Rough, Tough Charley

I like that this is a fresh story in that I've never heard of Charley before. This is a new bit of history for me and that's always something I like to come across in children's picture books. I also like the western theme of the story. I like the artwork quite a bit. I like the smoothness of the colors, but the coarse tone of them in some areas (facial shadows/blurred edges of shapes). I also like that the book leaves the twist for the very end, because it flips the reader on their head a bit and kind of makes you go back and reconsider everything that Charley was doing from a different perspective.

I half-enjoyed the "cryptic rhyme". I don't like how cryptic it can be when covering major plot points, because at times it can be show more frustrating to try to get the most out of the story with just the tiniest amount of wording available. I liked the rhythm of the rhyme throughout the story, because it was very smooth and driving. Some areas of the story were clearer than others, which was good, but some portions just take "cryptic rhyme" much too literally and created a feeling of stunted storytelling here and again. I would have preferred a rhyme scheme that allowed for a bit more length, to really get some of the more detailed parts of the plot covered, instead of having to read through a list of facts in the end. The end facts were really just a chronological overview of the book that was just read, with more context...so it is like retelling the story in a typical dry history manner, without any of the characterization of a picture book. I would have liked to have seen the prose and the facts blended more effectively to just tell the story in one broad swoop, instead of two alternate methodologies that ends up feeling like double reading instead of further information on what was just read and learned.

Overall though, a very intriguing book that provides a lesser known aspect of history to readers. show less

One-Eyed Charley. Not really somebody you see a lot of biographies about, especially for kids. For some reason we can't tell, Charley was a girl who decided to live her life as a man - and did. Popular and successful by most measurements, too, and that was a secret that stayed well hidden, nobody knew until Charley died.

This picture book is fast-paced, a good clean rhythm and rhyme scheme, very tight story... and it has a detailed afterword (with a map) for those of us who didn't catch all the information when it was written in short, catchy couplets. Good illustrations, a moral message (women can do what men can do, even if society says otherwise) that's factually based and not overstated, and a wonderfully flawed hero for kids - said show more to swear and be antisocial! What sort of kid isn't gonna eat that up?

A few points, though. First, the story itself is maybe a little *too* short and catchy at times. One particular verse - "Charley don't have/accidents/sprung those horses/he's got sense!" - springs to mind. Even with the illustration, this didn't make ANY sense until I read the afterword and found the event that verse was referring to. And of course you're not going to run to the afterword in the middle of a rhyming book - or any book! I'm not sure how this could be improved without drastically altering the book, though.

The other minor issue has to do with pronoun use. Mostly during the book, Charley is referred to as "he" when pronouns are used. This is appropriate, people no doubt referred to Charley in the masculine. However, after the discovery (after death), the pronoun "she" is used a few times to make the moral point. Nowadays, I'd say that if somebody chooses this or that pronoun, that's the one we use, regardless of genitals. That's just polite. And while we can't go back and ask Charley if he was just dressing like a guy for convenience or if he really felt himself to be male, it seems likely that people don't spend their entire lives hiding out just for the heck of it. At any rate, this is a minor quibble. The book seems very respectful of Charley, so it's not like I'm reading it going "Wow, they're making fun of this person's life" here. show less

This was a very short form of poetry that told the story of a woman who posed as a man and drove wagon trains in the days of the wild west. It was an interesting story, though a few more syllables in a couple of the lines would have been appreciated. But what do I know? I've never been much for some forms of poetry.

This is a biography told in rhyme about Charley, the runaway orphan who became a famous stagecoach driver. He was known for being on time, having excellent control over the team of horses, and shooting any thieves who tried to steal from his passengers. The "wild west" feeling of the time period comes through in action-packed painted illustrations. The best part of the story, however, is the shock we get at the end when we find out that Charley is actually a woman. She's been pretending to be a man so she could live a more active life (and vote!).

In this book, Charley goes his entire life work hard jobs and doing whatever he could to make money. He was different though. He never spoke and he always dressed a little weird. He was the best stagecoach driver around. He even lost an eye and a fight. In the end, Charley died. It isn't until then that we discover that Charley is actually a girl. Charley disguised herself as a guy her entire life. She needed to make money and it was socially unacceptable for woman to work at the time.
Charley sets the example for everyone. She proves that just because you are male or female, doesn't mean that you cannot do certain things. Charley proved that woman can just as much and more than a man could. For her to go her entire life as a different show more gender is simply remarkable. She is definitely rough and tough. show less

This books details the life of Charley Darkey one of the best drivers in the motherlode. You learn everything from how he was an orphaned to how he got his eye kicked out. We see that he lived a very eventful life even shooting down a bandit who tried to steal from him. The real twist came from the end of the book when it is revealed that Charley was actually a woman the entire time.

In this book an orphan runs away to a stable. The owner finds him and he offers him a place to stay in return for work. Throughout the book Charley becomes one of the best stage-coach drivers. He drives people and things all over and protects them. He never falls in love and just stays to himself. At the end of the book he gets sick and the doctor makes a shocking discovery. Charley is really a woman. She acted like a man so she could get a job as a stage-coach driver and vote. Back in that time women did not have many rights. This book was a true story that captured a great part of history also. The book was also an easy read and rhymed.I would read this book to 2nd-5th graders to teach about women's rights and the struggles back in show more that time. show less