[LMB] it was red

[David Bowen]

Lois,

   By any chance could it be "The Book of Cowboys" by Holling C.
Holling? The marginal notes and illustrations definitely fit, and the
plot seems vaguely familiar so if it isn't that it may be something
that my third grade teacher read to the class, the title of which I've
long forgotten. His "Paddle to the Sea" is one of my all time
favorites, but I grew up on the shores of Lake Huron.

David Bowen

On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 7:15 PM, Lois McMaster Bujold
<lbujold at myinfmail.com> wrote:
> [LMB] it was red
>  Marilyn Traber mtraber251 at earthlink.net
>  Fri Apr 11 16:15:40 BST 2008
>
>  Lois McMaster Bujold wrote:
>   > So...
>   >
>   >     Do any of the librarians on the list have the URL for one of those,
>   > "Please, Librarians, help me remember this book!" lists?   I have a
>   > query for them for a children's book which I last read sometime in the
>   > mid 1950's.
>   >
>   >     Ta, L.
>   >
>   >
>   >
>   >
>  And why can't you ask the list?
>
>
>  ***  OK, but I'm going to try the librarians later on.
>
>   I think it must have belonged to one of my older brothers before it
>  fell to me, because it dated from the late 30's or 1940's and was from
>  about the same era when I was reading his copies of //Boy's Life//.
>
>  It was red -- seemed like a large format book to me, but my hands were
>  smaller then.   In the story, two children, a brother and sister from
>  New York City, travel out by train to the West to spend a summer on
>  their uncle's ranch.  Incidents include the train trip, being taken out
>  on a trail ride by a grizzled ranch hand, killing a rattlesnake (which
>  is later made into two belts) and some sort of climax at a rodeo.  It
>  had some gorgeous full-page color plate illos in a style like the elder
>  Wyeth's, and a number of delightful little marginal illustrations in
>  black and white.
>
>  I can picture everything about it, but title and author are absolutely
>  gone from my memory.
>
>  Anything?
>
>  I have been put in mind of it from time to time, but just lately because
>  I'm going to fulfill a long-time ambition and take the train out from
>  Minneapolis to Portland for my daughter's graduation next month.  (It's
>  called the /Empire Builder/, and you can find out all about it and its
>  route on Amtrak's website.   I've toured James J. Hill's house, why not
>  ride his railway?)
>
>  Ta, L.  (Must run.)
>
>
>
>  --
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>