July Featured Book of the Month

Dean Butler brought the Almanzo Wilder from Laura's books to life in Season 6 of Little House on the Prairie. We watched while Laura pined away for Almanzo, a man several years her senior. It would take a new job and Laura's newfound maturity to turn Almanzo's head; but as soon as it happened, their romance flew by, Laura and Almanzo married, and they were busy building a life of their own in Walnut Grove.

For this Little House fan, Dean's portrayal of Almanzo on the show, was the first time any thought had been given to the man with the unique name. But long-time fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books had met Almanzo James Wilder many years before, in the one and only book in the Little House series about Almanzo's childhood, Farmer Boy.


Almanzo is not quite nine years old when we meet him, trudging down the road to school with his older brother and two older sisters, bundled against the harsh New York winter weather in clothes that Mother had made.

We learn a great deal about Almanzo and his family from Farmer Boy: daily life for Almanzo on the farm, his love of horses, his tremendous appetite, the lessons he learned from his parents, and how they celebrated holidays and special occasions.

In this installment you get the feeling of love and importance of family that is prevelant in all the Little House books; and the reader is treated to Christmas with the cousins at the Wilder's house. You'll also learn about Almanzo's trip to the County Fair, a fair that is still held to this day. But it is Father's gift to Almanzo at the end of the book that is perhaps the greatest moment of Almanzo's young life.

Almanzo had admired his father's Morgan horses since the very beginning, and it is his hope that one day Father will see him as big enough and mature enough for Almanzo to raise his own Morgans. After returning Mr. Thompson's pocketbook and earning a two hundred dollar reward, Almanzo asks his father if he can buy a colt with the money. Imagine Almanzo's surprize when Father tells him to leave his money in the bank and that he will give Starlight to Almanzo to break him and drive him, and he will be Almanzo's to sell or keep as he sees fit.

While The Long Winter remains my strong favorite from the Little House series, Farmer Boy also holds a special place in my heart. I remember how tough it is proving you are grown up enough to do things.

Independence Day

In Farmer Boy, the only book of the Little House series about Almanzo's youth, Almanzo and his family rode into Malone to celebrate Independence Day.

This book tells us that everything was different that day as the Wilder family traveled: Almanzo wore his new suit, nobody was working in the fields, everyone was in their Sunday clothes driving to town. The sidewalks in town were crowded, but the stores were closed. Flags were everywhere and the band in the Square played tunes like "Yankee Doodle".

When the band stopped playing, the minister prayed, and then everyone rose, the men took off their hats, and the band played the National Athem, which everyone sung. There was a reading of the Declaration of Independence and two men made political speeches.

Pink lemonade cost a nickle a glass. Almanzo and his cousin Frank get into an argument over whether Almanzo is scared to ask his father for a nickle because Frank had one and bought himself a glass of lemonade, not sharing even a drop.

It is here that Almanzo and Father have a discussion over money. Almanzo asks his father for a nickle to buy some lemonade, but Father takes out a silver half-dollar and asks Almanzo if he knows what it is. Almanzo knew that it was half a dollar, but then his father tells him it is something that Almanzo had never thought of before: "'It's work, son,'" Father said. "'That's what money is; it's hard work.'"

As Father goes on to explain, Almanzo could take that half dollar and buy a suckling pig with it, raise it and then it would raise a litter of pigs worth four or five dollars each. Or Almanzo could buy the lemonade with it, drink the lemonade and it would be all gone.

Cousin Frank and the other boys are surprized and impressed when Almanzo shows them the half dollar, and Almanzo decides to get the most value out of it, like Father suggested.

Then the band is marching down the street, the flags are waving, and the cannons are fired.

The chapter ends with Almanzo and his father having a discussion of how America was made, and I can imagine this discussion made quite an impression on the young Almanzo and his future. Here is the last paragraph containing Mr. Wilder's wise words to Almanzo:

"'This country goes three thousand miles west, now. It goes 'way out beyond Kansas, and beyond the Great American Desert, over mountains bigger than these mountains, down to the Pacific Ocean. It's the biggest country in the world, and it was farmers who took all that country and made it America, son. Don't you ever forget that.'"

Happy Indepdendence Day everyone!