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November 14, 2008

You Just Gotta Read 'em....

I'm in the 7th of a series of 8 books written by Ralph Moody.... I call them the "Little Britches Series" (the title of the 1st book is "Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers"). They are the story of a young boy (Ralph) who lived in Rochester, NH but whose family moved to Colorado in the early 1900's. You learn right along with Ralph about ranching, farming, making wise choices, integrity and making due! These books make you long for the day when a person's handshake was as good or better then a signature on paper! Based on his life, Mr. Moody (who also wrote "Seabiscuit" another book superior to the movie) writes in such a way that makes you feel like you are right beside him through everything that happens!

A favorite quote from the 5th book, "The Fields of Home" was spoken by Ralph's grandfather. Whenever he got excited about something he was doing he'd shout, "By fire, we'll show 'em what kind of logs make wide boards!" Today we'd probably say, "we'll show them how it is done!" This book takes place in Lisbon Falls, Maine and is rich in the 'language of yester-year'.
We read this whole series plus Seabiscuit as a family about 10 years ago and honestly, in my opinion, they should be a part of EVERY family's read-aloud life! (whether you have kids at home or not.... they are wonderful!)





1 comment:

mad4books said...

Oh, Melanie...if you only knew...

"Little Britches" is a Fowler Family inside joke. Apparently, my dad had a dog named Little Britches whose toots were made of deadly toxic fumes that could empty a car of all occupants! If I find that story, I'll send it to you.