Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers

by Ralph Moody

Paperback, 1991

Status

Available

Call number

978.8030922

Series

Little Britches (1)

Publication

Bison Books (1991), 260 pages

Description

History. Nonfiction. HTML: 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..

User reviews

LibraryThing member MrsLee

This story is on a par with the "Little House" series, only this one definitely appeals to boys, as well as girls. Told from the perspective of a boy called Little Britches, it is a moving and humerous recounting of the trials and joys of early days in Colorado. The struggles of small farmers, of

boys and their fathers and of growing up, are all woven with wit and charm. My children loved this when I read it aloud and my boys in particular were entranced to hear a story about a boys troubles and not another girl.

Show Less

14 more

LibraryThing member robin4now

Ralph Moody's "Little Britches" is one of those rare books that stays in your heart forever. This is the first in an autobiographical series written by Ralph Moody about his childhood in Colorado in the early nineteen hundreds. The story is filled the sorts of adventures that are near and dear to a

young boy's heart, but the core of the story is Ralph's relationship with his father.

Ralph is a typical boy and full of mischief, but his father's simple words of wisdom always manages to keep Ralph on the path of honor and integrity. The values taught by Ralph's father spill through the story to the reader in a way that is rarely seen in today's novels. Ralph and his family become so real and dear that you will feel like you've said goodbye to your best friend when you read the final page. This book is for both adults and children, but if you are going to read just one book to your children, let it be this one.

Show Less

LibraryThing member TimBazzett

I found this ragged old copy of Ralph Moody's LITTLE BRITCHES at a local library sale. Bought it for my grandson, but my wife picked it up to look at it and ended up reading it straight through, and said, "You'd like this yourself. Try it." And so did I, read it straight through, I mean. It's that

good a story. Ralph Moody's own story about growing up on a poor dry land Colorado ranch. It begins in 1906 when Ralph - the "Little Britches" of the story - was 8 years old and covers the next three years, telling the story of Charlie and Molly Moody's family of five children - Ralph was second oldest - trying to make a living after moving west from New Hampshire, looking for a dry healthy climate, where Charlie might recover from tuberculosis. Young Ralph wants to be a cowboy, and he makes a darn good start, learning to ride and handle a team of horses from the time he is 8 or nine. By the time he is eleven he has even learned some stunt riding and how to cut cattle under the tutelage of his sure-enough cowboy pal, Hi. He has also learned to drive a hay rake and plant vegetables and maintain a garden and build an outhouse and other rough carpentry - much of this from his father, who is very inventive and clever with his hands. He learns about breaking horses and rides in a rodeo before he is twelve. All of these things are related in simple straightforward storytelling that does not fail to delight and keeps you turning the pages wondering what will happen next. In other words, Ralph Moody tells a good story - his own. You will be reminded of Laura Ingalls Wilder's LITTLE HOUSE series of books. In fact, Moody wrote several more memoirs before he was finished, in addition to several historical novels for young people. In researching Moody (1898-1982) a little, I found it interesting that he did not begin to write until he was well past fifty. By then he had a wide variety of experiences to draw from and just kept on writing them down. Moody is such a natural story teller and engaging writer I am going to try to read some more of his stuff. LITTLE BRITCHES I will recommend highly. (And yes, we are giving it to our grandson to read. I hope he likes it as much as we did.) Oh, and P.S. The book was first published in 1950. In 1970, Disney adapted it for a film called THE WILD COUNTRY, starring Ronny Howard and his little brother, Clint.

Show Less

LibraryThing member tjsjohanna

Such a straight-forward tale of Mr. Moody's life with his family as a young boy. Every page resonated with both love and admiration for his parents (particularly his father) and his own boyish exploration of his world, his abilities, his character. Lovely.

LibraryThing member exlibrisbitsy

Ralph Moody, similar to the style of Laura Ingalls Wilder, wrote a series of books about his life dating back to 1906. His first book, Little Britches, starts when he is eight years old and his family moves from New Hampshire to Colorado to start life on a ranch out west. His father’s health

isn’t so great, so fresh air and wide open spaces was what the doctor ordered. They arrive to find things not quite as they were lead to believe. But, through hard work and ingenuity they find a way to make things work, for a little while. Ralph never really knew his father before then, but with Ralph the closest thing to another man to rely on his father started working with him and teaching things he would need to know to grow up and “build a house of character”. Between these lessons, and some others he learns the hard way, Ralph grows and talks about his experiences out west at the turn of the century.

I found myself enjoying this book quite a lot as it reminded me almost of a "boys" version of the Little House on the Prairie. I don't remember quite so much ethics being instilled in that series as there is in Little Britches. Ralph Moody talks about his father's lessons and writes some very strong themes about character and about morality about hard work and ethics and about what it takes to be a man that is respected.

His writing was simple and straight forward and very refreshing. It was very clean reading, and easy and simple for a ten-year-old to read and enjoy. The humor was also very well done, either in droll remembrances or occasionally in the dialog, some of it designed to go over eight-year-old Ralph's head, and some of it designed to go over a child reader's head as well to the parent over their shoulder. There is also some swearing, but it is mild and placed in a negative light.

I enjoyed reading about the variety of colorful characters introduced, from the Native American Two Dog to the Cowboy Hi. The situations and troubles he gets himself in and out of will be at once familiar to a school age child (fights at school, chores at home and interfering siblings) and potentially foreign (meeting the sheriff in a saloon, learning how to trick ride a horse, working as a cow hand on a ranch). Familiar enough to learn from, interesting enough to keep their attention.

I would definitely recommend this book and the series that follows to any young kids that might already be interested in similar books, such as the Little House on the Prairie series. It has some good strong messages and is some easy, clean reading that you can enjoy at any age.

Show Less

LibraryThing member silva_44

I absolutely loved this book. Every father should read this book in order to better understand how to be a father. Every boy should read this book in order to understand how to become a good man. Every child should read this book in order to better understand how to be a good human being. This will

be a must read for my children when they are old enough.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Homeschoolbookreview

It is 1906, and eight-year-old Ralph Moody’s family is getting ready to move. They live in East Rochester, NH, and Ralph’s father Charles works in the woolen mills, but it isn’t good for his lungs. Cousin Phil, who lives in Denver, CO, visits and convinces Father that ranching in Colorado

would be better for his health. So Father, Mother, Grace, Muriel, Philip, Hal, and Ralph rent a ranch on the Fort Logan-Morrison road, near Littleton, CO, not far from Denver. This autobiographical book chronicles their first year which involves settling on the ranch, meeting neighbors, planting crops, raising animals, going to school, experiencing a huge wind storm,and fighting over irrigation rights. Ralph, who becomes known as “Little Britches,” learns how to be a cowboy and even participates in a rodeo, but will the ranch be successful? Will the family even survive?
This series of books has long been recommended by homeschoolers as the “Little House for Boys.” First, there are some negatives, one of which is language issues. One source says, “Be aware, however, that there is some inappropriate language used – no doubt in keeping with the actual verbiage of rugged cowboys and characters of the time.” Another source says, “an excellent read-aloud selection (which will allow you to filter out the smattering of ‘cuss’ words that occur, and which Moody himself wasn’t allowed to use as a lad).” And still another source says, “A customer pointed out that there are a few undesirable words used to watch out for.” Also, several who have read the entire series have noted that the later books, especially after Ralph goes to live with his grandfather in The Fields of Home, are not as good as the earlier ones which detail his childhood because they are more “dark” with lots of bad attitudes which are displayed over and over.
However, there are also some strong positives. Little Britches is rich in the values of family unity, honesty, inventiveness, earning others’ trust, and satisfaction in a job well done. And there is great emphasis on character development. Ralph gets in several predicaments and doesn’t always make the right choices, but he learns to do better by heeding hisfather’s wise advice, who said, “Any man who says the world owes him a living is dishonest. The same God that made you and me made this earth. And He planned it so that it would yield every single thing that the people on it need. But He was careful to plan it so that it would only yield up its wealth in exchange for the labor of man. Any man who tries to share in that wealth without contributing the work of his brain or his hands is dishonest.” Amen! What an important lesson that is so needed today! The seven sequels are Man of the Family, The Home Ranch, Mary Emma and Company, The Fields of Home, Shaking the Nickel Bush, The Dry Divide, and Horse of a Different Color.

Show Less

LibraryThing member satyridae

The clunky narration of this audio was a little distracting. The narrator enunciated each word very clearly, and always said thee for the and pronounced a as a long vowel. However, this didn't detract too much from the story, aside from being annoying.

In this, his first memoir, Moody recounts the

time he spent on a Colorado ranch with both his parents and his four siblings. It begins when he's 7 or 8 and ends sometime in his 11th year. His father is the real star of this book, and his lasting influence on Moody's life is very plain. This is the story of a strong and independent family who exemplify a lot of what I think of as pioneer virtues. They strive for self-sufficiency, they grow their own food & preserve same, they learn from each other and cling to each other and turn their backs on evil. It's a lovely series, one I should probably reread in its entirety.

Show Less

LibraryThing member AmronGravett

"Why, mame, there just isn’t any work at all to ranching in Colorado. We have three hundred and sixty five sunshiny days in a year; and all a man has to do is toss out seed in the spring and harvest his crop in the fall."

 So it was with this promise that the author’s family took the train

heading west from New Hampshire for a new life on the Front Range in 1906. It became the first in a series about a boy’s life growing up on a ranch and is still in print 60 years later.

Show Less

LibraryThing member joellegc

first in a series, author recounts his boyhood circa 1910. Americana at its best.

LibraryThing member salem.colorado

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.

Show Less

LibraryThing member VhartPowers

Ralph and his family move from the east coast to Colorado, per the convincing story of cousin Phil. When the family first arrived there was doubt, but they made the most of the shack they were to rent and make their home.
However, life got a little trickier and dangerous, when some of the ranchers

started stealing water for the crops, and an irrigation war broke out.

Show Less

LibraryThing member dmmjlllt

Really episodic, but well written and engaging. This is probably a somewhat romanticized version of the author's childhood, and is as much about his relationship with his father as it is about the west.

If you're thinking of reading it to your kids read it yourself first. It might not suit all

children terribly well. You'll be glad you read it though.

Show Less

LibraryThing member Desiree_Reads

I think I would have been fascinated with this book as a kid, but as an adult I find the pace just a little too fast. I like to relax with a book, and this is not the book for that. It moves at a rapid clip from one scene to the next and is a great view of the west at the turn of the century.

Highly recommend for late grade-schoolers or middle-schoolers.

Show Less

LibraryThing member kslade

Really good coming of age account of a young boy in Colorado on a ranch. About some useful life lessons he learned etc. Kind of a Little House on the Prairie from a boy's perspective.

Fewer