Little Britches

I just finished reading Little Britches by Ralph Moody as part of my continuing TJEd. This is a wonderful little story of a young man (Ralph Moody) who moves with his family from the east to Colorado to take up ranching. While Ralph's whole family takes up ranching the story centers on Ralph and his Father. There are great role models in this story for both fathers and sons as Ralph's father seems to have the perfect blend of compassion and discipline when dealing with his son's typical boyish ways.

Ralph grows up quickly in the two or three years covered in Britches, and although he is still a boy of 9 - 11 he learns from his mistakes and the lessons taught to him by his father as they struggle to make ends meet, deal with tragedies and negotiate with difficult neighbors on their new Ranch. Despite it all, the Moodys are in good spirits because they have an understanding of what really brings true happiness. One thing that I will try to take away from Britches as a father was the way Ralph's father allowed Ralph to take ownership of the Ranch. That became the motivating factor to much of Ralph's participation and behavior. I hope to incorporate that into my own parenting.

After I was about 3/4 of the way through Britches I read the first two chapters to my 9 year old son and afterward could not tear the book from his hands. He loved the book and I'm going to have to get him the next few books about Ralph Moody.

In case you were wondering, this book is an auto-biography by Ralph Moody and the first in a series. If Anne of Green Gables was a book that gave insight into the motivation of girls, Britches gave at least as much insight into boys. I reccomend this book to anyone of any age who enjoys horses, cowboys, ranching, father-son relationships, or is just in need of a good uplifting story. Little Britches will make you want to be a better son, daughter, mother or father.

I reccomend you Get The Book Now