Bubba the Cowboy Prince

Ketteman, Helen. (1997). Bubba: the Cowboy Prince. Ill. by James Warhola. New York: Scholastic
This fractured fairy tale is a wacky rendition of Cinderella. Bubba is the stepson of the wicked rancher. He has two ridiculous stepbrothers who leave him to complete all of the chores. When a local wealthy female rancher decides it is time to marry, but wants the perfect mate, someone who loves ranching as she does. She puts on a Ball, inviting all the neighboring ranchers. Since everyone in Texas is a neighbor, this means all the ranchers in Texas. Of course, the wicked stepfather and his worthless sons go to the ball leaving Bubba at the ranch. Not to worry. Bubba has a fairy godcow to help change him into an impressive specimen. He dazzles Miz Lurleen, but all fantasies must end and at midnight Bubba returns to normal. Mis Lurleen does not care and she sets out to find him.
Children's Literature
The premise isn't original, but the execution and artwork certainly are. Bubba is a ranch hand, with two dimwitted, lazy stepbrothers. When Miz Lurleen, a rich rancher from down the road, throws a ball, of course Bubba doesn't have the proper clothes. He is rescued by a fairy godcow, who turns one of the longhorns into a white stallion and Bubba's threads into a fabulous Stetson and crisp jeans. At midnight, Bubba loses his cowboy boot, but eventually Miz Lurleen finds Bubba and they ride off into the sunset. The text is full of outrageous Texas-size sayings, such as "darker than a black bull at midnight" and "another ten dollar Stetson on a five cent head." The paintings are brightly colored and fanciful, with wonderful perplexed expressions on the rest of the cattle when the fairy godcow shows up. Great fun and a wonderful twist on the Cinderella story.

From Kirkus ReviewsA Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions. The protagonist is Bubba, appropriately downtrodden and overworked by his wicked stepdaddy and loathsome brothers Dwayne and Milton, who spend their days bossing him around. The other half of the happy couple is Miz Lurleen, who owns ``the biggest spread west of the Brazos.'' She craves male companionship to help her work the place, ``and it wouldn't hurt if he was cute as a cow's ear, either.'' There are no surprises in this version except in the hilarious way the premise plays itself out and in Warhola's delightful visual surprises. When Lurleen tracks the bootless Bubba down, ``Dwayne and Milton and their wicked daddy threw chicken fits.'' Bubba and babe, hair as big as a Texas sun, ride off to a life of happy ranching, and readers will be proud to have been along for the courtship. (Picture book/folklore. 6-8) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This is perfect for a unit based on comparing various versions of original folktales (assuming anyone has the original ones.) .