Lexie the Word Wrangler

Starred review from April 3, 2017
Lexie is a cowgirl, but she wrangles words, not cattle—a concept that Van Slyke and Hartland explore with droll wordplay and bold, folk art–style artwork. Lexie’s talents include growing letters into words (a turns to at, cat, and cattle on a tree), tying words together ( “She could take a stick of butter and a pesky fly and make a beautiful butterfly”), and storytelling, but someone is causing mischief by mixing up words. “Ain’t no fun sleeping out under the rats,” grumbles Lexie after star gets jumbled. Luckily for Lexie, the culprit is an apprentice in the making. Luckily for readers, Van Slyke and Hartland deliver linguistic delights on every page. Compound words, anagrams, word chains, puns—is there anything Lexie (and this book) can’t do? Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

Everyone knows Lexie is the best wrangler west of the Mississippi--best word wrangler, that is.Outfitted in a tall hat and fancy boots, the freckle-faced white girl can ride, twirl a lariat, and herd cantankerous cattle. Besides that, she can tie words together, like "corn" and "bread" to make "cornbread." In the spring she watches the baby letters grow into words that she can herd into sentences and then make into messages. Everyone agrees that Lexie is a champion word wrangler, except for one rascal who starts messing with her words. "Dogies" become "doggies," a "bandana" becomes a "banana," and a twinkling "star" is turned into several "rats." "Ain't no fun sleeping out under the rats," says Lexie in a colossal understatement. Yep, it's a word rustler at work. Lexie sets off to find the culprit and bring him to justice. In a sundown ambush, she lassoes the scoundrel: it's a black kid named Russell. All he wants is to work with words like Lexie. So Russell the word rustler--make that wrestler--joins Lexie the word wrangler, and a rootin' tootin' team is hitched up. Hartland's quirky gouache illustrations, reminiscent of Maira Kalman's work, play up the Western-style humor. The last page has a dictionary of wrangler words. Here's hoping Van Slyke and Hartland will round up some more nifty yarns, as this is clever wordplay to share with kids. (Picture book. 5-8) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2017

K-Gr 2-Lexie is the "best wrangler west of the Mississippi, and everyone [knows] it." She is not just any kind of wrangler. Lexie captures letters and words with her lasso and puts them together to form new ones. She transforms a "p-e-s-t" into a group of furry "p-e-t-s" and lassoes an ear of corn and a loaf of bread to make "cornbread." One day, Lexie notices that letters and words are going missing or are unnecessarily being introduced at her ranch (the "dogies" become "doggies" after someone unleashes a gaggle of lowercase g's, for instance). Lexie goes on a mission to find the culprit and stop all of the word madness. While introducing spelling, compound words, and the intricacies of language to young readers is essential, this might not be the best place to start. Many of the words that Lexie wrangles are spelled out with her lasso in an exaggerated, curvy script that will not be accessible to those learning these concepts. There are many examples of Lexie's "word wrangling" throughout that interrupt the flow of the narrative, stopping it in its tracks at times. Hartland's bright gouache illustrations capture the many colors of the American West as well as various aspects of the cowboy lifestyle. A "dictionary of wrangler words" appears in the back matter for those who may not be familiar with the many cowgirl terms used in the book. VERDICT An additional purchase for those looking for stories about spelling and cowgirls.-Christopher Lassen, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2017
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* The best wrangler west of the Mississippi, Lexie can handle horses, lariats, and cattle with ease, but especially excels as a word wrangler. She ties words together, turning butter and fly into butterfly. She grows a into age, sage, and sagebrush. She herds words into sentences, and sentences into stories. But one day, a missing d turns Lexie's bandana into a banana. That night, a twinkling S-T-A-R turns into R-A-T-S. Yep, a word rustler is on the loose. The mischief gets sillier when the rascal turns the desert into a dessert, but he meets his match in Lexie, who finds better uses for his talents. An appended glossary defines terms such as dogies, chuck wagon, and varmint. Colorful language abounds in the clever, playful text, which will amuse kids whose work on reading has given them a heightened awareness of the written word. Teachers, meanwhile, will appreciate the references to compound words, anagrams, and other wordplay. Created in a rather childlike style that perfectly suits the story's droll, understated tone, Hartland's expressive gouache paintings include enough detail to help kids visualize the scenes, while illustrating the action with considerable wit. Highly recommended for reading aloud, just for the fun of it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
Lexie, an unusual rancher, keeps words in line until an upstart rustler causes trouble. This clever picture book plays with how words might manifest their meanings if physically altered: helpful Lexie turns a "pest" into "pets," whereas the bandit turns "bandanas" into "bananas." Alongside the punning, anagrams, and banter, Hartland adds a folksy touch with her loose gouache illustrations. Glos.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)