Books with author John R. Erickson

It’s a blustery day in late fall, and Hank decides to sneak into the back of Slim’s pickup and hitch a ride with the cowboys to a neighbor’s fall branding. However, instead of running into either Miss Viola or the beautiful Miss Beulah the Collie, as he’d hoped, Hank finds himself on Baxter’s ranch! Things aren’t all bad though, since Baxter happens to be the very cowboy who owns the gorgeous Miss Scamper the Beagle! Unfortunately for Hank, Miss Scamper has always been a little hard to figure out, and he can’t decide if she’s crazy about him or just plain crazy. And, as the day unfolds, it even begins to look like she’s angling to land him in a heap of trouble with her pit bull boyfriend, Steel!

Hank the Cowdog has seen dry summers in his years as the Head of Ranch Security, but nobody on the ranch has seen a drought like this. Ponds have dried up, the creek is down to a trickle, pastures have turned to burned toast, and the cows are kicking up clouds of dust. Then, to top it all off, Pete the Barncat hatches a dastardly plot to ruin Loper's birthday! The last thing the cowboys need is a prairie fire, but that's what they get, and it begins to look like the next roundup might be their last. What the ranch really needs is a good rain to bring back the grass . . . and Loper's good mood!

Everyone knows that bears live in the mountains and there are no mountains in the Texas Panhandle. So, when Slim claims to have seen a bear cross the road, no one knows what to believe, that is, until Deputy Kile spreads a report that there really is a bear on the loose in Ochiltree County! With news like this, the ranch's Security Force goes on Red Alert. Will Hank be able to defend the ranch from a raging, prowling bear? Hear Hank sing a sage song, "Be Careful When You Drink From the Pot," and Wallace is forced to sing a "Thank You" song.

A Sidekick's Story Everyone loves Drover, Hank's trusty sidekick. But have you ever wondered what the little, white, stub-tailed dog's life was like before he came to the ranch? Well, it's all here, in Drover's own words. Scratching his story out in the dirt on the machine shed floor, Drover comes clean about his secret life--from his early days as runt of the litter, to his frustrating search for a job, to his ultimate position as Hank's right-paw man. Drover's story is a must-hear for all fans of the long-running Hank the Cowdog series. Hear Drover sing "I Have No Ambition," and will Boris the Bat's "You Need a Dream" provide any inspiration for Drover in this hilarious adventure for the entire family.

#15: After losing his post as Head of Ranch Security in a crooked bet with Pete the Barncat, Hank is finally pushed to the limit. Long having wanted to rid the ranch of Pete's snide presence, Hank devises a plan to do just that. #16: When a raging, swirling blizzard shuts down the ranch, and Hank is stranded at Slim's cabin, he isn't phased one bit. At least, not until a phone call from the ranch house with an emergency directive: someone's got to deliver cough medicine to Baby Molly!

The garden's been invaded!No sooner has Sally May finished planting her vegetable garden when some kind of unearthly being decides to burrow in the neatly planted rows of tomatoes and peppers. It looks like a job for the Head of Ranch Security, so Hank sets straight to work trying to dig the space monster robot out of its hole. But when Slim, Loper, and Sally May catch Hank in the ruined garden they place all the blame on him. Ashamed, Hank does the only thing he can think of and hits the road. As he begins his exile he runs into an old friend, Madame Moonshine. Will she be able to help Hank clear his good name?

It’s early springtime on the ranch, and Hank is going through the usual motions of making sure that a warm spring arrives safely: singing songs about it, barking faithfully each morning, and helping the cowboys with their work around the ranch. However, in the midst of a particularly hard day’s nap, he receives a report that his little birdy friend, Madame Moonshine, is in danger of being eaten by Pete the Barncat! Naturally, Hank springs into action to save her, but a misstep brings the wrath of Sally May down on his head, and Hank must flee the scene of the rescue and travel west on the Oregon Trail with Little Alfred. Later, when a freak storm causes the creek to rise, stranding Little Alfred far from the house, Hank must rely on his instincts and clever wits—and perhaps a little help from Madame Mooshine—to keep them both safe and get Alfred back to his mother!

Invasion! It's scrap day on the ranch, and Hank is looking forward to a delicious feast of juicy, fatty bacon scraps. But just as Little Alfred is doling out the goods, two very unusual-looking creatures fly overhead, and what was promising to be a glorious day takes a dramatic turn for the worse. Suddenly the scraps have vanished, and the Head of Ranch Security finds himself dealing with an invasion by a couple of ancient dinosaur birds! Can Hank get to the bottom of this latest mystery...before it's too late? Hank and Drover sing Why Does a Pelican Look So Bizarre?, and Rip and Snort belt out Cannibal Trash in this hilarious adventure for the whole family.