Our family had not really heard about Hank The Cow Dog until I received the print copy of book #8: The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse, the Tornado game which comes with a 30 minute cassette, and the cd, Tales and Tunes from Hank the Cowdog from Maverick Books to review for the TOS Homeschool Crew. John Erickson is the author and voice of Hank the Cowdog and Maverick Books is his publishing company. Mr. Erickson created Hank the Cowdog from out of his personal experiences as a cowboy and ranch manager. If you are interested in learning more about Mr Erickson, you can go here to his website at http://www.hankthecowdog.com/erickson.htm


First, our family started by playing the Tornado board game that we received. It is a travel size game that folds up so that it can easily go anywhere with you. In the game, each person races to get their game pieces, Hank, Drover and the Buzzard, to their own finish line. We all loved this game and have played it many times since the day we got it in the mail. The game does have a rule where you can land on another player’s piece and send them back to the beginning. If this might pose a problem for a younger child, you may want to adapt the rules or at least make sure everyone understands that this can happen before playing the game. My kids, who are 6 and 11, have already taken this game on a few road trips recently and it has been one of the items they insist on bringing along. You can view more about this game as well as read the actual game instructions at http://www.hankthecowdog.com/merchandise/tornado.htm. The game itself costs $12.99. With the game also came a 30 minute cassette tape where you can hear the “Drover’s Tornado Safety Song” as well as excerpts from the audio, The Case of the Swirling Killer Tornado. My youngest and I listened to this cassette in our car and from the backseat I could hear her giggling as we listened to the antics and Hank and Drover.


Previously, we had not read any other books about Hank the Cowdog until we received the print copy of book #8: The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse which my oldest daughter and I both read. In this book, we were introduced to Hank and his sidekick Drover as well as other characters from the Hank the Cowdog series. The story is written from the perspective of Hank as he narrates what happened to him in this adventure. Having Hank’s perception of events from a dog’s point of view makes a humorous read and one that we have enjoyed. I think it was not as appreciated by my own daughter who is not much into things that are more western but there were still some things that even she found amusing. My youngest was a little more into the book when I had read some excerpts from it. I also find that in order to get a fuller effect of these stories it is well worth listening to the audios about Hank the Cowdog.

As I mentioned, we also received the Tales and Tunes from Hank the Cowdog cd. It has story excerpts from 10 books plus 9 original songs that are included on the cd. The songs and voices that bring the story and songs alive on this cd make Hank the Cowdog even more enjoyable. Often when lyrics are put in books, I skim them over as I admit I did when I read the book that we were sent. However I was able to fully appreciate the lyrics when I heard them on the cd. Even though we already found the antics of Hank and the other characters to be both funny and silly, hearing them on the cd made it even more so. From the book we read, The song, “A Fundamental Agreement, ” was one of the songs that was on this cd. Again, my reading the lyrics to this song just did not give it justice and it really had to be heard from the cd to be fully appreciated. My youngest’s favorite song from the cd was “It’s not Smart to Show Your Hiney to a Bear.” From the title, I think you get the picture. LOL. This cd can be purchased for just $3.00.

If you think you might enjoy the adventures of Hank the Cowdog and the various other products offered, you can visit the website at http://www.hankthecowdog.com/books/collection.htm. There you can purchase individual books as well as packages of the various books in both paperback and hardback. Also there are other items such as cds, t-shirts, posters, games, puppets and other things based on the Hank the Cowdog series. For example, the book I reviewed can be purchased in paperback form for $4.24 or in hardback for $12.49. You can also get the audio version of it as a cassette for $14.99 or the cd for $17.99.

I believe it is well worth checking out Hank The Cowdog at the official website, http://www.hankthecowdog.com/. There are other things there for you to check out as well.

Filed under: Home, TOS Crew by Barbara
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