Kids Western Adventure
Date Published: 04-17-2025
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
You can learn a lot from a dog . . .
Meet Charlie Spears, a 10-year-old boy living on the High Plains of Texas in the late 1800s. Charlie lives with his Grandpa Will, who runs a chuckwagon, feeding all the adventurous folks traveling West in wagon trains. After losing his parents to illness, Charlie is often lonely and longs for a true friend. One day, by a stroke of luck and a big wag of a tail, Charlie meets a funny-looking dog named Bolo, who is also looking for a friend. Together, they embark on a journey where Charlie learns important life lessons.
In the first story: Bolo the Brave, Charlie discovers the meaning of courage and how to face challenges when a friend is in danger.
In the second story: True Friend, Charlie gains valuable insight—not to judge people by their limitations, but rather by their actions and character.
In the third story: Outcast, Charlie and his friends learn the importance of getting to know someone instead of passing judgment based on their appearance.
Together, Charlie and Bolo make new friends, confront dangers, and grow through valuable life lessons. As the story reminds us, you can learn a lot from a dog.
Charlie felt discouraged as he
walked back to the chuckwagon. Bolo, however, seemed quite pleased with himself
and frolicked around Charlie’s feet, almost tripping him on one occasion.
Already in a bad mood, Charlie started to speak sharply to Bolo when he looked
ahead to the nearest wagon and saw Chance, the boy in the wheelchair.
Charlie was
confused about why Chance had gotten so angry with him when he’d spoken up to
Jed. Couldn’t he see that Charlie was trying to help him? Some people are so sensitive, they’re always getting their feelings
hurt, Charlie thought. He decided he would stop and talk to Chance about
how ungrateful he’d been.
Walking
over to the wagon, Charlie stopped and put his hands on his hips. He glared at
Chance until the boy looked up at him.
“What do
you want?”
Taken aback
by the boy’s angry tone, Charlie looked at the boy, observing his strong arms,
which he hadn’t noticed earlier. Because Chance was sitting in a wheelchair, he
looked smaller and younger than he actually was. Although earlier Charlie had
figured they were about the same age, he realized that Chance was probably
eleven or twelve years old.
As Charlie spoke up, he couldn’t keep the
irritation out of his voice. “Why are you mad at me? I was trying to help; Jed
was being a bully.”
Chance
glared at Charlie. “What makes you think I needed your help?” Before Charlie
could answer, Chance held up his hand to stop him. “You don’t need to answer, I
already know. You pitied me because I’m in a wheelchair and figured I needed
you to take care of my problems. Well, I didn’t ask for your help, did I?”
Charlie
took a deep breath. He let it out slowly and tried to get his temper under
control. “No, you didn’t ask for my help, I just thought you might need a
friend, that’s all.”
“If I need
your help, I’ll let you know,” Chance said. “If I don’t let you know, that
means I don’t need your help. Do you understand?”
The
conversation had not gone as Charlie had imagined it would when he came upon
the boy. Although he was angry with Chance, he was also confused and his
feelings were hurt. He didn’t really know what more to say.
“I guess I
do,” Charlie said. He shrugged. “From now on, I’ll stay out of your business
unless you want my help.”
While they
were talking, Bolo had sidled over to where the boy was seated in his
wheelchair and wiggled his head under his hand, demanding to be petted. Even as
he’d been speaking sharply to Charlie, Chance had started petting Bolo and
scratching his ears. As Charlie walked away to return to the chuckwagon, Bolo
remained behind to get a little more ear scratching.
Irritated
at Bolo’s lack of loyalty, Charlie hollered, “Come on Bolo, we’ve got work to
do.”
Bolo licked Chance’s hand one more
time and reluctantly followed Charlie. Charlie wasn’t looking back so he didn’t
see the sad look on Chance’s face as Bolo trotted off.
About the Author
Jim Jones is a native Texan who lives in Rio Rancho, NM. In addition to being a Western novelist, he is also an award-winning Western singer/songwriter (International Western Music Association 2014 Male Performer of the Year; IWMA Song of the Year Award, 2019; Western Writers of America Spur Award, 2013, 2017 & 2021 for Western Song of the Year) who performs at festivals, coffeehouses and other venues throughout the West. Rustler's Moon, Jim's first novel, was a finalist in two categories for the 2009 New Mexico Book Awards, Best Historical Fiction and Best First Book. His novel, Colorado Moon, 2011, is the second in the Jared Delaney Series and it won the Western Music Association's 2011 Award for Outstanding Western Book. The third book in the series, Waning Moon, was published in 2013 and was also a New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards Finalist for Best Historical Fiction. The Big Empty, a spinoff series, was published in 2016 by Five Star Publishing and it, too, was a NM/AZ Book Awards Finalist in the Best Historical Fiction category. The second book in the spinoff series, The Lights of Cimarron, was published by Five Star in early 2019. The fourth book in the Jared Delaney Series, Halo Moon, was released in November, 2022 and won the 2023 AZ/NM Book Award for the Best in Adventure category. Jim creates gripping Old West characters about whom readers in the 21st century can care deeply. They struggle with tough economic times and corrupt government officials...wait, that's going on right now! Guess what, it was happening then, too. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Jim is a proud member of both the Western Writers of America and the Western Music Association. Although he writes about cattle rustling, Jim has never rustled cattle.
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