The Day Dirk Yeller Came to Town

It takes one ingenious little boy to defuse a threat that has a whole town quaking in its boots.

Larger than life, dangerous outlaw Dirk Yeller looms into town bigger than his horse, terri­fying even the tumble­weeds. He’s lookin’ for who-knows-what to stop his itchin’ and twitchin’ and jumpin’ and rattlin’. Only one small boy, the narrator of the tale, stands up to Dirk and leads him to, of all places, the public library. There, he is charmed by Miss Jenny, who helps him find just the right book, even though he isn’t a “real strong reader.” Lost in reading, he’s cured of his itchin’. As the sun sinks low and closing time nears, Dirk Yeller rides off with a saddlebag of books, promising to come back — not to cause trouble, but to get more books (and to see Miss Jenny). The sandy-hued illus­tra­tions are packed with details and humor. The antics of a cat and some mice provide a silent visual subplot, and both human and animal expres­sions will tickle readers.

Hoyt’s marvelous carica­tures are worth thousands of words, making this hilarious tall tale not only a plug for books and reading but an outsized winner. (Picture book. 4 – 8)
—Kirkus Reviews

In this Wild West yarn, young Sam manages to tame a notorious outlaw by intro­ducing him to the pleasures found in books. When “extremely dangerous” and all-around bad guy Dirk Yeller shows up in town searching for something to calm his “a‑itchin’ and a‑twitchin’” fingers, the frightened townsfolk refer him from one estab­lishment to the next in order to deflect his attention. Finally, Sam leads Dirk to the new library, where the lovely Miss Jenny (“sweet as pecan pie”) has just the solution. At closing time, Dirk happily departs with his saddlebags stuffed with books, promising to return for more books, and the towns­people rejoice. Through close-ups and varying perspec­tives, the softly colored cartoonish illus­tra­tions perfectly convey the action of the characters portrayed in the brief text. Pair with other library stories, such as Suzanne Williams’ Library Lil (1997) or Michelle Knudsen’s Library Lion (2006).
—Randall Enos, Booklist