'Tis the season for award announcements, and I am happy to tell you that Bad News for Outlaws: The remarkable life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal won the 2010 Coretta Scott King award. The book would make a great title for children studying the real Wild West and Black History Month. Here is my review:
Bad news for outlaws: The remarkable life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshall
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Nonfiction Picture Book
Ages 8 to 10
Lerner, 2009, 0822567644
Bass Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas in 1838, and he grew up on a plantation in Texas Indian Territory .
When the Civil War was over and he was free, Bass settled down, got married, and he and his wife had children. Bass was happy living in Indian Territory but then the area “became a haven for the West’s most notorious outlaws.” Judge Isaac C. Parker was sent to the territory, and he hired two hundred deputy marshals to help bring law and order back to the land. Bass was one of these deputy marshals, and he took his job very seriously, bringing in the outlaws he was sent to catch without resorting to undue violence. He was incorruptible, determined, and “as honest as the day was long.”
In this fascinating picture book, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson beautifully tells the story of one of the West’s unsung heroes. Unlike many Wild West legends, this story is true. With gripping accounts of Bass Reeves’ exploits, the author keeps the reader engaged right to the last page.
Here is some information about the author and the illustrator:
About the Author:
