The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones

Readers will be lassoed into this cowboy novel immediately. Prometheus Jones, an African-American boy who gets the heck out of the South during reconstruction, signs on with his cousin to drive cattle West. Between scrapes with fate and nature, the characters find adventure at every turn whether fighting rivers or protecting their camps in the dark. It's a book that parents and grandparents can feel confident in giving as a gift to boys 10-years-old and up and teachers can choose to help students learn about an era in American history that is less well-known now that Gun Smoke is off the air and John Wayne Westerns are more than a generation old. It's also a fascinating look at something rarely written about for kids -- African American and Hispanic cowboys riding, working, eating and sleeping along side their white counterparts in the late 1800s.

Prometheus Jones (gotta love his name!) is a young black boy turned cowboy. After the death of his mother and the luck of winning a one-eyed horse, Prometheus heads west along with his eleven-year-old cousin named Omer. Prometheus has headed to Texas to find the father he never knew. THE ADVENTUROUS DEEDS OF DEADWOOD JONES doesn't hesitate to describe the rough and often dangerous life of the cowboy. The two young cowboys get themselves jobs with a cattle driving company and the adventure begins. There is enough cattle roping, gun slinging, and run-ins with Indians to satisfy the wildest western lover. Readers will learn about the dangers of stampeding cattle, swimming rushing rivers, and facing the possibility of being scalped by the Sioux. Author Helen Hemphill offers something a bit different than the usual YA material. Her description of being a black cowboy in a world of mostly white cattle-drivers provides an interesting historical perspective most books don't include. Also, the fact that the hard-working, courageous characters are quite young compared to modern-day working teens provides not only entertainment, but also a heads-up that today's kids don't have it so bad at all. Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"