THE CATERPILLAR COWBOY by Russ Lanier

"The Caterpillar Cowboy" is a delightful story for children and adults of all ages. Russ Lanier's original tale of a caterpillar's first great adventure is brought to life through the beautiful and captivating illustrations of a gifted young artist, Whitney Lanier. Turn the pages and get ready to hold onto your horses as our hero chases his dreams and learns a valuable lesson along the way. (34 pages)

Available on Amazon as well as other online retailers

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Russ Lanier was born and raised in Statesboro, Georgia. He is a certified public accountant by day, and an avid performer by night. His passions include spending time with his wife - Joy, and daughter -Ashlyn, leading contemporary worship, acting in local theater productions, and performing throughout the Southeast as a member of an Elvis tribute band. His greatest passion, however, is watching Ashlyn light up the stage as a dancer. Russ was inspired to write when he realized how much love was shared in the simple act of a mother, or a father, reading a book with a child. He also answers the call of the bat signal whenever he is needed to stand in for the caped crusader.

The Illustrator:

At an early age, Whitney Lanier displayed a talent and love for art. Her creative drawing drew the attention of family and friends. When author, Russ Lanier (no relation), saw her work, he felt confident Whitney was the artist to bring The Caterpillar Cowboy to life.

I was blessed with this book by The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest opinion.

My Thoughts:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1

This book is very cute, colorful and well illustrated. The caterpillar cowboy is adorable. He spends his life in an apple tree, eating leaves all day. But his most special time of day is when the cowboys come through with their cattle. It's the highlight of the day. His dream.. to one day be a cowboy. He has a talk with the wise old owl, who tells him one day he will fly like the wind, but not on the back of a horse. Even though the other caterpillars make fun of him, he keeps on dreaming. Then the unexpected happens...

This book was short and sweet. I enjoyed reading it to my daughter, who also liked it. The ending was a little different from what I expected but it was pretty good, and left an open door for future books. I am hoping that there will be others about the caterpillar cowboy's adventures. I am eager to see how his story plays out. This is a great book for younger children, with lots of colorful pictures to look at on every page, and a great story about chasing your dreams! But there is also an important message about the purpose God created us for, and how sometimes our dreams may not be fulfilled quite like we expect them to be.