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Buffalo Music

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BUFFALO MUSIC; Tracy E. Fern; illus. by Lauren Castillo; New York: Clarion, 2008. 31pp. Picture Book.


Based on the true story of Mary Ann and Charles Goodnight, this work of fiction celebrates the efforts of settlers and pioneers to save some remnant of the great buffalo herds that once covered the plains. Miss Molly and her husband farmed and ranched on the rim of Palo Duro canyon, alone except for the animals. Molly did her chores to the tune of "buffalo music"--huffing and scritching and galloping across the prairie. But soon the buffalo hunters came and the buffalo were gone. But Molly took in strays and orphans, nursing them back to health when necessary and building a herd which would eventually be shared with Yellowstone National Park and other places which preserve buffalo herds to this day. Buffalo Music is a tender and heartening story, with pictures perfectly matched to its understated, evocative text.
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