Wild West Fairy Tales are one of the many avenues writers have explored in the retelling of some of the well-known classics. Here are a few of my favorites...

• Bubba the Cowboy Prince by Helen Ketteman is a Texas take on Cinderella. Bubba is at the mercy of his wicked stepdaddy and his two bossy stepbrothers, Dwayne and Milton. All three boys have eyes for neighboring rancher, Miz Lurleen, but it's Bubba who wins her heart, with a little help from...his fairy godcow.
• Little Red Cowboy Hat by Susan Lowell is, as you might guess, a nod to the classic Little Red Riding Hood. But in this version the damsel in distress has no need for a brawny woodcutter to come to the rescue...Little Red and Grandma saddle up and run the wolf clean out of the country. As the story says, "This time he picked the wrong grandma."
• Of course, I'll have to include The Gingerbread Cowboy. In this Wild West adventure, a rancher's wife tires of baking biscuits and creates a Gingerbread Cowboy who escapes her kitchen for the wilds of the American Southwest. Pursued by the rancher and his wife, a roadrunner, javalinas, long-horn cattle and cowboys, he eludes them all...only to be caught by the traditional trickster, the coyote.

Here are the answers to Friday's Famous Firsts:

1. I'm Emily Elizabeth, and I have a dog. Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

2. "Did Mama sing everyday?" asked Caleb. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan