Farmer Boy

Farmer Boy

Paperback - USA - 1953 Garth Williams version.

Author Laura Ingalls Wilder Published 1933-10-01 Type Fiction, Memoir Genre Drama Themes Animals, Farm, Historical fiction, School Age Group Children

Farmer Boy is a children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and first published in 1933-10-01. Unlike the previous book published by Wilder, this one focuses on her husband Almanzo's childhood. It is the second book in the Little House series.

The story is set on a farm in upstate New York in the 1860 and follows a nine-year-old boy named Almanzo Wilder through a year of his life. Almanzo spends his days working on his family farm, going to school, and longing to have a horse of his own.

Personal

Own?	Paperback
Read?	Paperback / Audiobook read by Cherry Jones.
Finished	c.2000 / 2023-02-03.

Although my mother had this book when I was a little boy, I wasn't as interested in it those with Laura, so I never bothered to read it when I was young, and I don't think I finally got around to reading it in my early 20s. I ended up liking it, but not as much as the others.

Review

Overall:

Good

• Wilder does a great job explaining what life was like for a young boy growing up on a farm. His chores, education, and entertainment are all described in detail and in an interesting manner.
• Wilder especially goes into detail on foods to a palpable level making me quite hungry each time I read the book.
• The story about the schoolmaster who outsmarts the belligerent boys intending to beat him up is enjoyable. It has tension, a good conclusion, and also reveals just how barbaric society was at the time. Similarly, the horse buyer and his thieves.
• Almanzo's father is a good teacher. He expects him to figure out how to solve his own problems, but he never gives him more than he can handle.

Bad

• Although it's expected from such an old book, especially one dealing with early Americans, it's still a bit shocking to see mild racism in a children's book.
• I know it's fitting with the people of the time, but their religious superstitions are a bit annoying, and all their violence against children is disturbing.
• While the book has plenty of interesting stories, I find it to be a bit too descriptive of mundane things at times. There are parts that read more like a how-to book than a story. Also, I often have a hard time picturing in my head what's being made. For example, when Wilder describes the making of a bobsled, I can't follow along at all. Although, a large part of that is my unfamiliarity with bobsleds.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

Covers

• 

  Hardcover - 1933 - First edition. Illustrated by Helen Sewell.

• 

  Hardcover - 1953 - Illustrated by Garth Williams.

• 

  Paperback - 1961 - Gingham border.

• 

  Paperback - 2007 - The photograph cover series.

Quotes

• "A farmer depends on himself, and the land and the weather. If you're a farmer, you raise what you eat, you raise what you wear, and you keep warm with wood out of your own timber. You work hard, but you work as you please, and no man can tell you to go or come. You'll be free and independent, son, on a farm."
• "Never bet your money on another man's game."
• "'It's work, son,' Father said. 'That's what money is; it's hard work.'"
• "He knew you could never teach an animal anything if you struck it, or even shouted at it angrily. He must always be gentle, and quiet, and patient, even when they made mistakes."
• "Mothers always fuss about the way you eat. You can hardly eat any way that pleases them."
• "Cattle did not have to be led to water. They came eagerly to the trough and drank while Almanzo pumped, then they hurried back to the warm barns, and each went to its own place. Each cow turned into her own stall and put her head between her own stanchions. They never made a mistake. Whether this was because they had more sense than horses, or because they had so little sense that they did everything by habit, Father did not know."
• "Mother said she would always believe that Providence had sent the strange dog to watch over them. Almanzo thought perhaps he stayed because Alice fed him."

Representation

Strong female character?	Pass	Almanzo's mother runs their house and speaks her mind. Eliza-Jane to a lesser extent.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are a few women, but they only talk about men.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	I think the only non-white character is a fast-running unnamed Indian.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

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