HORSE THIEF

When Tullis Yoder finds out that the horses he's been caring for at the Big Bubb Stampede in the midst of Depression-era Florida are about to be made into dog food, he knows he has to do something. An orphan who recently lost two fingers bull-riding, Tullis finds an unlikely troop of allies, and eventually the family and status he longs for. Even though the story is set in Florida, the Texas twang in Tom Stechschulte's narration helps keep the listener in a cowboy frame of mind, and his expressiveness helps the listener make sense of a dialect that could be confusing in print. Even the voices he creates for some of the minor characters are distinct and reflect their personalities: the patient town sheriff, the sheriff's bumbling stepson, the greedy judge. A.F. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB / MAR 03]