Bubba the Cowboy Prince

Ketteman, Helen. Bubba the Cowboy Prince. New York: Scholastic Press, 1997.
ISBN 590255061

Summary:
Bubba is a ranch hand for his “wicked stepdaddy,”and has two brothers who boss him around, and make him do their chores. When Miz Lurleen puts on a ball to find a worthy rancher to be her husband, Bubba helps his family get ready to go, but he, himself is too dirty and smelly to go. That is when his fairy godcow steps in to give him some new clothes, and a noble horse to take him to the ball. When he finally gets to dance with Miz Luleen, it is almost midnight, and the magic wears off of him before the dance is over. He ran off in his dirty smelly clothes, and rode home on a cow, but lost one boot as he was leaving. Miz Lurleen visits all of the area ranches the next day, and finds Bubba. The two ride off into the sunset together.

Analysis:
This book is a fractured fairytale, and its original form, of course, is Cinderella. This variation on Cinderella has a male protagonist rather than a female, and contains recognizable stock characters (the wicked step parent, and siblings. . . ). The use of informal language is part of what gives this story it’s charm, using Texas style dialect and idiomatic phrases that make it a fun read. The ending is predictable, whether you are looking for a fairytale ending, or the ending of a western, because it fits both standards.

One thing that this version of Cinderella lacks that is typically found in a traditional tale is repetition. In many of the Cinderella stories, the protagonist has three or more impossible tasks to complete, and goes to a ball that lasts over a few days, so has several encounters with the love interest. With Bubba, however, the reader doesn’t see the monotony or great challenge of his tasks, and only goes to the ball one night, before his love comes to find him.

Reviews:
A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions.

Kirkus Review (1997)

Rustler lingo and illustrations chockablock with Texas kitsch make this ranch-spun Cinder-fella a knee-slappin' tale.

Publishers Weekly (November 17, 1997)


Enrichment Activity:
After reading Bubba the Cowboy Prince, read Cinder Edna to the students. Use a venn diagram to compare and contrast the two stories. Focus especially on the settings and characters.Have students write their own variation on Cinderella in which the student is the protagonist, and use people in their own lives to fulfill the roles of the other characters in the story.