The Case of the Midnight Rustler (Hank the Cowdog)

Wonder if cattle rustlers still exist? Well, they do. Hank and Slim go on a camping trip to see if they can catch the mysterious stranger who is stealing calves. Hank devours all of Slim's camp meat (weenies) and chews the tent rope in half during a thunderstorm. Slim gets soaked, but fortunately he never figures out why the rope broke.

John R. Erickson, a former cowboy and ranch manager, is gifted with a storyteller's knack for spinning a yarn. Through the eyes of Hank the Cowdog, a smelly, smart-aleck Head of Ranch Security, Erickson gives readers a glimpse of daily life on a ranch in the West Texas Panhandle. This series of books and tapes is in school libraries across the country, has sold more than 8 million copies, is a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and is the winner of the 1993 Audie for Outstanding Children's Series from the Audio Publisher's Association. Publishers Weekly calls Hank a "grassroots publishing phenomena," and USA Today says this is "the best family entertainment in years."