Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers
by Ralph Moody
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ralph MoodyBrand: Spring Arbor/Ingram
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1991-09-01
ISBN: 0803281781
Number of pages: 260
Publisher: Bison Books
Book Reviews of Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers
Book Review: 10 Stars for Little Britches!
Summary: 5 Stars
If I could give 10 stars to this book I would! I read Little Britches to my children ages 6 & 8 last year and we are now on the 7th book in the series (of 8 books). Little Britches (book 1) is still by far my favorite, but they are all wonderful. While we enjoyed Little House on the Prairie, I would say these rank even higher and they are especially good for boys (although my daughter and I love them just as much as my son). As a young man, Ralph Moody made himself a promise that he would save [...] by the time he was 50 years old and would write a book. This is the book he began on the eve of his 50th birthday. Ralph is 8 years old in this first book, in 1906 and his family has just moved west to help his father's tuberculosis (he's a "lunger" as the book says). They spend three years struggling to make a go of ranching and Ralph learns most of his lessons the hard way. His father, Charles, is a huge influence on Ralph. He is a patient, resourceful, upright man who is devoted to his family and to teaching his son to be a man of character. The book is never preachy however. All of the lessons are demonstrated but not outright told. My children get it though, even at their young ages! Even though the father is only in the first book, his presence is felt throughout the whole series in the lessons that Ralph learned from him ("always give a man a full day's work for a day's wage.")
After reading it aloud to my kids, I purchased it on CD, read by Cameron Beirele Father and I Were Ranchers (The Little Britches Series Book 1) [UNABRIDGED] and they have worn it out listening to it in their rooms. Mr. Beirele does an excellent job doing the voices (book 6 six is a little different but still not bad). We now have all the books in print and audio CD (except book 8 which is seems you have to get as an MP3 download). My absolute favorites are the first 4 (Little Britches: Man of the Family (The Little Britches Series) [UNABRIDGED]The Home Ranch (Bison Book) and Mary Emma & Company (Bison Book). The Fields of Home turns out good, but his crotchety old grandfather just about drove me crazy. Shaking the Nickel Bush is probably the least favorite. Ralph has a "buddy" named Lonnie that is a lazy leech and I kept preaching for Ralph to dump him through the whole book. When he is finally rid of him, he finds all of his savings is gone too. That one might be better read than listened to because the Lonnie character is grating and Mr. Beirele suddenly can't get situated on a voice for Ralph and it changes throughout the CD.
I think these books should be required reading in every home in America. We need more everyday heros to emulate. Ralph was a dutiful, devoted son who was not afraid to write about the dumb things he did as well as the smart ones. Just be aware there is some "cowboy language" in most of the books. That's how I described it to my children and they understood - we are not cowboys. It is certainly mild by today's standards but still bears mentioning. The family is a family of faith and that is more impressionable than the language. Just d**n and h*ll is all I remember hearing.
Some other Moody favorites are Come on Seabiscuit!; Stagecoach West; and Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier.
Summary of Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers
Ralph Moody was eight years old in 1906 when his family moved from New Hampshire to a Colorado ranch. Through his eyes we experience the pleasures and perils of ranching there early in the twentieth century. Auctions and roundups, family picnics, irrigation wars, tornadoes and wind storms give authentic color to Little Britches. So do adventures, wonderfully told, that equip Ralph to take his father's place when it becomes necessary.
Little Britches was the literary debut of Ralph Moody, who wrote about the adventures of his family in eight glorious books, all available as Bison Books.
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