Everything you need to understand or teach Cloudy in the West by Elmer Kelton.
Cloudy in the West is the story of how twelve-year-old Joey Shipman learns to face with maturity the many problems that plague his life. Born and reared on the Shipman Ranch near Athens in East Texas, Joey's real mother has already died at the beginning of the story, and his father and his only other friend die shortly thereafter.
Without parents, Joey is left in the custody of a stepmother and her "cousin...