Bubba the Cowboy Prince
by Helen Ketteman

1. Bibliography:
Ketteman, Helen and James Warhola (ill.) Bubba the Cowboy Prince. New York: Scholastic Press. 1997. ISBN 0590255061

2. Plot Summary
Bubba the Cowboy Prince is a fractured Texas tale version of Cinderella. Bubba lives on the family ranch with his stepfather and his stepbrothers Milton and Dwayne. They boss Bubba around making him do the work on the ranch and all of the chores. Miz Lurleen is a single, wealthy landowner who lives on a ranch in Texas. She decides to throw a party and invite all of the single men to her ball so she can find someone to marry who is as “tough as leather” and “cute as a cow’s ear”. Bubba’s evil stepdaddy and stepbrothers are invited to the ball and force Bubba to prepare their clothes, wash the wagon and horses for the ball. Bubba works frantically and when they are ready to leave for the ball, they refuse to wait on Bubba to get cleaned up to go with them. A fairy godcow tells Bubba to go to the ball and turns a cow into a beautiful horse. He is given clean “duds” and head to the ball. Miz Lurleen is tired of dancing with men who are of no interest in her. Bubba arrives at the and they begin to dance but when midnight comes, his clothes are once again nasty and smelly, he loses one boot as he escapes and rides his cow off into the night. Miz Lurleen sets out to try the boot on every single cowboy and finds Bubba riding up from working the ranch with only one boot on. They rode off into the sunset and lived happily everafter.

3. Critical Analysis
This book is written for baby to PreK ages but it is one of the best tales and an excellent choice for all age levels. Its contents and language will draw you in to the Texas life on the ranch. Wonderfully written and illustrated with Texas décor including the clothing, characters and surrounding. The painted illustrations are lifelike in resembling Texas characters. I especially like the physical features of stepdaddy and his leathery cowboy appearance of someone who is weathered and has worked the range for many years. This book is a must read and should be available in the library for the children to enjoy.

4. Review Excerpts

School Library Journal: “This is a fun-filled story with more hyperbole than a Christmas turkey has stuffing.:

From Kirkus Reviews
A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions. The protagonist is Bubba, appropriately downtrodden and overworked by his wicked stepdaddy and loathsome brothers Dwayne and Milton, who spend their days bossing him around. The other half of the happy couple is Miz Lurleen, who owns ``the biggest spread west of the Brazos.

Connections: Read the story aloud to children and discuss the characters. Dr. Vardell presented this tale in her lectures as a reader’s theatre with characters and a script. This would be an excellent way to enjoy the book and present a humorous Texas tale to a group of children and adults. Costumes could be simple and fun. Have the children seek out additional books that may be used as a reader’s theatre and discuss in groups their suggestions for the costumes and script.

Additional stories by Helen Ketteman who lives in Dallas, Texas include:
Armadilly Chili
Waynetta and the Cornstalk: A Texas Fairy Tale
Heat Wave
Not Yet Yvette
The Great Cake Bake
I Remember Papa
Armadillo Tattletale
Shoeshine Whittaker