Cattle Ranching in the American West

Steele, Christy. Cattle Ranching in the American West. 2005. 48p. ISBN 0-8368-5787-9. Available at 636.2 STE on the library shelves.

When Christopher Columbus first lands in America, he discovers that there are neither horses nor cattle. So on his next trip he brings both. The availability of large open spaces and excellent foraging areas encourage the growth of both populations.

As colonists expanded on the continent, cows and horses went before them, and soon wild cattle and horses were everywhere. Thus evolved a new type of estate, the ranch or haciendia, and a new profession, the vaquero. First these vaqueros, who worked with the cattle, were slaves and indentured servants. But soon enough, with the push by Americans through Texas and what was then Northern Mexico, the vaqueros were transformed into cowboys.

Despite popular representation, cowboys were very low on the social order and worked very hard for meager earnings. Driving cattle from Texas and the Southwest United States to markets in California and the Midwest, they lived dangerous and isolated life.

The history of cattle ranching mirrors the society of the time, and was affected by ups and downs in the fortunes of the United States but eventually fulfilled the Manifest Destiny predicted by American Founders.

Egg and Spoon

Maguire, Gregory. Egg and Spoon. 2014. 475p. ISBN 9780763672201. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

Life in Tsarist Russia is hard, harder than most places. For peasants living in hovels in small villages sprinkled in the middle of nowhere, it is even more the case. Elena Rudina has never been outside the boundaries of her village. Now a teen of about 15, she must take care of her sick mother. Her father drowned a few years ago, her younger brother is indentured to the local Baron who has moved to Moscow due to food shortages in the area, and her older brother has just been recruited by the Tsar’s army to dig ditches in St. Petersburg. Elena struggles to survive and find enough food for herself and her mother. Thankfully, old doctor Peter Petrovich provides some humor in an otherwise drab land.

The unexpected always happens, however, and in Russia every peasant knows that despite how bad things are, they can always get worse. When a train pulls in on the disaffected line, Elena’s life irreversibly changes. She meets the Tsar, dressed in a white uniform. But he turns out to be a butler. The train has stopped because the bridge further down the track is out. Onboard is every type of food imaginable, as well as a girl whose looks are very similar to Elena, aside from the fact that she’s an aristocrat. Ekaterina is traveling with her great aunt to St. Petersburg so she can make her debut at the Tsar’s great ball, and even meet the Tsar’s nephew. She carries a Fabergé egg crafted especially for the Tsar.

Through this short stop, Elena and Kat get to know each other a little, but through circumstances they exchange places. Elena now finds herself hurling towards St. Petersburg and the chance to ask the Tsar to release her brother from service so he can return home. Kat, for her part, is left stranded in the middle of nowhere with not enough local lore to be able to survive long in this hostile environment.

Thus begins a most amazing adventure featuring matryoshka dolls, snow soldiers, talking cats, ice dragons, and probably the best character in the book, the famed Baba Yaga, the Russian witch whose house is equipped with chicken legs and travels by itself. Elena, Kat, and Baba Yaga must pull their resources and wits together to solve a danger that threatens the very nature of Mother Russia. A fable with improbable characters, Egg and Spoon takes a train ride through Tsarist Russia exploring some of its myths and legends.

Fans of fantastic fiction will enjoy this book, and should take a look at Far Far Away, a book with similar themes of self discovery.

Soldier X

Wulffson, Don. Soldier X. 2001. 240p. ISBN 9780142500736. Available at FIC WUL on the library shelves.

At sixteen, Erik Brandt has never known a Germany without the Nazis. After five years of total warfare, the country is bleeding soldiers and is being pushed on all fronts by the Allies. Teens must now step in the shoes of older men and join the front hoping to slow down the Russians. Drafted in 1944, he doesn’t receive enough training, and practice shooting is limited due to ammunition shortages. Shipped to the Eastern Front, Erik finds himself surrounded by death and destruction. During his first battle, Erik is wounded and left behind enemy lines.

Lucky for him, his grandparents emigrated from Russia to Germany back in the 1920s, and he speaks fluent Russian with many of the idioms. When regaining consciousness, he grabs the uniform of a Russian soldier that looks like him and shambles back from the battlefield towards the Russian rear. Taken to a field hospital, he meets fifteen years old Tamara, a nurse who helps him recover. But at any time Erik, feigning amnesia, could be discovered. His very life depends on not making a single mistake. But in the torment of war, a slip up is only a whisper away. Where do his allegiance lay? Can Erik survive the war?

Sixteen-year-old Erik Brandt barely knows what Germany is fighting for when he is drafted into Hitler's army in 1944. Sent to the killing fields of the Eastern Front, he is surrounded by unimaginable sights, more horrific than he ever thought possible. It's kill or be killed, and it seems clear that Erik's days are numbered. Until, covered in blood and seriously injured, he conceives of another way to survive. Filled with gritty and visceral detail, Soldier X will change the way every reader thinks about the reality of war.