Horse captures cattle rustlers

A lesser-known book by a renowned author

Jennifer Minicus | Nov 1 2016 | comment

Calico the Wonder Horse or the Saga of Stewy Stinkerby Virginia Lee Burton
written for ages 2-7 | recommended
published in 1996 (1941) | HMH Books for Young Readers | 64 pages

One of Virginia Lee Burton’s lesser known works, Calico the Wonder Horse reads like a comic book, with one or two black and white drawings on each page. Captions under each image tell the story of Calico, the fastest horse in Cactus County, and her cowboy Hank. In true Burton style, they work together to capture some cattle rustlers, but Calico is the real hero of the day. Young readers will be reminded of Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel Mary Anne. Burton’s illustrations look like block etchings and add a unique style to the book’s layout.

A former teacher, Jennifer Minicus is currently a full-time wife and mother.

Even if you do not live in the United States, the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is sparking intense and often shrill arguments. I think that a lot of people can't wait for next Wednesday, when the result will (hopefully) be known and peace will descend upon the land -- for a while. The arguments also provoke a question which has often perplexed me: why do people with similar philosophies so often come to different conclusions when it comes time to cast a vote?

In today's lead article, Zac Alstin attributes this difference of perception to the Four Temperaments, the ancient division of personality types. It's a very thought-provoking essay. He concludes:

When we assume that everyone shares the same basic worldview we end up frustrated at other people’s intransigence or inconsistency, their passivity or their audacity, their seriousness or their flippancy. But if we can understand the radical differences in our basic worldview we are immediately better able to get along with one another, and appreciate the strengths each temperament brings to the whole community.