Hank the Cowdog Rides into After School at Langston

If you have never read any of the 42 Hank the Cowdog books written by John Erickson, then you are missing a treat. John R. Erickson, a former cowboy and ranch manager, is gifted with a storyteller's knack for spinning a yarn. Through the eyes of Hank the Cowdog, a smelly, smart aleck Head of Ranch Security, Erickson gives readers a glimpse of daily life on a ranch in the West Texas Panhandle. This series of books and tapes is in school libraries across the country; has sold more then 6 million copies; is a Book-of-the-Month Club selection; and, is the winner of the 1993 Audie for Outstanding Children's Series from the Audio Publisher's Association.....Hank the Cowdog made his debut in the pages of The Cattleman, a magazine for adults. An obvious favorite of readers, Erickson included two of Hank's humorous stories in Maverick Book's first publishing effort, The Devil in Texas (1982). Erickson began selling books from his pickup truck at cattle auctions, rodeos, and just about any place cowboys gathered.

When Erickson started getting "Dear Hank" letters, he knew he was onto something. So in 1983, 2,000 copies of The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog were published, and sold out in 6 weeks. Not long after that first printing, the book was recorded word-for-word on audiotape. Since then, every Hank book has been recorded, making Hank the longest running successful children's series on audio ever. (http://hankthecowdog.com/erickson.htm) To read the rest of the story go to the official Hank the Cowdog website at http://hankthecowdog.com/ .

After school tutoring in reading will be reading one of the 42 Hank books, Hank the Cowdog: Every Dog Has His Day. We are planning lots of fun activities to help the students understand what life on a ranch is like. We are going to listen to some authentic cowboy trail songs and see what life is like on a working ranch. One of the activities we will be working on is creating a brand so that we can brand our cows. The students will be designing a brand for their cattle ranch. We will then create a brand using a potato. We are also going to have the students make hats and cowboy bandanas (much safer than spurs!) Those are just a couple of activities we have lined up...

Yippee Ti Yi Yay get along little doggies, we are going to have some cowboy fun!
Donna Smith