Let ‘er Buck! George Fletcher, the People’s Champion
Let ‘er Buck! George Fletcher, the People’s Champion
A Virtual Program with Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
Saturday
February 5th, 2022
11 a.m.
Register to attend this online Zoom event at
https://tinyurl.com/VaundaMNelson
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson grew up, the youngest of five children, in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. “My parents brought books into my life on the day I was born. My mother found my name in a novel she was reading,” she says.
She credits her love of books to her mother and father, who faithfully read to her every night. As a writer, she hopes to give young people some of what her parents gave her—opportunities to grow through story. Vaunda’s love of history and family is reflected in many of her award-winning books.
Her latest book, Let ‘er Buck! George Fletcher, the People’s Champion, won a Western Writers of America 2020 Spur Award in the Best Western Storyteller/Children’s Illustrated Book category. In addition, Let ‘er Buck! received a 2020 Will Rogers Medallion Award in the Western Nonfiction/Young Readers/Illustrated category, a 2020 American Library Association Notable Book, a 2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People, a Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books for 2019, the recipient of four starred reviews, and has received other honors.
Let ’er Buck!
George Fletcher, the People’s Champion
Illustrations by Gordon C. James
Carolrhoda Books, 2019
In 1911, three men were in the finals of the famed Pendleton Round-Up saddle bronc competition. One was white, one was Indian, and one was black. When the judges declared the white man the winner, the audience was outraged. They named black cowboy George Fletcher the “people’s champion” and took up a collection, ultimately awarding Fletcher far more than the value of the prize that went to the official winner. Award-winning author Vaunda Micheaux Nelson tells the story of Fletcher’s extraordinary triumph with a western flair that will delight kids and adults who love true stories, unlikely heroes, and cowboy tales.
Awards and Accolades
- Western Writers of America 2020 Spur Award: Best Western Storyteller/Children’s Illustrated Book
- 2020 Will Rogers Medallion Award: Western Nonfiction/Young Readers/Illustrated Book
- 2020 American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children’s Book
- 2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People (National Council for Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council)
- Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books for 2019
- Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books for 2019
- Booklist‘s Top 10 Biographies for Youth 2019
- Booklist’s Top 10 Sports Books for Youth 2019
- National Council of Teachers of English Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction (2019)
- New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for “Children’s Picture Book”
- Starred Reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and School Library Journal
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN NEED OF ACCOMMODATIONS, CONTACT THE LIBRARY AT 505-955-6788, FIVE (5) WORKING DAYS PRIOR TO MEETING DATE.
This program is sponsored by Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library
Santa Fe Public Library
Community Services Department, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico