The Sweetwater Run : the story of Buffalo Bill Cody and the Pony Express

Title:

The Sweetwater Run : the story of Buffalo Bill Cody and the Pony Express

Author:

Glass, Andrew, 1949-

Publication Information:

New York : Doubleday book for young readers, 1996.

Format:

Books

Carrier Type:

1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. maps ; 27 cm.

Personal Subject:

Buffalo Bill, 1846-1917-Juvenile fiction.

Subject Term:

Pony express -- Juvenile fiction.

Geographic Term:

West (U.S.) -- Fiction.

ISBN:

9780385322201

9780440411864

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Child Count	Shelf Location	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Branch	Juvenile Book	E GL	1	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Branch	Juvenile Book	J FICTION GLASS	1	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Branch	Juvenile Book	BLUE EASY GLASS	1	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Branch	Juvenile Paperback	J GLA	1	Juvenile Fiction	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Central	Book	E G463S	1	Juvenile Fiction	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Central	Juvenile Book	J GLA	1	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Central	Juvenile Book	E GLA	2	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Central	Juvenile Book	PIC GLA	1	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... East	Book	E GLA	1	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... Midlands	Book	FIC GLA	1	Fiction Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... South	Juvenile Book	J F GLA	1	Juvenile Fiction	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... South	Juvenile Book	J FIC GLAS	3	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... South	Book	J FIC GLAS	1	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... South	Book	J PICTURE GLASS	1	Juvenile Fiction	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable
Searching... South	Juvenile Book	E GLASS	1	Juvenile Collection	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

In 1860 the only Pony Express job 13-year-old Will Cody could land was the "sweat and water run," taking care of the tired and thirsty ponies. But one chilly November morning, Will has his big chance. The news of the U.S. presidential election has been entrusted to the pony boys, and from the looks of it, only Will would be able to get the mail through. But should he risk his own safety and the wrath of his boss, the Terrible Slade, and ride himself? From the Trade Paperback edition.

Reviews (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 1-3-The story of how 13-year-old Will Cody, later famous as Buffalo Bill, became a Pony Express rider in 1860. Presented as historical fiction, the book depicts life in the 19th-century West as exciting, but difficult and dangerous as well. Cody, seeking to help support his sisters and widowed mother, is attracted to the Pony Express for its high wages. Because of his youth, he is hired first as a stablehand. He becomes a rider when another young man is injured, and no one else is available to carry the mail. A four-page historical note at the end of the book provides factual information about the Pony Express and Cody's life. Vibrant oil paintings suit the story well, conveying movement and a sense of urgency. The forms are slightly exaggerated and painted in an impressionistic style with smears of color for emphasis. Instead of looking blurred, however, figures and details are defined by thick black outlining. Children will enjoy hearing or reading the story for its own sake, but they will also gain some knowledge of the period.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

As he did in Folks Call Me Appleseed Johnny, Glass adopts a full-bodied conversational first-person voice, instantly allying readers with a legendary historical figure. The tale opens in 1860, when 13-year-old Cody, helping to support his widowed mother and his sisters, spies an ad for Pony Express riders and jumps at the chance to earn 25 dollars a week. Too young to snare a job as rider, Will becomes a stablehand, caring for exhausted ponies and preparing fresh mounts for the mail carriers. But Cody gets his big break when he is tapped to sub for two injured riders, and he gallops westward with a mailbag containing top-secret information: the results of the Presidential election that brought Abraham Lincoln to Washington. While this dramatic episode is the focus of Glass's informal biographical sketch, the author also briefly refers to Cody's adult achievements, which included running the world-famous Wild West Show. An informative concluding note fills in details of the short-lived Pony Express and Cody's diverse experiences. Featuring broad, abundantly textured strokes, Glass's dynamic oil paintings suggest the tale's energetic movement and Cody's fierce determination, also portraying the rugged, expansive terrain of a West that was wild. Ages 6-10. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Horn Book Review

Glass takes factual material and blends it with fiction and myth to tell the story of Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express. Much of the text revolves around a fictional episode in which the young Bill Cody risks his own safety to carry news of Lincoln's election victory. Glass's loose, scratchy full-page paintings are a perfect match for the Wild West tale. From HORN BOOK 1996, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

In a work subtitled ``The Story of Buffalo Bill Cody and the Pony Express,'' Glass (Folks Call Me Appleseed John, 1995, etc.) presents a well-researched, colorfully written, and dynamically illustrated fictional (some characters are invented, and historians are unsure whether Cody actually carried mail for the Pony Express) account of how 14-year-old Will Cody became the youngest rider, carrying the news of President Lincoln's election westward on a portion of the route along the North Platte and Sweetwater rivers in Wyoming Territory. The tale, told in the colloquial first-person narration of an older man reminiscing about the greatest adventure of his life, concludes with brief mentions of Cody's later exploits as Union Army scout, buffalo hunter, and showman. Scratch-textured oil paintings, with Glass's trademark purple shadows, are full of drama, rich color, and motion. He provides extensive notes; maps of the Pony Express route appear on the endpapers. This is a wonderful jumping-off point for further investigation of Cody's life and legend, the history of the Pony Express, westward expansion, Native American conflicts, decimation of the buffalo, or even California's teetering between the Union and the Confederacy before the Civil War. (Picture book. 7-11)

Booklist Review

Ages 6^-9. The year of the West in books for young people continues in a rousing tale. As he did in Folks Call Me Johnny Appleseed (1995), Glass lets a larger-than-life historical figure narrate an exciting episode from his youth. In 1860, 13-year-old Will Cody tries to get a job as a pony express rider. Instead, he finds himself working as a stable hand at a relay station. Good fortune intercedes when a Pony boy carrying news of Lincoln's reelection (and the imminent war) is bitten by a snake and Will takes over the run. The action-filled, colloquial text is matched by the rustic oil paintings. Exaggerated characters and pulsating lines and brush strokes inform the animated, richly colored landscape. This works better than some fictionalized pieces because of the embellishments in text and art. Glass offers a three-page note at the end of the book that provides a history of Cody and the Pony Express, and tells what parts of the story are strictly fiction. --Julie Corsaro