The cowboy follows a map to get to the river, complete with time frames for each part of the journey.

You can slip some map skills in there, too. How about a writing exercise: use the dog's confusion at recognizing his cowboy as a model, and have the kids come up with their own scenario, using any two senses, as long as the info conflicts enough to make one character confused about the other. Has this sensory confusion ever happened to your students? Have them discuss. How about a discussion on friendship - how well do they know their friends? If their friend always used apple-scented shampoo, then one day switched to banana-scented shampoo, would they be able to figure out what was different? That could lend itself well to a mini-unit on senses - the dog's nose told him that guy wasn't his cowboy, but his eyes told him it was, and he didn't know which to trust. Your students will delight in the antics of the cowboy and his dog, and giggle at the illustrations that add even more to the fun.īut how else can you work this into your curriculum? You can easily link this to a unit on the Old West, or the life of a cowboy, or a humorous take on the importance of good hygiene. But, once he fixes t' go git his duds back? Well, that's when things get interestin.'įirst of all, The Dirty Cowboy is a laugh-out-loud, fun book to read aloud. An' then he heads to the river, nearly-new bar of lye soap in hand, an' he gets good and clean.

Just gettin' to the river takes some doin,' but he gets there alright, and charges his dog with guardin' his duds. The cowboy in this story sets out to do just that. Yessir, life sure is perfect for a cowboy.until he gets it in his head that he oughta prob'ly have hisself a bath. And the cowboy's stench stuck to passersby like mud splashed up from a wagon wheel.'Īh, the life of a cowboy: roundin' up cattle, cookin' up some vittles, singin' songs around the campfire, with only his trusty steed and loyal dog for company. A flurry of flies flocked round his body buzzing so persistently that he experienced a distinct loss of hearing in his left ear.

On three recent occasions he'd discovered a tumbleweed in his chaps. Regular bathers would've said the signs had been plenty clear: the cowboy's hair housed thirty-two fleas and a small gray spider. 'Now, one morning - and no one knows for sure what drives a man to it - this cowboy decided to clean himself up.

The Dirty Cowboy by Adam Rex