Wild West Willy

This book is full of fun, and the author/illustrator’s humorous cartoon style of drawing fits the story admirably. A small town in the Wild West is terrorised by Big Bad Bear and his gang. Their anti-social behaviour upsets all the locals, and, in turn, Mexican Chicken, Elephant George, Chief Sitting Duck and Wild Cat Kid all try to frighten them off. It is the smelliest, scruffiest dog around who succeeds in scaring away the gang, resorting to drastic measures. The 7-year-olds to whom I read this book loved it, especially the boys, who were keen to reread it, and they pored over the illustrations. With lots of satisfying direct speech and clear characterisation, this tale would lend itself to dramatic performance.