Hank the Cowdog is a long-running children's book series written by John R. Erickson and illustrated by Gerald L. Holmes. The books follow Hank, a dog who sees himself as "the head of animal security". In every book Hank and the other characters have to deal with some of the events, problems and mysteries that took place in their Texas Panhandle home, M-Cross Ranch, located in Ochiltree County. The series started in 1982, with some short stories about Hank and his friends; since then, 70 printed books and seven audio books have been published. Hank the Cowdog was previously published via Maverick Books, with Puffin Books holding the current United States publishing rights in English. Each book features Erickson's songs on the audiobook edition. The series has received awards and critical recognition, and the books have sold over eight million copies worldwide. It has been published in several languages ​​including Spanish. In the 1980s, the first book was adapted into an animated segment for CBS Storybreak .
The books will be adapted into animated TV series. There is also 'Hank film' in production.
A teaching program is available for this series via Maverick Books and a story titled The Case of the Dancing Cowboy was serialized in 2002, in several American newspapers.
Video Hank the Cowdog
Character
Hank : Hank is the main character and narrator of every story in Hank the Cowdog adventure. Hank claims to be a "pure, top-of-the-line blue-ribbon cowdog", but in fact it is most likely a mongrel dog. He set himself up as "Chief of Animal Security" and conducted security checks and night patrols. But the real task is to serve as Slim and Loper assistants in herding cattle. Hank has a superiority complex that causes him to have a very high sense of his own intelligence, strength, courage, and appeal. As a result, Hank often finds himself in difficult situations, usually his own. Much of the humor of this series comes from Hank as a shameless narrator trying to make himself appear more competent by looking back from the truth, but the reader is rarely deceived. Despite its shortcomings, Hank is very loyal to his family and farming communities and usually rises to the occasion in times of true crisis. The dog is based on an Australian Shepherd named Hank who is owned by Erickson's neighbor when he runs a farm in Oklahoma. Neighbors want to use dogs to help cattle but the dog is untrained and proved troublesome.
Drover : Drover is a younger dog who lives on the farm with Hank. Hank refers to him as his assistant, or as a "little dog" when Hank gets mad at him. Unlike Hank, Drover has no fantasy of grandeur and likes to spend most of his time avoiding trouble and sleeping (16 hours a day according to Hank), often involved in the useless tasks he creates for himself. In the Car-Barkaholic Dog Case, for example, Hank observes that when he helped the cowboys with cattle herd, Drover spent the afternoon chewing old horns, burying them, and then immediately forgot where buried. He is also not shy, and often avoids the "call of duty" by pretending to have bad legs. Drover has a great curiosity and often asks obscure questions like "Why does the moon rise at night and set in the morning?" Hank seldom knows the answers to these questions, but this does not stop him from providing them. Drover often seemed more plausible than Hank, which enabled him to avoid many of the same disasters that Hank created for himself.
Sally May : Sally May is the wife of High Loper and mother of Little Alfred and little Molly. She is a housewife who enjoys parties and often serves as a check to civilize her cowboy husband. He is often embraced, especially in "The Case of Killer Horses Horses" and "The Phantom in the Mirror", when he comes to the company. Pete the Barn Cat is his beloved pet and he is full of affection for himself and Drover. He does not like Hank, however, and is often angry with him for coming to his yard, home or fighting with Pete. The most common answer when angry is to try to hit him with his broom. Nevertheless, Hank often thought that Sally May secretly respected him. In fact, his feelings fluctuated between disgust and respect while Hank usually followed up his crime with heroic acts.
High Loper : Owner of farm and host Hank, High Loper is an old-fashioned cowboy who enjoys roping, riding, and working on his farm. While Loper never wanted to leave the farm and was reluctant to go out of town, he was far from workaholic, settling for poor work on many of his projects and mortgaging dirty work into the hands of his farm, Slim Chance. His anti-social cowboy instinct has been tamed by his wife, whom he loves. However, in some episodes he reveals nostalgia for moments when he is just a simple cowboy. In "Murder in the Middle Pasture" when Sally May gave Slim a lecture about how she would understand the importance of social events when she married, Loper said the words "no, you will not" behind her. While Loper often mocks Hank and is often angry with him, he also relies on Hank to help herd herds. In "Every Dog Has His Day" Hank rescues Loper from some quicksand, proving his loyalty to his master.
Little Alfred : Loper's oldest son and Sally May. Little Alfred liked Hank and often participated in adventures with him. Some of them are harmless, though in the "Hooking Bull Case" Alfred deliberately cheats Hank to get into the dryer and then turns on the engine, indicating he has a mischievous scribble. Most of the "Lost in the Dark Unchanted Forest" story revolves around Hank's quest for Alfred when he disappears in the woods. In this story and some others Alfred proved to have the ability to talk to animals, although later on he did not seem to have this ability. It was revealed that the older a child, the more their ability to understand the animals is reduced. Hank greatly protects Alfred and often risked his life to protect him, labeling every cowdog task.
Pete the Barn Cat : Hank's main antagonist on the farm. Pete is Sally May's favorite pet and he often uses this to his advantage in his little clash with Hank. Pete is much smarter than Hank and usually manages to outwit him, even though Hank usually sees it differently. Many of Hank's adventures were initiated by an embarrassing incident in which he had been duped by Pete. In "The Next Adventure of Hank the Cowdog", Hank's eyes flashed after staring at the bloody nose he received by attacking Pete's fried eggs behind the Sally May gardens. In "The Curse of Incessible Priceless Corncob", the whole story revolves around Hank's over-protection of corn cobs Pete has tricked him into believing it's worth the money. In "Lost Cat Case" Hank finally loses his patience with Pete and tries to trap him on the plains, but has a change of heart and rescues him from the Rip and Snort coyotes. The two then bemoaned the fact that by saving Pete's life, Hank and Pete had to be friends and stop fighting each other. However, at the end of the adventure, the two return to fight with the remains, showing that they both secretly love their antagonistic relationship.
Thin Opportunity : A lazy but loyal cowboy and a farm hand that works for High Loper. It is unclear how long Slim has worked at the farm, but although some comments were made about wanting to move to a bigger operation, he never stopped. He does most of the work on Loper's unwanted ranch, and is sometimes forced to take care of Little Alfred, for whom he has an interest. Slim lives in a small hut two miles from the farm headquarters, and maintains a dirty house, often leaving old plates, clothes, food, and cattle magazines lying around and fostering chronic mice problems. He also hates cooking, which results in him maintaining a poor diet and eating things that would annoy the average reader, such as sardine sandwiches and ketchup. Although Slim likes to play pranks on Hank and make fun of him, it's obvious he has an affinity for himself and Drover, often asking them to go with him on a side job.
Wallace and Junior : Two hawks that Hank sometimes faces. Wallace, old buzzard and father to Junior, very rough and rude, not easy to get along with most of the other characters of this series. He is also relatively single-minded, judging most things primarily on his use as a food source. He does not seem to like Hank, but sometimes acts decently against him. Junior, Wallace's slow and awkward son, was more shy than his father and had stuttering problems. He loves his father but often makes Wallace angry for being cowardly, being friendly to other animals (which Wallace says they prefer to think about eating), and generally being bad as a bouncer. Wallace also hates Junior's love for singing.
Rip and Snort : Two coyote siblings who have a grudge against Hank. At one point in The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, Hank, Rip, and Snort became friends. However, they are enemies in every other book. They are fierce and powerful, but not very smart, and Hank manages to escape from the difficult situation that involves them by tricking them. They call Hank "Hunk."
Scraunch : A vicious forest dog near the top of the power pack order, he retains Hank's intense hatred. He was the brother of Missy Coyote, whom Hank had promised in marriage. He's smarter, tougher, and more angry than Rip and Snort.
Missy Coyote : A coyote who at one point promises to be Hank's partner, and thus joins his family package if Hank attacks the farm and kills Drover. Hank eventually refused to do so, indicating that he was loyal to the ranch population, and loyal to Drover as a good friend. Hank seemed to share her feelings and although he did not like coyotes, it seemed at some point he was seriously considering joining Missy's package. Missy was originally named, "Girl-Who-Drink-Blood", but Hank did not like the name, instead called her Missy Coyote. Unlike most of Hank's estimates, Missy really thought she was cute.
Beulah : Collie who lives on the local farm, and with whom Hank fell in love. He constantly tries to impress him, which usually results in his own stupidity. Beulah lives on his ranch with his girlfriend, Plato, a dog that Hank hates. Although he likes Hank as a friend, he does not return his love, and tries to disappoint him for fear of hurting his feelings. Nevertheless, Hank was persuaded that Beulah fell in love with him, and would reveal it if not for Plato.
Plato : A modest bird dog that likes Hank even though Hank clearly underestimates it. He fell in love with Beulah, much to Hank's concerns, and did not seem to notice or care that Hank kept trying to punish him. He also seemed unaware of Hank's hatred for him. She only has a very small role, except in the Lost Dog Case of Birds and the Search for the Great White Quail, where she gets lost and Hank must find her.
Madame Moonshine : The wizarding owl who often helps Hank. He has a bodyguard, a venomous snake named Timothy, who lives in the same hole with him. When he uses his magic, it is usually very strange and may not have the desired result. For example, at Lost in the Dark Unchanted Forest, he and Hank are tied upside down to a tree branch, while Rip and Snort plan to eat them down. He reads a spell to make them stop, but, because they're upside down, it just makes them sing their songs back.
Ralph : A bass dog living in a local doghouse. The owner works in pounds and places it wherever kennels are currently available. He has a pretty good life, except when the owner let him out like it did on The Fling.
Eddy the Rac : A raccoon that sometimes appears and causes problems. He became an orphan as a baby and Slim took care of him for a while in Moonlight Madness. He causes Hank to be confused whenever he appears, from disguised as a monster/alien to convince Hank to tell high stories. Every time Slim puts Eddy in a cage, Eddy convinces Hank to let him out and enter the cage itself, at which point Eddy locks him up. Nevertheless, Hank continues to be fooled and does not really like Eddy.
Maps Hank the Cowdog
List of books
- The Original Adventure of Hank the Cowdog (1983)
- Next Adventure from Hank the Cowdog (1983)
- This is Dog Life (1985)
- Murder in the Middle Grasslands (1985)
- Faded Love (1986)
- Let the Sleeping Dog Lie (1986)
- Corncob Curse Priceless Incredible (1986)
- One-legged Killer Cases (1987)
- Halloween Ghosts (1987)
- Every Dog Has His Day (1988)
- Lost in the Dark Unchanted Forest (1988)
- The Fiddle Playing Fox (1989) case
- Buzzard Injured on Christmas Eve (1989)
- Hank the Cowdog and Monkey Business (1990)
- Lost Cat Cases (1990)
- Missing in Blinded Blizzard (1991)
- Car-Barkaholic Dog Cases (1991)
- Hooking Bull case (1992)
- Midnight Scramble Case (1992)
- The Phantom in the Mirror (1993)
- Vampires Cats (1993)
- Sting Double Bumblebee case (1994)
- Moonlight Madness (1994)
- The Black-Hooded Cuddle case (1995)
- Killer Case Spinning Tornado (1995)
- The Case of Collie Kidnapped (1996)
- Monster Bone Stalking-Night Case (1996)
- The Mopwater Files (1997)
- Case of Vampire Vacuum Sweeper (1997)
- Haystack Kitties Case (1998)
- Lost Catching Case (1998)
- Waste Monster from Outer Space (1999)
- Measured Cowboy Case (1999)
- Slim's Good-bye (2000)
- Saddle House Robbery Case (2000)
- Raging Rottweiler case (2000)
- The Deadly Ha-Ha Game Case (2001)
- The Fling (2001)
- The Secret Laundry Monster Files (2002)
- Missing Missing Dog Cases (2002)
- Shipworm Case (2003)
- Case of Robot Painting (2003)
- Twisted Kitty Case (2004)
- The Dungeon of Doom (2004)
- Case of Falling (2005)
- Tricky Trap Case (2005)
- Tender case of Cheeping Chickies (2006)
- The Case of Monkey Thieves (2006)
- Booby-Trapped Pickup Cases (2007)
- The Ancient Bone Case (2007)
- Cute Sky Case (2008)
- Quest for the Great Quail White (2008)
- Drover's Secret Life (2009)
- The Case of Dinosaurs (2009)
- Secret Weapon Cases (2010)
- Coyote Invasion Cases (2010)
- The Disappearance of Drover (2011)
- Mystery Case (2011)
- The Perfect Dog Case (2012)
- Large Questions (2012)
- The Rusty Bear Case (2013)
- Ghost of Rabbits Past (2013)
- The Return of The Charlie Monsters (2014)
- Three Ring Cases (2014)
- The Last Roundup (2015)
- The Christmas Turkey Disaster (2015)
- Wagons West (2016)
- The Secret Pledge (2016)
- Cases of Nomad Goats (2017)
- Women's War Cases (2017)
- Fire Monster Case (2018)
Audio
Books 1 - 49 have cassette versions. All books have audio book versions.
Audio Only
Some books are only in audio. The numbers for this are always A #; for example, The Homeless Pooch is A1.
- The Homeless Pooch
- Mystery Watermelon Patch
- Kitty Cheater
- The Runaway Windmill
- Cookie Month
- The Dancing Cowboy
- Valentine's Day robbery
Adaptation
CBS Storybreak
In 1985, CBS Storybreak aired an animated episode based on Hank the Cowdog's first book. The episode changed the original book: the coyote speaks normally, not their own ridiculous language like in a book, the kids are removed, the chicken farm in Arizona instead of the Texas cattle farm, goes from a married couple and ranchhand to the responsible woman and 2 ranchhands.
Hank the Cowdog (serial TV)
Hank the Cowdog is an animated adaptation based on books. It will be produced by HTC Productions and Huhu Studios. It was first introduced in the MIPJunior content market in 2015. So far there is no specific release date for this series. The series will be performed in 2D animation and will have 13 episodes.
There have been previous attempts at the adaptation of the TV series in the late 1990s. It will be produced by Nickelodeon, WildBrain and 501 Productions. The series will combine 2D animation with a live action background. A test roll is uploaded to Vimeo by 2015.
References
External links
- Official website
- Hank the Cowdog on IMDb
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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