BUBBA THE COWBOY PRINCE By: Helen Ketteman

Bibliography
Ketteman, Helen. 1997. BUBBA THE COWBOY PRINCE: A FRACTURED TEXAS TALE. Ill. James Warhola. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0590255061.

Plot Summary
BUBBA THE COWBOY PRINCE is a parody based on the traditional tale of Cinderella. Bubba is a hard working cowboy that works for his "wicked stepdaddy" and "hateful and lazy stepbrothers". Miz Lurleen is a beautiful and rich cowgirl that decides she wants to marry a cowboy that's "cute as a cow's ear". The story then progresses to the ball, entrance of the fairy godcow, and memorable midnight change where Bubba runs off leaving behind his boot. Miz Lurleen later finds Bubba and marries him to give the story its "happily ever after" ending.

Critical Analysis
This fractured fairy tale parodies the traditional view of Cinderella that most of us know by setting the tale in Texas. The author has minimal change from the overall story line and theme of "good conquering evil", but does change it by creating new characters (ie cowboy Cinderella, cowgirl prince, and fairy godcow), using Texan dialect, and integrating the wild west culture. By keeping the traditional storyline while changing the culture, the author has created a new twist on this traditional tale that has many different adaptations.

The illustrations in this novel really add to the setting change of the story. Warhola uses oil on canvas to create the colors and texture of the wild west (an example of this can be seen in his brush strokes and color used to create the desert type appearance of the ranch). The illustrator also uses his illustrations to help the reader understand character. This can be seen in his color choices of dark colors with striking red and hard chiseled features of the "wicked stepdaddy" and the bright, young, childlike appearance of Bubba. Finally, Warhola adds humor to his creations by adding armadillos, curly hair on the godcow, and wonderful facial features and gestures to humans and animals alike.

Overall, this is a wonderful parody of the original tale that can give humor as well as a change of gender views to young and old.

Review Excerpts
KIRKUS REVIEWS: "readers will be proud to have been along for the courtship."
THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS: "upended fairy tales are pretty popular now, but this one has sass and pizzazz!"
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Just the ticket for buckaroos lookin' fer a good read."

Connections
*Collect several versions of the Cinderella tale and have students read one they have not ever seen before and research the culture. Then compare/contrast the new version to the one they remember from childhood.
*Find a Cinderella tale based on the culture from the area where you live. Read the story and discuss any cultural misrepresentations you find and discuss how that makes them feel.
*Compare and contrast other well known traditional tales by viewing different versions.
*I read this to a young girl (3-4yrs old) that was waiting on her sister to finish swimming lessons. She had a hard time with some of the dialect used by the author (ie "hoe-down", "duds", etc), but she LOVED the illustrations and made many comments about how funny they were.
*Related books
Cole, Babette. PRINCE CINDERS. ISBN: 0698115546.
Jackson, Ellen. CINDER EDNA. ISBN: 0688162959.
Ketteman, Helen. WAYNETTA AND THE CORNSTALK: A TEXAS FAIRY TALE. ISBN: 0807586870.