When Robert Miller was growing up in the '50s watching his beloved cowboy movies, he never identified with the African-Americans who played bit parts as cooks or stable hands.
"I always saw myself as the hero, the guy riding off into the sunset with the girl and the money," said Mr. Miller, who has written a new series of picture books called "Stories from the Forgotten West," about African-Americans who played starring roles during the time of the cowboy.
The four books in the series are published by Silver Press ($12.95 hardback, $4.95 paperback, 32 pages, ages 4-8). Two are now available: "The Story of Nat Love," illustrated by Michael Bryant, and "The Story of Stagecoach Mary Fields," illustrated by Cheryl Hanna. "Buffalo Soldiers: The Story of Emanuel Stance" will be published next month, and "The Story of Jean Baptiste Du Sable" is due in June.
Mr. Miller lives in Camden, N.J., and is working on his doctorate in African-American studies at Temple. He was born in San Antonio, where his mother regaled him with stories about two of her uncles, Ed and Joe Cloud, who happened to be cowboys.
"They were enigmas," Mr. Miller said. "The turn-of-the-century in Texas was a rough time for African-Americans, but nobody bothered them. They kept their dignity.
"My mother told us that it was a custom, if you were an African-American walking down the street, you had to cross the street when a white person came walking toward you. But her uncles would purposely not cross to the other side. People weren't sure what to think of them. They were rough, but they had a stoicism about them."
So do the subjects of Mr. Miller's books. In 1991, he wrote a series called "Reflections of a Black Cowboy" for ages 9-12, published by Silver Burdette. For his new series, he tried to pick the characters that would most appeal to a younger audience.
Nat Love was a natural choice. Born a slave on a Tennessee plantation in 1854, Nat learned to rope and ride as a youngster. After the Civil War, he earned money breaking horses on a nearby ranch. And when he was 15, he left home and headed west.
He quickly earned a reputation as one of the finest cowboys along the cattle trails. The trail bosses held a contest in Deadwood City, S.D., to put Nat Love to the test against the best. Nat roped the wildest mustang and hit the bull's eye with every bullet in the shooting contest, earning the nickname Deadwood Dick.
Nat was also captured by Indians in Arizona -- it's too bad Mr. Miller doesn't say which tribe -- and managed to escape. Instead of trying to condense Nat Love's career into 32 pages, Mr. Miller writes on the last page: "Like tumbleweed, he'd roll on to the next adventure."
Picture books usually don't have bibliographies, but in this case, a list of books for further reading would be a plus. A 7-year-old who wants to read about Nat Love's other adventures deserves that kind of service.
Michael Bryant's watercolor washes are effective across the double-page spreads, and he captures Nat Love as a handsome young man, his face framed by long hair and a white hat. His talent, courage and independence make him an ideal hero -- and that's Mr. Miller's aim.
"People ask why I don't write more stories about women and girls," he said. "I've written more about men because African-American young boys today need heroes, and the most obvious hero in America is the cowboy."
* "Cezanne Pinto: A Memoir" by Mary Stolz (Alfred A. Knopf, $15, 304 pages, ages 12 and up) is the fictionalized account of a boy who escapes from slavery in 1860, at age 12 or so, and flees on the Underground Railroad to Ontario. He hooks up with a Union cavalry unit just before the Civil War ends and then becomes a cowboy in Texas.
Ms. Stolz, whose work includes "Storm in the Night" and succeeding books in her fine series about Thomas and Grandfather, also has written two Newbery Honor Books -- "Belling the Tiger" and "The Noonday Friends."
She is a master at crafting relationships and making readers care about characters who fuss and fight and love and put up with one another. In "Cezanne Pinto," she does it using a first-person voice, becoming a 90-year-old man who tells the story of his life by telling of the people he connects with along the way.
The format gives the author plenty of liberties, and she takes them. As Cezanne, the old man, recalls his thoughts as a teen-ager at the end of the Civil War, he says:
I thought that because the war was just, when it was over surely goodness would follow us, black folks and white, all the days of our lives.
Well, there you are -- things worked out differently, did they not? The Bigot of Baltimore, H. L. Mencken, said all the major human problems are insoluble. Even he had to be right, once in a while.
If you're looking for historical fiction without commentary, this book won't be to your liking. But if you want to experience one man's very personal journey through faith and fear, through love and hate, you won't be disappointed.
* Rosemary Wells, one of the most talented folks creating children's books today, will talk about her work at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28, in the Kraushaar Auditorium of Goucher College.
Ms. Wells has written "The Bunny Planet" trilogy, "Fritz and the Mess Fairy" and a series of board books starring Max the bunny. Free tickets are available at all branches of the Baltimore County Public Library; her visit is sponsored by the library and supported by Greetings & Readings. Doors open at 6 p.m. for book sales and autographing.