SLINGSHOT AND BURP

Two rough and tough wannabe cowboys have some adventures while trying to avoid their sisters.

Their “horses” are actually bikes, but that doesn’t stop Slingshot and Burp from pursuing cowboy adventures out there in the dangerous Boneyard, after they get away from fire hydrants and mailboxes. Their buddy Big Jim, proprietor of the Boots and Saddle Tack Shop, informs them that there might be treasure in the scorpion-infested wilderness, but the terrible Ghost Cat also lurks in the area and might eat them alive! The two white boys bravely venture forth anyway, returning to find their bunkhouse taken over by their big sisters: there’s pink everywhere! After some jail time for shooting up their sisters’ dolls, the boys are back in action, back at odds with their sisters, and back in the wilderness. Haynes keeps the action zipping along with his boys, who adopt the cowboy lifestyle as much as their parents will allow. He plays with expectations; readers convinced that the adventures are all in the boys’ imaginations will reconsider after Burp finds a real scorpion in his boot. Gilpin’s lively line drawings add plenty of character to the book. The author doesn’t push morality or significantly attempt to subvert gender stereotypes, just penning a fun, vigorous adventure for his two hyperactive boys.

Active and entertaining, with a mid-20th-century feel.