Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads by Bob Shea, illustrated by Lane Smith

The Toad brothers have taken over Drywater Gulch and are causing no end of trouble.  But then a new sheriff arrives in town, a kid in a white suit riding a tortoise.  He doesn’t have many skills with guns and has an early bedtime, but he does know all about dinosaurs.  He is hired on the spot.  And that’s right when the Toad brothers blow up the bank, rob the stagecoach, and jump someone’s gold claim.  The sheriff is quick to point out how each of the escapades involved dinosaurs, T-Rex and velociraptors.  It seems that the crimes will never be solved by this young sheriff, but soon his paleontological plans turn out to be just what was needed to capture some human bandits.

Shea clearly has great fun creating these characters, this town and this world of dinosaurs mixed with the Wild West.  He plays with language throughout, creating wonderful moments where the new sheriff rides – very slowly – into town on his tortoise.  Just the way the Toad brothers are introduced early in the book will show how fun this book is to read aloud:  “Why, those Toad brothers would steal your gold, kiss your cattle, and insult your chili.  Hootin’, hollarin’, and cussin’ all the while.”  You can’t read that without a drawl and huge grin.

Smith’s illustrations are equally fun.  Using a palette of browns, blacks and tans, he creates the world of Drywater Gulch on the page.  There is a great sandiness and grit to the illustrations, and he also plays with perspective and fascinating rock formations of the desert.  The wild characters are placed in this world, popping on the page against the gritty backgrounds.

A great read aloud, this picture book is silliness through and through with a western twang.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from Roaring Brook Press.