The ride of the Abernathy boys (1911)

In this well-told, fictionalized account of a true-life adventure, nine-year-old Bud Abernathy and his five-year-old brother, Temple, ride on horseback across the from Oklahoma to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and back. With the blessing of their incredibly indulgent father, the boys set out on this journey on nothing more than a whim. Young readers may find the first few chapters a bit slow, but things pick up when the brothers hit the trail and encounter rattlesnakes, scorpions, wolves, dust storms, and even kindly outlaws. Hunt layers his compelling adventure story with lively colloquial language as well as rich descriptions of the Old West in its waning days--a world in which the automobile is just beginning to overtake the horse. Read more