Smoky the Cowhorse, Will James
Smoky the Cowhorse, Will James
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Smoky the Cowhorse

Author: Will James

Narrator: Wayne Evans

Unabridged: 7 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/28/2021

Synopsis

Smoky the Cowhorse is one of the most famous and beloved horse stories told. Will James writes in 1920’s cowboy vernacular and tells the life of the horse, Smoky, in the western United States from his birth to eventual return to his home range.Smoky is born in the wild, captured, and trained by Clint and becomes known as the best cow horse. Then a horse thief steals Smoky and beats him repeatedly. Smoky eventually attacks and escapes from the abusive thief.When Smoky is eventually captured, his new violent demeanor results in him being used as a bucking bronco in rodeos as “The Cougar.” Years of bucking take their toll. “The Cougar” becomes “Cloudy” the riding horse, and eventually he is sold to an abusive man who starves him. It would be the end, but Clint happens to find him. With careful treatment, Smoky recovers while back on his home range.Smoky the Cowhorse won the 1927 Newbery Award and was adapted to the screen three times as Smoky.

About Will James

Will James (1892–1942) was an artist and author of books about the American west, in particular, horses. His works consistently captured the imagination of the public, earning him the nickname “the Pied Piper of the West.” James wrote the 1926 book Smoky the Cowhorse, which was awarded the John Newbery Medal in 1927 and remains in print to this day. Several movie adaptations of the story have been created, including a 1933 version that included Will James himself as the narrator.

About Wayne Evans

Wayne Evans is a professional voice actor who brings your words to life. Wayne grew up on a working ranch in North Dakota—yes, horses, cattle, and fences. And he subsequently traveled the seven continents. Like his life, Wayne’s voice starts out as “all-American,” but he travels with a world of voice-over skills. Wayne’s voice-over work fits perfectly with e-learning and audiobooks, which have ranged from self-help books to memoirs to novels.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Wendy on September 20, 2008

So glad I'm finally done with this book. The written-in-dialect thing is interesting, and occasionally even poetic, and I might have thought this was a fairly good book if it was really, really short. But 300+ pages of double negatives and other grammar mistakes was hard to wade through. As others hav......more

Goodreads review by Susannah on May 12, 2011

I read this book when I was 12 and it left a very lasting impression on me. At one point in my life about 15 years ago I was in a book group and I said this book was one of my favorites. My friends, under the influence of wine, laughed. I was mortified. Later, one of them who is a really GREAT frien......more

Goodreads review by Abigail on September 13, 2019

Winner of the 1927 Newbery Medal, this children's novel about a mouse-colored cow-horse named Smoky has been favorably compared to that classic (and pioneering) pony story, Black Beauty, and I think the pairing is rather apt. Both books follow the same basic narrative trajectory, beginning with......more

Goodreads review by Beth on December 10, 2023

I was on a convention panel talking about horse books last weekend, and author Will James came up. I remembered that I owned a library discard of his classic book Smoky, that I probably haven't read since I was 9 or 10. Before I bought this discard copy, even. I needed to read a classic book for my......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on November 12, 2021

Well this was quite the story and it made me cry too! Sometimes these stories do that and I get all emotional. Smoky sure had an eventful life and I must say this book had headed into places I had never expected. I guess it might be to show what a horse's life can be like and that everyone has diffe......more

Quotes

"One of the finest horse stories ever told." New York Herald Tribune

Awards

  • Newbery Medal
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