Top 5 Reviews for “A Home for Steamboat”

CJ Box and his review of “A Home for Steamboat”

“If you’ve ever wondered about the story behind that bucking horse and rider on Wyoming’s iconic license plates and football helmets, it’s the legend of Steamboat. Like me, you’ll enjoy the story and the excellent illustrations in A HOME FOR STEAMBOAT, and you’ll think of that fine bucking bronc every time you see the graphic from now on.”

CJ Box

Pullen painting under the review from Emily T

“I adore this book. I grew up in a family that was very close to the rodeo, so it felt like a story my Grandpa would tell me when I asked for a story.

The illustrations feels like an old paintings and give a feeling of Americana nostalgia. The colors are muted in the present day but vibrant in memories, which gives the reader a deeper understanding of how the story is told. The image of Steamboat being brushed in the barn by lamplight was particularly beautiful, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw that image framed somewhere. I really enjoyed the information about how the image was created using inspiration from Allen Tupper True.

This would be good for advanced children readers, as some of the words are more difficult than an early reader. The story is also quite emotional, so it would be good for children to learn about empathy.

I never knew Steamboat was real, so being able to read about Steamboat’s legacy at the back of the book was a treat.

This really is a love letter to the Wild West and cowboy life, and any family who has a history or passion for that history will love this book”.

Thank you so much b for the fantastic review Emily T!

Learn more about ‘A Home for Steamboat” and Preorder Now https://www.ahomeforsteamboat.com

Craig Johnson and his review of “A Home for Steamboat”

“My friends, in your hands you hold a literacy and artistic masterpiece! The only dynamic duo who could’ve put together the story of the symbol of Wyoming are those other two Wyoming legends Casey Rislov and Zak Pullen. A Home for Steamboat is the book Wyoming and the rest of the world have been waiting for, and boy howdy was it worth the wait!”

Craig Johnson

Julia N

This was a charming book about a real life horse from history. I was not familiar with the story of Steamboat, so I really enjoyed learning about Steamboat and the legacy that lives on to this very day. I think this book would be enjoyable for adults and children alike, and is a perfect gift to give to a horse lover of any age.

Julia N.

Excerpt from Kirkus review

Rislov’s fact-based, illustrated children’s book celebrates a spirited history-making horse.

This well-told, absorbing tale for young children and intermediate readers is based (as author explains at the end of the book on the real Steamboat, the horse whose bucking bronco silhoutee has been on Wyoming license plates since 1936.

told with engaging immediacy and at times near-poetic resonance, Steamboat’s saga is here conveyed by a grandfather entertaining his young grandaughter Lena while the pair do chores around his ranch. Before Grandpa met the famous horse, he tells Lena, Steamboat was a rambunctious foal that “pranced and Bucked form the day he was born,” running free on a ranch “ in the endless sage-colored fields and under the big, blue sky.”

Sadly, when Steamboat was 3 years old, “his golden mornings, rich wildflower scents, and the sound of coyote baying at the moon came to an end.” Sold to a cattle ranch where he is corralled and mistreated, the young horse gets his name due to his angry snort when he’d buck off the main ranch hands who tried to break him. (Grandpa says that he attended a rodeo where every would-be rider hit the ground as “Steamboat’s eyes would flash, his mane would rise like the wind gust, and his legs would disappear in a cloud of dust.”) Clearly, Steamboat loved to buck, but Grandpa saw a free spirit in danger of being crushed by the unfeeling ranch hands; he bought the horse, took him home, and gave him the nurturing he needed to become “ the bronc he was born to be,” famous as “the horse that couldn’t be rode.” This colorful tale is an inspired collaboration between prolific children’s author Rislov and noted illustrator Pullen, who teamed up previously on Rislov’s Western-themed books Rowdy Randy. (2019) and The Rowdy Randy Wild West Show(2022). Pullen’s full page illustrations are both strikingly realistic (in the anatomy of the horses and cattle, the beautiful big-sky landscapes, and meticulously rendered folds in clothing) and fanciful; the human characters have oversized heads and exaggerated facial features.

A well-crafted, heartfelt narrative with lush and quirky visuals and a message of perseverance.

Kirkus Reviews