Laura Norder: Sheriff of Butts Canyon

There are few laws in the Wild West except in Butts Canyon, where the Golden Rules of the fierce ten-year-old sheriff Laura Norder reign supreme: no spitting, no yee-hawing before 7pm and definitely no making trouble.

Having proven her mettle against renowned tough guy Ten Gun Ben by telling everyone in Butts Canyon about his angelic singing voice, it’s a shock when Duncan Disorderly, the most wanted bandit in the Wild West, arrives in Butts Canyon. How can someone who loves rules as much as Laura defeat someone who has no regard for them at all? But perhaps it might be time for Laura Norder to relax her iron fist just a little…

Guy Bass is a hilarious writer for primary school aged children, and particularly adept with an amusing pun – particular favourites (apart from our heroine Laura) are Mort L Coil, the undertaker, and Precious Little, the gold prospector.

This easy-to-read story is full of brilliant cowboy slogans and Wild West atmosphere, but at heart it’s really a story about what happens when we impose too many rules on others, denying them the freedom to make decisions – and mistakes – for themselves.