Review: Cowboys, Indians, Hobos, Gamblers, Patriots, Tourists & Sunsets: A 5-year-old’s Portrait of the American West

Author: Hawkeye Huey

Reviewed By: Bevin & Marco, age 4

This book struck me as powerful enough that I after reviewing it I decided to gift a copy to my son’s preschool for their art room. This book is special. Not because it’s perfect, but because it’s real. In simple terms, Cowboys, Indians, Hobos, Gamblers, Patriots, Tourists & Sunsets (CIHGPT&S) is a book of photos taken by a 4-year-old with a wonderful forward written by his photographer father, Aaron Huey (also the book’s editor). But it’s not that simple. It’s a father/son collaboration that goes beyond photos. It’s a way to discuss and explore with your kids the many states and cultures that the two covered on their road-trip through the American West. It’s a way to discuss what defines art. It’s a way to teach kids that just because they are kids doesn’t mean they are limited to paper and markers and coloring inside the lines. CIHGPT&S is very validating to the process of being a child, and a wonderful jumping off point for many explorations. It would be the perfect book to accompany a child’s first camera! Not only do the adults of our family enjoy CIHGPT&S, but it lives on my son’s bookshelf, who is 4.5 himself and self-proclaimed “like, a really good artist.”