Lexie the Word Wrangler

K-Gr 2—Lexie is the "best wrangler west of the Mississippi, and everyone [knows] it." She is not just any kind of wrangler. Lexie captures letters and words with her lasso and puts them together to form new ones. She transforms a "p-e-s-t" into a group of furry "p-e-t-s" and lassoes an ear of corn and a loaf of bread to make "cornbread." One day, Lexie notices that letters and words are going missing or are unnecessarily being introduced at her ranch (the "dogies" become "doggies" after someone unleashes a gaggle of lowercase g's, for instance). Lexie goes on a mission to find the culprit and stop all of the word madness. While introducing spelling, compound words, and the intricacies of language to young readers is essential, this might not be the best place to start. Many of the words that Lexie wrangles are spelled out with her lasso in an exaggerated, curvy script that will not be accessible to those learning these concepts. There are many examples of Lexie's "word wrangling" throughout that interrupt the flow of the narrative, stopping it in its tracks at times. Hartland's bright gouache illustrations capture the many colors of the American West as well as various aspects of the cowboy lifestyle. A "dictionary of wrangler words" appears in the back matter for those who may not be familiar with the many cowgirl terms used in the book.