A graphic novel, Best Shot in the West, is a dramatized version of Nat’s story mostly adapted from his autobiography. Is this fiction or nonfiction? Nat was a real cowboy. But the author’s note explains they dramatized certain scenes for the sake of the story’s flow. The inside cover describes the book as historical fiction while the Library of Congress subject heading inside says “Biography.” My library has it under Biography as well. It may be that the availability of factual materials on Nat and legends and myths about him make it difficult to create a totally factual story of Nat’s life. Ultimately, I am unsure but still enjoyed the story.
Like comic books, the story and illustrations are broken into panels with speech bubbles and blocks. Illustrator DuBurke’s paintings are muted but dramatically portray cattle stampedes and shootouts. The backgrounds are colorful while people and objects in the foreground are greyish. It’s an interesting technique but sometimes I wanted a clearer picture of people’s faces.
So, we all know that Hollywood tends to skew reality and Wild West films are no exception. But the exact ways that movies skew things may allude us...we know things are inaccurate but we’re not sure how exactly. This is the second book I’ve read about men from the Wild West and they were both African American and had amazing life stories, legends of their time, and worthy of movies of their own. I would totally watch a movie about Nat Love. While reasons for Indian/Cowboy conflict are alluded to, especially when Nat is captured by an unusual tribe, adults may need to point out the complexities of why Indians conducted raids and why they captured Nat (instead of killing him) as the story is focused only on Nat’s perspective as a loyal cowboy.
Best Shot in the West is a story for kids interested in cowboys, horses, outlaws and crack shots. I recommend this story since it provides an important perspective on what it took to be a cowboy and what type of people cowboys were. This book counts towards the POC Reading Challenge!
Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2012 Pages: 133
Full Title: Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love
Illustrator: Randy DuBurke
Rating: 3.5 Stars Source: Public Library
There is a big difference between movies and reality. Majority of movies are bad for your imagination.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Edd! I would disagree, however, that most movies are bad for the imagination. Everything in moderation and toddlers shouldn't be watching any T.V./movies at all (according to the american pediatric association). And a "good" movie is preferable to a "bad" movie. But older kids/adults can be prompted and spurred to enage with a topic because they saw a movie about it - good or bad. Working with kids in a public library, I see this happening.
ReplyDeleteI had other concerns about BEST SHOT... There are a couple of lines in it that provide examples of the ways in which words and phrases about American Indians obscure and stereotype who they were and are:
ReplyDeletehttp://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2012/06/patricia-and-fredrick-mckissack-jrs.html
Thanks for your link, Debbie! It's a great post. I still liked the book overall because I think Nat's life story is interesting. I just wish the authors had taken more time to contextualize Nat's encounters with American Indians. I think it would be a great exercise for teachers/adults to point out the stereotypes in this book and how easily it to read them without thinking about them. I wouldn't want kids to avoid this book so much as to learn how to think critically about it...and everything they read because every piece of literature is going to have its bias. Thanks again!
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