I had never heard of Hank the Cowdog before doing this review but when I opened the package and the kids saw all the cool stuff inside, they were just drooling to be able to do the review right away! We were in the middle of moving to a new home and we all needed a break from the mountain of boxes and the constant packing, so I decided to sit down with the kids right then-n-there to look over the products. Everything was very colorful and looked exciting! I was planning to listen to the CD while we played the game and then start reading the book later that evening before bed. So, we popped in the CD, opened up the game and started reading the directions.
It turns out that I had a hard time understanding exactly what to do to play the game, so it was hard to listen to the CD and try to figure out the rules at the same time. Just before I turned it off, we heard a word that is considered “taboo” in our home – along the lines of dummy, idiot, dang, etc. I decided it would be a good idea to turn it off and wait until the kids were in bed to listen to the rest. Once we were able to figure out the rules for the game, the kids and I played for little while. Later on, we sat down for another packing break to read some of the book. There were a few things that I didn’t feel were in agreement with the way we are trying to raise our kids, so I put the book aside and read something else for a little while.
I’ll break down, piece by piece, what I thought of the products after a little background on the author. “Hank the Cowdog” is a rather popular series of books written by John Erickson, who was a real cowboy in Texas and Oklahoma in the late 1960′s. In 1982, Mr. Erickson started his own publishing company, Maverick Books and the tale of Hank the Cowdog began. Currently, between writing new adventures for Hank, Mr. Erickson and his wife operate a real ranch and commercial beef cattle operation.
“The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse”
This is just one of the many books in the “Hank the Cowdog” series and it’s the one we were given to review. Let me just say right off the bat, I really really have a hard time giving a bad review to anyone. I have been struggling with how to word my true feelings regarding this book. But, I think the main goal of the Homeschool Crew is honesty so I’m going to do the best I can.
- Details
- Number 8 in the “Hank” series
- 120 pages
- reading level is equivalent to the middle of 3rd grade (or ages 7-9)
- Retails for less than $5 in paperback and $12.49 hardback (also available on CD or cassette)
- Pros
- The book is written at a very easy-to-digest level. If you had an older child that was struggling to read, this might be a great place to start.
- Also, it is definitely a fun book! I can almost hear the Texan-twang in Hank’s voice. Mr. Erickson does a great job of relating the mood of a real cowboy through that twang!
- Since there are so many books in this series (I believe there are 54 books in all) and other resources such as games and CDs, you could probably do a great unit study using the books.
- Cons
- I think the most important drawback to the book was the extreme conversational tone throughout the book. I think it is part of what makes the book fun for kids, but also not a challenge for their minds. It also tends to include lots of slang. The story is told from Hank’s point of view as a cowdog and, as he is telling the story, he gets off-track by talking about silly things that don’t really pertain to the story at hand. Occasionally, I will let my older son read a comic book, but other than that we don’t do too much “silly reading” around here. I want the kids to be challenged by what they read on many different levels.
- Also, there were a few topics touched on in the book that really bothered me as a parent. Primarily, Hank’s preoccupation with women was a turn-off for me. He goes on and on sometimes about different females, talking about “the cutest little pointed nose you ever saw and red lips that were shaped like a bow and skin as smooth as whipped cream …” – it just got to be a little too much after a few times. One time he said, “Just the thought of that woman gets me in an uproar” and I didn’t feel comfortable having my 10-year-old son thinking about women that way.
- Another topic that was bothersome was telling the kids how they can lie to their parents about who wet the bed. This happened right in the beginning as Hank was introducing the story. He mentioned that it was going to be such an exciting story, it would have the children scared enough to sleep with mom and dad for a week, maybe enough to wet the bed. The advice he gives about what to do after the bed-wetting? “Just pretend it didn’t happen … tell ‘em that it rained during the night and the roof leaked.” Obviously, he is just trying to be silly, but any kind of lie is a big deal in this house, even one that’s so silly it’s hardly believable. How could I go on reading to my children when I’ve taught them that any lie is a bad lie?
Hank’s Tornado Game
- Details
- Portable – all pieces fit inside the fold-able playing board
- For 2 to 4 players
- For ages 5 and up
- Retails for $12.99 on Hank’s official website
- Pros
- The game is quite a bit like the game Sorry
- Because it has the same characters and cowboy-feel to it that the books do, fans of the books will really enjoy playing the game!
- My 10-year-old really enjoyed the game!
- Cons
- The directions were a little hard to understand at first. We did eventually get the hang of it, but it was hard to keep track of the rules. Maybe it was because it was the first time we had played – it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks!
- Each player is a specific color. On the game pieces, the color is on the bottom of the piece so it was hard to keep track of which “Hank the Cowdog” piece was yours.
Hank’s Tales and Tunes CD
- Details
- 9 songs in all
- Retails for $3.00
- There is also a double CD package available with 45 songs, which include the 9 on this CD
- Pros
- Once again, the songs are silly! Little boys, with their unique sense of humor, will really get a hoot out of most of the songs.
- The songs have a very unique sound-quality as they were performed like an old-time radio show.
- These are definitely cowboy country songs, through and through!
- Cons
- The songs are maybe just a little too silly for us. I don’t mean to sound like we never have fun with our kids, but “silly” and “fun” have different meanings for us.
- One song talked about how awful little boys are which makes you thankful for gals. The song ripped on boys so much that it was pretty upsetting to me, especially since I have two of the cutest, sweetest boys in the whole world who would never “drive their tractor across your toes”. He goes on to sing, “There ain’t much use for little boys” and “Little boys ain’t fit to keep, they’ll mess things up and make you weep.” Yikes! I would never want my little boys to hear that kind of stuff and wonder who feels that way about them! No one in this house feels that way for sure!
I hope I wasn’t too hard on Hank the Cowdog! I am glad that so many children across the country have found something they enjoy reading instead of just consuming what comes from the television hour by hour.
Hank the Cowdog has his own official website at www.HankTheCowdog.com where you can play some online ranch games, explore the ranch, order the books and tapes and sign the guestbook!
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