Farmer Boy: Little House, Book 2

Clean, pure story for kids, my duaghter is reading it, very cute, worth the read!

Meet Almanzo Wilder, years before he headed west and met Laura. This is the story of his childhood, and the events and people that shaped him into the man he would become. Here Almanzo lives on a big farm in New York state owned by his father. His father is a wealthy farmer, but the family works tirelessly to maintain that status. They are self-sustaining: sowing and reaping crops, building/making most of their own equipment and goods, raising livestock, and training horses and oxen. Almanzo wants nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps, even as his older brother Royal begins to yearn for town life. He begrudges his schooling as something that gets in the way of becoming proficient on the farm, but his parents impress upon him that even farmers need an education. Still. When it's time to work the fields, everyone stays home from school and pitches in. It's a hard life, but it's a clean and proud one as well.Farmer Boy describes farm life in vivid detail, with an exceptionally strong focus on food. Seriously, the detailed descriptions of food, both in how it was prepared and in how it looked, smelled, and tasted once on the table, are mouthwatering. How things were built is also quite descriptive, with everything except dimensions spelled out as Father builds a bobsled for Almanzo to begin helping with hauling timber. It's a cheerful and optimistic look at the hard life of farming, and while the great effort and long days required of a farmer are well-covered here, there is none of the scarcity or hardship that many of the other Little House books depict. Almanzo's childhood sounds ideal, but it's really only a couple of years that are included in this book, so it makes sense that Laura only focused on the period of time she felt stood out from her own childhood. It's a heartwarming book that teaches a sense of family, hard work, and responsibility.

What fun to read this again! It was just as fascinating as when I read it years ago - a snapshot of life as our country was growing.

My child wanted this as a gift after checking it out at the library. It came as expected in good condition. The CDs are in a fold out paper folio instead of a typical plastic CD case. This is a little more difficult for a child's hands to maneuver but still useable.

I've had a copy of this book for probably 30 years or more and it has finally fallen apart. I bought this one to replace it. I was worried that it might have some of the content or illustrations cut out, but it's a full copy with everything in it. My third grade teacher read this to the class back in the 1960s. At the time, it was just an interesting way to learn about farm life in the mid-1800s. As an adult, the entire series is a commentary on the history of the United States at that time. Several major historical events are talked about through the eyes of someone who lived through them. The series touches on the Grasshopper Plague of 1874, the Homestead Act of 1862, the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, and the Dakota War of 1862. While the author has received some criticism for the prevalent racist attitudes of the day, this is a worthy way to teach children about the second half of the 1800s, especially if you can also give additional information about the historical events that occurred during that period of history and you can examine the racist attitudes critically. I am currently using this series to teach a bit about American history to some teens living in Uganda.

Good read

Of all the Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House" books, FARMER BOY is, hands down, my very favorite.The book covers a portion of the boyhood of Almanzo Wilder, who was to grow up to become Laura's husband. Almanzo grew up on a thriving, successful farm in New York state. Almanzo's father was especially known and respected for raising top-quality horses. Almanzo's mother had her own home business ventures and was known for making top-quality butter, fetching top dollar, to be served in some of the finest restaurants in New York City.I could probably write a book about this book and why I love it so much. Through the examples of the Wilder family, its strengths and limitations, the author puts forth some enduring lessons about hard work, mutual respect, the value of time and money, hope... and more. FARMER BOY stands out among the other "Little House" books because: a) it is about Almanzo, long before he ever met Laura, ten years his junior (so Laura was not even born yet at the time this book starts its story); and b) the Wilder family, like the Ingalls family, faced hardships, but not to the relentless and ridiculous level that the Ingalls family seemed to do so, leaving more room to delineate normal, day-to-day life, which itself was incredibly rich and interesting.During the time that Laura, many miles away, was an infant and young child, Almanzo was growing up in New York, developing his love of horses and skill in working with them. During the time he was a young man venturing out west, Laura herself was developing her love of horses and skill in riding them. That they were both "horse lovers" provided a lovely and important common ground later when they met, courted and married.Almanzo James Wilder was born February 13, 1857 and died on October 23, 1949, at the age of 92. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born on February 7, 1867 and died on February 10, 1957, at age 90. They were married on August 25, 1885. These details mean that Almanzo was very much alive in 1933 when FARMER BOY was published, and presumably, very much available as a resource for his wife Laura, the author. To me, that is precious and relevant, for it attests to longevity (both of their marriage and their lives) and to the presumption of authenticity regarding this wonderful book. Highly recommended!

I don’t know how many times I have read Farmer Boy. It’s just as good now as it was the first time over 60 years ago. It’s amazing to read about how hard people had to work for everything they had. I really hope kids still read this series. It is absolutely incredible!

Excellent book, discriptive, well written and done in the only way that Wilder could. I love the book and look forward to reading more.

The 4th of July chapter is something I remember being read to when young. I never forgot it, and doubt I ever will. It's a great story to read to kids, and our generation should benefit more from lessons such as this one. Still haven't read the whole book, but even if the other chapters are half as good as the 4th of July, it'll still be very good.

This book is great. I loved it growing up, and I’m reading it aloud to my boys (7 and 9). They read well, and could read this on their own, but I read to them every night all together. It is a perfect book for this age range, and so interesting for them to understand what life was like so long ago for farmers settling in America. They keep begging me to read more chapters!

Good book for 9-10 yr olds

Geweldig. Ik houd van alle Kleine Huis op de Prairie-boeken, maar deze is wel een van mijn favorieten. De geborgenheid en thuisgevoel, super super. Zo wenst bijna iedereen dat wel, ook in de 21e eeuw. Some things never change !