Read by Cherry Jones and accompanied by Paul Woodiel on the fiddle. This was fun way to learn about life a hundred years ago. While this one was not as endearing nor as thoughtful as Laura's other novels, I certainly enjoyed reading it. There was one crazy scene where their teacher cracked a whip around the school room due to some seriously rowdy teens (could you imagine the look on the PTA Mom's faces?) If the teacher has to thrash you again, Royal, I’ll give you a thrashing you’ll remember. That being said, not even Almanzo' s cushy childhood was left untouched by the harshness of living in the late 1800s. The life of the earth comes up with a rush in the springtime Reading as Almanzo completed farm chores and tamed his oxen kindled my brief (but fervent) desire to become a farmer in fifth grade (well, until the impracticality of city-life ruined that dream!) Now, the entire plot of Farmer Boy did not solely revolve around food - we also get a look into farm life from the perspective of a wealthy farmer.Īlmanzo's father loved farming and did his best to impress that love to his son - with great success! There was no time to lose, no time to waste in rest or play.

I swear, my stomach rumbled every ten minutes!Īfter a book of this, I began searching for a cookbook (and luckily, there are books aplenty based on this series: The Little House Cookbook, My Little House Cookbook - which I cannot wait to try) Then he drew a long breath, and he ate pie.

He ate ham and chicken and turkey, and dressing and cranberry jelly he ate potatoes and gravy, succotash, baked beans and boiled beans and onions, and white bread and rye ’n’ injun bread, and sweet pickles and jam and preserves. Thus when Laura wrote about Almanzo (her future husband)'s childhood, she focused on the most idyllic parts and what she wanted for her own childhood and her child - which was a full stomach and stable home. While they always had something to eat, it was never enough for the family to be satisfied. Much of Laura's childhood was spent in near-starvation.

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder