Author Information
Will James's Latest Book

Newest Release

  • Bibliography:
    30 Books (1 Series)
  • First Book:
    January 1959
  • Latest Book:
    July 2019
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Full Series List in Order

Tumbleweed

American Cowboy (Jun-1981)
Cowboys North and South (Mar-1995)
The Drifting Cowboy (Jul-1995)
Cow Country (Jan-1996)
Sand (Jun-1996)
Sun Up: Tales of the Cow Camps (Aug-1997)
Sun Up (Oct-1997)
Big-Enough (Dec-1997)
Uncle Bill: A Tale of Two Kids and a Cowboy (Jul-1998)
All in the Day's Riding (Nov-1998)
The Three Mustangeers (Jan-1999)
Home Ranch (Aug-1999)
Young Cowboy (Nov-2000)
In the Saddle with Uncle Bill (Feb-2001)
Scorpion, a Good Bad Horse (Mar-2001)
Cowboy in the Making (Nov-2001)
Flint Spears: Cowboy Rodeo Contestant (Feb-2002)
The Will James Cowboy Book (Jun-2003)
The Dark Horse (Aug-2003)
Will Jame's Book of Cowboy Stories (Jan-2006)
Horses I've Known (Mar-2009)

Book List in Order: 30 titles



  • Smoky is a wild colt with a lot of spirit. From his early life on the open range he shows that he's a horse to be reckoned with, fighting off wolves and mountain lions alike. There's one predator he can't beat -- man. But Smoky quickly realizes that ...



  • i>The American Cowboy spans three generations of cowboys in the American West, from the young trail boss of the very first cattle drive from Texas north to the railroads, to his grandson, born after the open range had been fenced in. Discover the dan...



  • Now this classic collection of cowboy stories, first published in 1924, is available in a new edition for the first time in decades. "A delight from Preface to tail-piece, and full of amazingly good pen-and-ink drawings by the author . . . every page...



  • First published in 1925, the seven stories collected here revolve around the adventures of a lanky cowboy named Bill whose drifting takes him throughout the West as he lives the hard life of a working cowboy....



  • From wild mustangs and ornery steers to lonesome drifters and fancy dudes, this collection of eight short stories brings to life all the critters of the range and the weather-hardened cowboys who ride, rope, brand, and break 'em. Each story features ...



  • This is a story of a man and a horse. both have "sand"-the gumption it takes to tackle the challenges of life head on. The setting is the Great Plains. The characters are cowboys and horses. The heart of this story is the hero's long duel with the ho...





  • This collection of sixteen cowboy stories includes some of James's best stories from his previous work along with seven original stories, all accompanied by the author's lively illustrations. Here are tales of cowboys growing up, learning the ropes, ...







  • Ten-year-old Kip and his older sister Scootie spend a summer at the Five Barb Ranch, where the old cowboy known as Uncle Bill teaches them to ride and rope and take care of themselves wherever they are in cow country...



  • i>"His drawings are as authentic, as colorful and as racy as his prose. A grand book." --The Sportsman



    Each of All in the Day's Riding's twelve chapters highlights a riding theme, from rodeos to round-ups. You'll read stories about dri...



  • "The story is interesting and the characters fascinating, especially from a modern perspective. The idea of the Robin Hood with a slice of self-interest riding the Wild West is wonderful . . . if Westerns are popular at your library, add this one."--...



  • "A breath from the range." --The New York Herald Tribune



    John B. Mitchell started out with nothing but a saddle and a long rope--long enough to lasso someone else's cattle. He left Texas in a hurry with an "appropriated" herd and heade...




  • The day after arriving for their third summer on the Five Bard Ranch, twelve-year-old Kip and thirteen-year-old Scootie ride out with Uncle Bill to round up horses. They find the bunch they want, but three renegade horses stir up trouble and lead Unc...



  • A scorpion grabs you with its claws, but its poison comes from where you'd least expect it--the tip of its tail. A fine-looking chestnut bronc receives the name Scorpion when he explodes unexpectedly after several days of unusually good behavior. "Th...








  • While spending their summer vacation with Uncle Frank and Uncle Bill, two city children discover and begin to explore what seems to be an old gold mine shaft, but find that it is guarded by mountain lions....




  • Sent away as a colt because his color didn't reflect his fine racing lineage, Colonel-the Dark Horse-finds himself in a strange land thousands of miles from home. Charro, born in the arid badlands of the West and orphaned at a few months of age, is r...



  • Through Will James's accomplished storytelling and expressive drawings, readers will enter the magical world of chilhood where a rocking horse rounds up cattle and toy ponies gather in a homemade corral. This story is sure to delight every reader who...



  • Loping through a book by Will James is the next best thing to being there.

    Born in a covered wagon near Great Falls, Montana, and an orphan at the age of three, James was adopted by a French Canadian trapper and prospector. With no formal schoolin...



  • Out The Ball Park (Ready Or Not Here We Come) is the first publication from native Washingtonian, Illustrator and Creator Will James. It’s a humorous urban satire about a group of adolescents dealing with situations which affect our everyday lives....



  • ANNOTATION: Fourteen short stories capture the quirky and peculiar behavior of horses, both good and ornery. You'll meet buckers, tricksters, and trusted partners: Bearcat is not just a plain crazy hardheaded bucker...but a wise, coolheaded cross bet...



  • Dev Pathmajaran is a 17 year old college student who lives, eats and breathes physics; he knows everything there is to know about dark matter. Molly Sharp is a young woman who hears voices and they are definitely not in her head and Zack Healey is a ...



  • The old ones had grand and glorious machines. They could fly across oceans. Their sailing vessels filled the skies. They inhabited glittering cities of light. They mapped the stars and sent men into space -- but they went mad and destroyed themselves...



  • THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES (MEMOIR & FABLE) -- I chose this fable because I identified with the child in the story (who knows something is wrong). I was deeply disillusioned. My beautiful storybook parents had become unraveled by a monster, by alcoho...






  • A story told against the passage of time, The Other American explores the relationship and lack thereof between two people connected since the age of eight through different phases of life and all its twists and turns. Alan and Emma are two expatriat...


Award-Winning Books by Will James

Smoky the Cowhorse
1927 Newbery Medal -- Children's


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Will James has published 30 books.

Will James does not have a new book coming out soon. The latest book, The Other American, was published in July 2019.

The first book by Will James, Smoky the Cowhorse, was published in January 1959.

Yes. Will James has 1 series.