Summary:
This book was written in the 1950’s and it takes place in the west as Billy and his parents move there for the summer to live in their ranch house. Billy brought his horse, Blaze, along with them. Everyday Billy went out exploring with Blaze and one day he came across his friend Jim who warned him about a mountain lion who had been killing his calves. Billy was frightened but kept going. Billy and Blaze seen the mountain lion but scared it off. They kept hearing a noise, it was a calf that was stuck on a mountain ledge. Billy had to make a lasso and get the calf back to safe grounds and he returned the calf to Jim, his rancher friend.

Personal Reflection:
I felt this is how ranchers lived back in the day and the worries they faced. I know ranchers still worry about mountain lions but now we have traps, 4-wheelers, and more ways of stopping this.

Classroom Extensions:
1. This would be a great story to read to the children to learn about ranching and the 1950’s
2. This book would also be good to explain to students when they are our exploring, you can run into harmful animals. ( )