Written by Paige Murray, wife of nine-time World Champion Cowboy Ty Murray, this one is both informative and cute as can be. I had the audio version and suggest it would be a great listen for young fans, probably of horses and cowboys/girls. Narrator Cassandra Morris obviously had a lot of fun doing the various voices and sounds. I mean, I wonder how often a book narrator gets to vocalize a coyote? Grin.
While my eyes widened at the idea of our young heroine leaving the house alone at night with only her trusty horse, dog, and cat (yes, cat), it did show the depth of understanding the need to protect the animals at all costs. Rosie the horse gets star billing but Pete the dog and Thumbs (I didn't write it down but that was the name I was hearing) the not-so-brave cat get in on the action. I've been lucky enough to see baby calves, so even if you only get the audio version, trust me, they are just as adorable as Oakley thinks they are. How the trio manages to protect the nearly newborn calves against not just coyotes but a wild boar shows just one aspect of the danger of living on a farm where wild animals may dwell. I liked that the father figure made the point, however, that the wild critters were just following their natural instincts to take care of their needs and not threatening the calves simply to be mean.
Bottom line, a fun read /listen. As the title says, the focus is on how we should take care of each other, working together whenever possible. And, yes, Oakley gets mildly chastised for going out alone but her parents do recognize her intentions were good. Children will enjoy the story and come away with a better understanding, I believe, of not just life on a farm but the potential dangers that may lurk there. And, hey, the author even works in a quote from western star John Wayne about courage. I enjoyed this relatively brief listen and definitely liked narrator Morris' vocalization.
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