuff, meet interesting people – real and made-up – and go places you have never been. Read every day. I kept a stack of comic books under my bed. And a flashlight. Now I keep a stack of books next to my bed. You never know when you need a good book.
Good to meet you! Imagine being anything you want, and thanks for reading my letter. It’s like making a new friend.
Enjoy a ReaderKidZ interview with Nancy HERE.
To read more about Nancy Bo Flood and her newest book, COWBOY UP! Ride the Navajo Rodeo, visit her website HERE.
Photos by Jan Sonnenmair, courtesy of WordSong
