Age: Middle Grade (third-fifth graders)
Genre: Fiction
What is a “bulldogger,”
you ask? Lucky for those uninitiated into the world of rodeos, author Barbara
Hay explains the term early in this first book of the “The Bulldoggers Club”
series. The club featured in the book is a set of young boys named Dru, Bo,
Cecil, and Scotty who want nothing more than to compete in bulldogging at the rodeo.
Since they aren’t allowed yet due to their age, they focus on the calf-roping
event. However, the rodeo aspect of this story is hardly present. The main
narrative follows the boys as they catch a record-setting catfish somewhere
they shouldn’t have been fishing in the first place (private land owned by an
older woman they call a witch). The boys struggle with hiding the truth about
where the fish came from while also dealing with bullies and trying to fit in
time to practice roping. In the end, the story shows the boys’ emotional growth
and the strengthening of their friendship, both important topics to the
intended audience of elementary-aged children. Though the characters were
likeable, I found myself a little bored by the story. Then again, I am not a
young boy.
There was
just not a lot moving the narrative forward. In other words, it’s not a
page-turner. But if you are looking for a wholesome story about country boys,
fishing, and rodeos, then you could give this one a try.
Technical
Note: I read this as a preview copy on my Nook e-reader and the illustrations
kept freezing up the system. I wouldn’t recommend reading it on a Nook.
Bibliographic
Information:
Hay, Barbara.
The Bulldoggers Club: The Tale of the
Ill-Gotten Catfish. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: The RoadRunner Press, 2012.
The Bulldoggers Club on
BarnesandNoble.com
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