A wagon sits in the sagebrush-covered desert, while herders on horseback move sheep to high summer range. It looks like a scene from the Old West, but it’s actually a sight you can see today. Shepherds still live in wagons, tending their flocks in Wyoming and other places in the American West just as they have done for more than a hundred years. You can still see the shepherds “trailing,” moving their flocks to the mountains in the summer and bringing them down to the desert for the winter.
From breeding season to lambing season, and shearing in between, Cat Urbigkit takes young readers on a fascinating ride along the shepherd’s trail. A lively, informative text, and stunning photographs show how sheep are raised over the course of a year and documents the shepherds’ work and their unique lifestyle.

Reviews:

School Library Journal - March 2008
A Western rancher once again exposes readers to life on the American high plains. This time she shows a way of life that many people think belongs in another time and another country–transhumance, the seasonal migration of animal herds. Through beautiful photographs and easily understood text, she explains how and why sheep migration works. She also covers the seasonal chores and cyclical changes in the herd and includes both large and small operations. As in her other books, Urbigkit shows variations on the lifestyle–from sheep herders using modern trailers to transport their animals to shepherds who travel on foot or horse. The information is basic and authentic. Readers who appreciated A Young Shepherd (2006) and Brave Dogs, Gentle Dogs: How They Guard Sheep (2005, both Boyds Mills) will enjoy this additional aspect of sheepherding. It’s also a good supplemental source for social-studies units. – Carolyn Janssen,
Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH