Feathered Quill Book Reviews

 #Bookreview of Will Rogers and His Great Inspiration

By: Bart Taylor

Publisher: Yorkshire Publishing

Publication Date: November 4, 2025

ISBN: 978-0881441611

Reviewed by: Lily Andrews

Review Date: October 3, 2025

Will Rogers and His Great Inspiration by Bart Taylor is honestly, one of those true story books for young children that looks simple at first, but then proves you wrong once you dive in. It is about this big, heavy idea regarding how we become who we become, which it shows not by preaching, but by walking you through the life of Will Rogers, the man who famously said “I never met a man I didn’t like.” This book isn’t really about his fame; rather, it’s about how he got there, as well as all the people who built him up, piece by piece.

The book starts with Will as a child on a ranch in Indian Territory where he learns to rope. He’s not a natural genius or anything, he just practices for hours. The book shows all the people who inspired him - his dad, his mom, a cowboy named Dan Walker, and then this vaquero he saw in a tent show who just blew his mind. It follows him as he joins Wild West shows, travels the world, saves the day in a rodeo by roping a runaway steer, after which he becomes a huge star on the radio and in movies.

The characters aren't super deep, but they feel real. You feel for Will - his drive and desperation to be good at something. You also encounter these people around him who just have this kindness. They include his wife Betty, who tells him to start telling jokes during his act. She sees the humor in him and that got to me, leaving me wondering whether I have such a person around me who can see that kind of talent in me and who can cheer me on like she did.

The writing is simple and pretty straightforward. It just tells the story without being fancy and has these little questions sprinkled in, such as: “What’s something you could learn by watching someone else?” The main theme is so clear. It’s about inspiration - how we all need it, how we can get it from other people, and how we’re supposed to turn around and use our own talents to inspire others. It’s a chain - a quiet chain of kindness and skill getting passed from one person to the next, from a ranch in Oklahoma all the way out into the world. This is a really nice, hopeful idea that makes you look around in your own life.

Quill says: Will Rogers and His Great Inspiration is an exciting book that will leave you smiling but curious, and maybe even asking yourself who inspires you and what gifts you can share with the world. It talks about never giving up, learning from others and using what you love to make others happy. Its biggest message may be just what you need to hear today: that you do not have to be perfect to inspire people; you only need to be yourself.