Today we are proudly announcing the winner of our essay contest: Sawyer! Sawyer wrote an essay on why we should carry the Hank the Cowdog series, which I’ve reproduced below. The picture above would have had a copy of the first book in that series as well, except we had already sold it within the day we had it in stock! So clearly, Sawyer has given us a great recommendation. Sawyer’s prize was $50 in cash and a $50 gift certificate to the store, generously sponsored by my aunt June. Now, on to his essay:
My name is Sawyer […], and I think you should carry the series Hank the Cowdog. First, I will tell you about the main character Hank. Hank is a dog that lives in the state of Texas. He is the one that tells the stories of his adventures. Hank calls himself “Head of Ranch Security” on his owner’s cattle ranch. He also thinks he has to bark the sun up every morning. He believes he is a “purebred top-of-the-line blue-ribbon cowdog”.
So now back to why I think you should carry this series in your bookstore. Here are three reasons why. The first reason is that they are pretty quick reads and all ages enjoy reading the series. My family laughs at the audio books when we listen to them.
Next, there is a lot of variety in the characters, both human and animal like Drover, Slim Chance, and Pete the barn cat. Hank’s sidekick is named Drover, a younger dog who also lives on the ranch. Drover is a small, stub-tailed, white dog who is actually a wimp and complains about his leg pain whenever it is time for action. But still a fun and lovable character. The next character I want to tell you about is Slim Chance. Slim works for Hank’s owner, High Loper, (the owner of the ranch). Slim is funny because he is a bachelor and has a very messy house. Both Hank and Drover have had many adventures with Slim. The last character I will talk bout is Pete the barn cat. Pete is notorious for getting Hank and Drover in trouble with Sally May (Loper’s wife). Pete likes to get the dogs in trouble for his entertainment, for example, the time he tricked the dogs into jumping over the fence into the yard where Sally May doesn’t want them. These are just my favorite characters, there are many more in the stories like the coyote brothers Rip and Snort and JT Cluck the rooster.
And last but not least, the books are also available on audiobook so people can listen to them while working or relaxing. The author reads the books with different voices for each character. There are sound effects, music, and singing. I have included a list of Hank the Cowdog books and two Youtube videos you can listen to the author read aloud a part of his books.
“The Boxer”; Hank the Cowdog Youtube channel
Thank you for taking the time to read my essay on Hank the Cowdog. I hope to see those books in your bookstore soon, especially the audiobooks. I’ve also included a list of all the Hank the Cowdog books and audiobooks. Also included is a map of the ranch Hank lives on and two coloring sheets to show you what the characters look like.
