Making a Hand: Growing Up Cowboy in New Mexico: Growing Up Cowboy in New Mexico [Hardcover]

Ranching families reflect a deeply rooted agricultural tradition that has changed little over generations. Many of these children are accomplished farm hands by the age of six or seven and already contributing members of the family business. In this world, work skills define one's identity, and making a hand is the goal of every young cowboy and cowgirl. This book is a tribute to the newest generation of ranchers growing up in New Mexico. Gene Peach has photographed girls and boys from fifty ranching families representing diverse cultural backgrounds, as they work cattle from horseback, perform routine ranch chores, and compete in rodeos. Veteran Western writer and cowboy Max Evans writes about his own experiences growing up on a ranch and ponders the realities threatening the continuation of the family ranch. Making a Hand is a testament to a remarkable generation of New Mexico residents continuing a legendary and honorable lifestyle.

Based on childhood memories, this picture book tells the story of a girl becoming an artist. Illustrated with paintings of Santa Fe in the early part of the twentieth century.