Book Review BUBBA THE COWBOY PRINCE: A FRACTURED TEXAS TALE

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ketteman, Helen. 1997. BUBBA THE COWBOY PRINCE: A FRACTURED TEXAS TALE. Ill. by James Warhola. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0590255061

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Bubba the Cowboy Prince is a comical western version of the classic Cinderella story. Bubba, the good stepbrother, always worked hard at his evil stepdaddy’s Texas ranch while Dwayne and Milton, his mean stepbrothers, just sat back on their horses bossing him around. One day, Miz Lurleen—the “puriest and richest gal in the county"—decided to throw a ball to find herself a “feller” who loved ranching as much as she does. After helping Milton and Dwayne get all “gussied up in their finest duds” to attend Miz Lurleen’s ball, Bubba stays behind.

Suddenly, Miz Godcow shows up to magically transform Bubba into a handsome cowboy who spelled nice too. While dancing with Miz Lurleen, the clock strikes midnight and Bubba turns back into a dirty smelly cowboy. Bubba runs away and loses one boot in the process. The next day, Miz Lurleen sees—and smells—Bubba and knows he is her “prince in cowboy boots.” The two ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after “roping, and cowpoking, and gitting them dogies along.”

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Ketteman’s version of a Cinderella story has excellent archetype characters representing good and evil. Bubba is the humble Texas rancher while his mean stepdaddy and stepbrothers are greedy and selfish.

Warhola beautifully illustrates his artwork in oil on a canvas. The illustrations show the stereotypical Texas rancher lifestyle. Miz Lurleen’s house is filled with cowboy hats, a Texas Longhorn and Texas clock on the wall, and other furniture with antlers. The language unique to the west and ranchers comically and stereotypically portray Texas life.

Overall, I believe this is a great version of Cinderella that all children will enjoy reading.

4. AWARDS WORD AND REVIEW EXCERPTS
Golden Sower Award
BOOKLIST: “With a male in the starring role, this charming and funny retelling may hold more appeal for young boys than the traditional version may.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Rustler lingo and illustrations chockablock with Texas kitsch make this ranch-spun Cinder-fella a knee-slappin' tale.”

5. CONNECTIONS
* Bubba the Cowboy Prince is a great way to introduce older readers to the concept of stereotypes and archetype characters.
*Other fractured fairy tales:
Scieszka, Jon. THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS. ISBN 0140544518
Stanley, Diane. RUMPELSTILTSKIN’S DAUGHTER. ISBN 0064410951
Yolen, Jane. SLEEPING UGLY. ISBN 0698115600

-Teachers can read and then discuss with students the concept of perspective and point of view with fractured fairy tales (changing who is telling the story will change the story). ---Students can work on Venn diagrams to look for similarities and differences between the stories’ plot, characters, and setting.

Image Credit: capitolchoices.communitypoint.org