A Mysterious Stranger Comes to Town

The Legend of Lightning Larry

By Aaron Shephard

Age Range: 4 - 12 years

Grade Level: 3 - 7

Paperback: 48 pages

Publisher: Skyhook Press; Illustrated edition (April 21, 2008)

ISBN-10: 0938497286

ISBN-13: 978-0938497288

 

Publisher’s Blurb:

No outlaw could draw as fast as Lightning Larry. But what really terrified those bad men was that peculiar gun of his. It didn't shoot bullets. It shot light. And Larry always aimed for the heart. 

 

Can Larry save the town of Brimstone from Evil-Eye McNeevil's outlaw gang? Find out in this rip-roaring original tale of a gunfighter with a huge smile and a hankering for lemonade.

 

My Thoughts:

This one really left me lukewarm. While the idea of a “gunslinger” whose gun shoots lightning rather than bullets was cute, there was no real setup. I realize that the spaghetti Western trope of mysterious man who arrives and changes the town, then leaves without a word, is the basis for this book, my child wants to know why Larry has this special gun. What happens to the town?

 

I’m also bothered by the fact that Larry not only uses his special gun on the bad guys, but on the entire town. Forcing everyone to be happy and good makes me very, very nervous.

 

Possible Objectionable Material:

Guns (real and special), bank robberies, a bar, general mayhem.

 

Who Might Like This Book:

Those who like Westerns and mysterious strangers. The lower end of the target age range.

 

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ebook.