Module 12 Home on the Range

Bibliographic Citation

Hopkinson, D. (2009). Home on the range. New York:  G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Summary

John Avery Lomax loved singing as a small boy.  He sang all the time as he did his work and chores.  He lived along the Old Chishom Trail and cowboys often stopped at his house and they sang as they did their cowboy duties..  So he started to write down the cowboy songs he heard.  Eventually John went to the University of Texas.  Finally he became a teacher and later went back to school at Harvard.  He decided to do a paper on old ballards and wrote to newspapers from the west asking people to send him their songs.  John received hundreds of replies.  He finally presented his paper to his class and everyone cheered.  So next he decided to write a book and gather the songs from cowboys actually singing them.  John traveled around and recorded and wrote down songs.. Some of these songs are some that are still sung today like Home on the Range.

Impressions

I enjoyed reading this book even if it was historical fictional.  It was based on a real person John Avery Lomx and his love of cowboy songs.  People like him are very remarable to have followed their dream of writing down the songs of those years and know that they would be saved and shared for many others to enjoy in the future.  I have always been an admirer of cowboys and love to talk and read about them.

Suggestions For Use in a Library

1. I would share this book with third and up during  rodeo time of the year.  Sometimes classes visit the rodeo during school and I might suggest that they listen to see if they heard any cowboys singing near the animals at the rodeo.

2. Try writing a class song or a little cowboy poem on your own.

Reviews

With the flair for which she is known, Hopkinson (Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek) chronicles the early life of John Avery Lomax, a pioneer of folk musicology who got his start collecting cowboy songs. The colorful narrative devotes several spreads to the song collector's childhood in Texas. Glimpses of his thoughts and emotions (e. g, "The songs went straight to John's heart, and he made up his mind to write down each and every cowboy song he heard") as well as dialogue help personalize the story. Short, chapter-like segments begin with lyrics from cowboy songs, like "Poor Lonesome Cowboy," although it may take a more sophisticated reader to connect the songs' themes with Lomax's life. Schindler's (The Story of Salt) realistic illustrations, painted with a light touch in muted hues, ably capture the expressions of skeptical cowboys ("I'm not goin' poke my face up to your blamed old horn and sing," says one at the sight of Lomax's Ediphone) or the eagerness with which Lomax goes about his work. Concluding author notes read more like a standard biography and sketch out Lomax's later years. Ages 6-8. (Jan.)

Home on the range: John A. Lomax and his cowboy songs. (2008). Publishers Weekly, 255(50), 54

Interspersing her narrative with verses from "Home on the Range," "Sweet Betsy from Pike," "The Old Chisholm Trail" and like cowboy chestnuts, Hopkinson retraces the early career of the greatest collector and recorder of American folk songs ever. Taking minor liberties with the historical record (and compensating with a detailed afterword), she follows him from rural Texan childhood to the halls of Harvard, and then back out onto the trail, where, with a notebook and a primitive "Ediphone," he gathered verses and performances from anyone who would sing for him. In Schindler's atmospheric illustrations a dapper young man mingles comfortably with brushy-mustached, Stetson-topped cowpokes--and sits in one scene with a colorfully clad fortuneteller--in settings that are mostly wide, outdoorsy spreads of western prairie. Capped with a fuller picture of the work of Lomax and his son Alan, as well as enticing source notes, this account can't help but broaden the insight of little dogies everywhere into the histories and meaning of these enduringly popular songs. (Picture book/biography. 7-9)

Home on the range: John A. Lomax and his cowboy songs. (2008). Kirkus Reviews, 76(22), 1201.

Gr 1-4-- This lovely picture-book biography of the noted musicologist describes his youth in Texas where he enjoyed singing as he worked on the family ranch and he listened to cowboys singing as they traveled the old Chisholm Trail. Lomas taught for a few years, but his passionate interest in music won out and led him to become an extraordinary collector of folk songs. Beautiful ink and watercolor illustrations radiate warmth, charm, and humor, highlighting expressive features and striking individuality. The handsome artwork is full of energy and authenticity, and includes faithful and appealing renditions of animals and bucolic landscapes. Excerpts from some songs appear prominently. Addendum material includes additional details about Lomax, his family, and their legacy; information about the Library of Congress archival collection of songs; and a list of other sources.

Cutler, K. (2009). Home on the range: John A. Lomax and his cowboy songs. School Library Journal, 55(1), 92.