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Elena
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| Posted: Nov 19 2006 at 3:25pm | IP Logged
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We FINALLY finished Farmer Boy. We started it in late September and it took a while to get through it, but we savored every chapter. I had read it about 8 years ago to my oldest and had forgotten parts of it. It was an even better read the second time! So I wrote a review for Amazon just so I wouldn't forget.
Since my first four children are boys, I thought Farmer Boy would be the perfect introduction for them to the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The hero of this story is Almanzo Wilder, a spunky country boy who is only 9 years old when the story opens.
Almanzo lives in New York State in the late 19th century with his mother and father, older brother Royal, and two sisters, Eliza Jane and Alice. Almanzo is the youngest. They live in the days of horse drawn carriages, home made dinners, no electricity and the one room school house.
Mrs. Wilder draws us into the story immediately with a dangerous situation in the school house. A new teacher is in town and he has to deal with the Hardscrabble boys. These are older boys, really young men, who have taunted and provoked previous teachers. They beat one teacher so badly that he died. Mild mannered Mr. Corse has taken the position and with the help of Almanzo’s dad, comes up with a very politically incorrect (by our standards) but effective way of dealing with these ruffians and saving the school year for the other children.
This is just one of the very exciting adventures in this book. I found as I was reading it to my children, that I could pick out virtually any chapter and find an exciting story that could stand by itself, with Almanzo right in the middle of it. From falling through the ice, to saving the crops from freezing, a mysterious stray dog, to trying to prove his maturity to Father, this book captivated my sons and even my 7-year-old daughter!
My kids particularly enjoyed Mrs. Wilder’s description of food and meals. She describes everything so wonderfully that you can almost smell the odors and taste the food.
“Almanzo ate the sweet, mellow baked beans. He ate the bit of salt pork that melted like cream in his mouth. He ate mealy boiled potatoes with brown ham-gravy. He ate the ham. He bit deep into velvety bread spread with sleek butter and he ate the crisp golden crust. He demolished a tall heap of pal mashed turnips and a hill of stewed yellow pumpkin. Then he sighed and tucked his napkin deeper into the neckband of his red waist. And he ate plum preserves and strawberry jam, and grape jelly and spiced watermelon-rind pickles. He felt very comfortable inside. Slowly he ate a large piece of pumpkin pie.”
Yum!!
What strikes me throughout the book was that there was a rhythm and circle to life that had to be followed for survival. When it was time to cut ice for the year, it was time to cut ice. If you waited too long or started too early, you would not have enough ice to last until next year. When it was time to plant, everyone worked to get the crops in. When it was time to harvest everyone worked hard then too. There was also no waist. Every bit of the crop was used. When a pig or a steer was butchered, all the parts of the animal were used for food, clothing and even making soap and candles.
Although Almanzo and his siblings work well together, they still have their squabbles. One of the more endearing parts of the book was an exchange between Eliza Jane and Almanzo that could have been real trouble for Almanzo, and upsetting for mother. However, but Eliza Jane out compassion for her brother and sorrow for her own part in it, makes things right.
The book has much humor in to. Our favorite part came in the end when the town tightwad tries to tip Almanzo with a nickel, and Almanzo quips that he wouldn’t take his nickel, because, “I can’t change it!”
For an authentic look at what life was like just before the 20th century, I would highly recommend this book. If I wanted to pass on the importance of hard work and preparation, I think Farmer Boy also illustrates those lessons well. But most importantly it’s an uplifting story of a family that works together as a team, and a little boy trying to grow-up and reach his dreams.
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Elena
Wife to Peter, mom of many!
My Domestic Church
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: Nov 19 2006 at 8:14pm | IP Logged
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Elena, this is a great book! We went to the Wilder Farm in Malone, NY this past summer, and enjoyed it so much.
Almanzo is an endearing character.
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Noreen
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lapazfarm
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I love Farmer boy, too. I read all of the little house books to my older children years ago and we will soon start in on them again with my younger ones. I just know they will love it, too.
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Theresa
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TracyQ
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Elena,
We're SO enjoying the 9 book series of Little House on the Prairie, of which we'll be reading Farmer Boy later in the year.
We're using The Prairie Primer as our curriculum this year for our 11yo daughter. I used this with our two boys one year (when Sarah was only in 1st grade), and we loved it every bit as much then. It is an excellent way to learn about that time period of history, and so much more through these wonderful books! 
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Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
 homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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MacBeth
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kingvozzo wrote:
Elena, this is a great book! We went to the Wilder Farm in Malone, NY this past summer, and enjoyed it so much.
Almanzo is an endearing character. |
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Now there's a trip I'd love to take. How long did it take to get there from CT, Noreen?
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MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
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kingvozzo
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MacBeth wrote:
kingvozzo wrote:
Elena, this is a great book! We went to the Wilder Farm in Malone, NY this past summer, and enjoyed it so much.
Almanzo is an endearing character. |
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Now there's a trip I'd love to take. How long did it take to get there from CT, Noreen? |
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Not sure about that, MacBeth. We went to Lewey Lake (about 4 hours from us)in the Adirondacks for a week, and then headed up to Malone (about another 2.5 hours). It was a bit of driving, I guess, but it was broken up for us.
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Noreen
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Mom to 4 great kids and 10 sweet ones in Our Lady's arms
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Carole N.
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Tracy,
Did the Prairie Primer cover the whole curriculum? My 11 yo dd is just beginning to read the series.
She really enjoyed history last year when Felicity (her AG doll) was in a movie. She had read all the books, and when I backed it up with other hands on type materials it was so much more fun for her. 
Does the Prairie Primer help to do this?
Thanks.
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Carole ... in Wales
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Farmer Boy by Laura Igalls Wilder
