Bubba, The Cowboy Prince

In this wacky Cinderella, the roles are reversed. Miz Lurleen is looking for a husband. Bubba, the cowboy, is bullied by his step daddy and two stepbrothers Dwayne and Milton.

When Baba is left behind, a fairy God cow gives him a dazzling new outfit so that he can attend the ball. (Why a cow destined to be killed and eaten would help a cowboy is beyond me. But that’s another blog post.) Bubba goes to the ball, dances with Miz Lurleen, and wins her heart. When the clock strikes midnight, Bubba’s clothing turns back to dirty rags and he smells horrible. He runs from the room leaving a boot behind. Lurleen goes from ranch to ranch with the boot trying to find the “real cowboy.” She finds and marries Bubba who remains dirty and show more stinky and just the way she wants.

I love that Miz Lurleen prefers the real Bubba to the clean and shiny one. It’s also nice to see the woman actively choosing who she wants to marry.

The vocabulary has just enough “Western” dialogue to give it flavor. For example, “Milton and Dwayne spent all day getting gussied up in their finest duds. Bubba about ran hisself ragged waiting on them.” Of course, you’ll have to explain to the child that the incorrect grammar is there for flavor and not to be emulated except for humorous effect.

The illustrations are impressive and could transfer easily to a Pixar movie. Situations are depicted with humor and expression.

Kids would love this alternative Cinderella story. show less

Set in Texas, Bubba does the work of three ranch hands. His wicked step daddy and lazy step brothers give him no end of trouble. Miss Lurleen is the prettiest rancher around and has a hankerin' to get married. Those familiar with the story of Cinderella can guess how this plays out. Bubba gets to go to the ball through the intervention of his fairy god cow and gets the girl when the smelly old cowboy boot fits him just right.

I like the reversal of the gender roles in this book and it is great fun to read aloud with a healthy dose of Texas drawl.

A twist on Cinderella, in a Texas drawl. Miz Lurleen (big blond hair) is throwing the ball. Bubba almost misses it because of all the work taking care of the ranch and his two lazy mean step-brothers. His fairy godcow and lost dirty boot save the day. Too funny!

I thought this book was interesting and funny. It was a story of Cinderella with a southern Texas twist. I enjoyed how the man was the one who was working hard on a farm and wanted to win the heart of the wealthy woman, Miz Lureen. The illustrations in this book were engaging. There was a horse who had humanistic facial expression, and every aspect of the story of cinderella was portrayed in this story in some way. For example, Bubba's step dad and brothers had ugly teeth and hair and didn't fit in the cowboy boot that Miz Lureen was hoping for. I enjoyed how the language of the text matched the southern theme. For example, the dialogue had a Texas twang, "y'all".
The overall message of this traditional literature was that gender roles show more can be switched in any situation. As a female reader, I thought it was refreshing to see the popular story of Cinderella come from a male's perspective. It was very adorable! show less

This book was absolutely adorable! It was the traditional Cinderella story with a twist. Instead of the traditional Cinderella story, Bubba was a prince who lived with his evil step-dad who lived on a ranch. He lived with his two mean stepbrothers as well. Miz Lurleen who was the riches, prettiest lady in the town decided she wanted to find herself a man and threw a ball to find her a man. Bubba had to stay home but then his fairy godcow came with a little Texas magic and made Bubba the cowboy of Miz Lurleen’s dream. This version of Cinderella has western language and humor that really engages the readers.

Cinderella with a fella :)

And in Texas, too.

Cute retelling, wonderful illustrations (the godcow was a nice touch), and I'm glad of the emphasis on how the two main characters fell in love because of their common interest in ranching.

It is a bit wordy, though.

“Bubba, The Cowboy Prince” was a great book with a fantastic message of no matter who you are you can be loved by someone you least expect to love you. My favorite part about this book had to have been the dialogue. Throughout the book many words are written like Miz, bejeebers, much obligated, ma’am, and mite. The use of these words in the dialogue allowed me to feel as if I was in the south listening to the conversation in person. I like this because it pulled me in to all of the conversations. I also enjoyed the illustrations because they were done in vibrant colors. The vibrant colors were perfectly relevant for many people in the south like vibrant colors. I also enjoyed how the characters in the book were depicted as the show more typical southern people it gave me a sense of knowing and a connection. show less