What We're Reading

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I decided to start reading out loud to the kids again this year.  We got out of the habit of reading out loud as our two youngest children grew older and more proficient at reading on their own.  However, I decided to make reading out loud part of our school day.  Partly because my son is not a particularly enthusiastic reader so I want to expose him to literature and language he might not get to on his own, and partly because I hope to brighten up our school day a little.


And so we began our school year with "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I chose this book for several reasons.  First, as the title suggests, it's about a boy, which I thought might make it more appealing to my son.  Second, we are studying U.S. history this year (although we don't restrict ourselves to literature about the time period we're studying).  And third, Laura uses fairly clear, straightforward language which I hope will make listening easier for my son.


"Farmer Boy" is the only one of the Little House books that is not about the Ingalls family.  Rather it tells the story of her husband Almanzo's boyhood.  Unlike Laura, Almanzo spent most of his childhood living on his family's farm.  And although the time period of the book is a little later, it still gives us a good idea of what early American life was like.  Later this year, it will contrast nicely with "Little House on the Prairie," when we study the westward expansion.
As with the other books in the series, "Farmer Boy" is not one long story, but a series of stories set into the framework of one year in Almanzo's life.  Some are funny, some suspenseful, many just sketches of what ordinary life was like.  My kids particularly enjoyed the bits about how the schoolteacher dealt with the class bully,  and what happened when Almanzo gave his pig candy (it seemed like a good idea at the time!)
Overall, I found the book fairly easy to read out loud.  As I said before, the author uses clear and simple language.  However she does sometimes go into some highly descriptive passages, such as how to build a bobsled, which can get a little tedious, and I suspect is difficult for the kids to follow.  Other than that, the kids and I have really been enjoying it, and my older teenage daughter even sits in when she has the time.