Maverick Books - Hank the Cowdog

Hank the Cowdog is a series of books that takes the reader through the so-called adventures of a dog who thinks of himself as Head of Security at a ranch in Texas. His inflated ego proves for hilarious commentary. Our family reviewed three products from this line.

The first, and by far, the favorite of the products was a game called Tornado. It comes with a cassette. This game and cassette are based on a book in the series by the same name. This product sells for $12.99 on the website. Tornado plays a lot like Sorry or Trouble. The way it folds up and stores all the pieces is ideal for travel! Trust me, I was stacking some things on my already overcrowded computer desk (I am consistently a clutterbug) and inadvertantly knocked over this game and some other items. I was just dreading finding four sets of buzzards and dogs(two colors of dogs, mind you) that belonged with the game. I ran around the desk only to find that the game was still tightly closed. Now, my kids had already been having a great time with this game and the evil thought of keeping them occupied for long hours on the road was running through my head. This game could survive in my truck! The pieces themselves seem to be sturdy and shouldn't dislodge easily either. To me it seems like a win/win situation. All in all, I would say this would be a great buy for people with kids who can understand or are learning to lose graciously, travel, or love these types of games for their family.

The next product on my list was the Tales and Tunes CD. It's sort of a sampler of audio from 10 of their books plus nine songs. This is where I want to proceed with caution. I understand that not everyone views the world the same way and different families have different "limits" on things. That's wonderful. For my family, I think this would be a "no, thank you". While I see the humor in the stories and the songs, I was concerned about some of the words used. My husband wasn't impressed either. We aren't super-strict people but we do like to control what comes into our home. I listened to the CD first before deciding whether to allow my kids to listen. The humor is directed toward kids under 12, I believe. The wording though...well, I'll be specific. I don't allow words like "stupid", "idiot", "shut up" or "dangburnit?" to be used. I will be honest and admit that on occasion I accidentally let "shut up" slip but the other words are viewed as bad words in my house. Although at $3.00, you do get a taste of Hank the Cowdog for yourself. It's a very inexpensive way to find out if your family would like it or not. I personally know several families who would love this series, it's just not for our family. And like I said before, the dog's ego is funny as well as some of the situations he comes across.

The last of the items was a book in the series. It is book #8, entitled The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse. My youngest daughter had read the book before and proceeded to tell me how much she loved it. She immediately claimed it for her own, but I explained I had read it myself. The wording in the book was what I had come to expect from the CD. It disappointed me. This was a great book. Hank is going from case to case and acting like a nutcase! The books on the website are priced from $4.24 to $5.24. Audio versions of the books are also offered for about $17.99. Book #54 just came out, so apparently the series is going strong. I was just slightly disappointed in some of the content. Like movies nowadays though, something always has to be thrown in that really wasn't necessary. It makes me sad.

The website also offers a variety of signs, games and shirts as well. There is a place to join Hank's team. Just watch out that he treats you better than Drover!!