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Little House #2

Farmer Boy

laura ingalls wilder garth williams

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Growing up on his family's farm in New York, Almanzo Wilder wishes for just one thing — his very own horse. But Father doesn't yet trust him with such a big responsibility. Almanzo needs to prove himself — but how?

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 1,1933
Series
Little House
Places
new york (state), 

This edition

Format
384 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 2007 by HarperChildrens
ISBN
9780060885380
ASIN
0060885386
Language
English
Characters More characters

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for laura ingalls wilder

laura ingalls wilder

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Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
29(29%)
4 stars
33(33%)
3 stars
38(38%)
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0(0%)
1 stars
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
melodicrain
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Wow....they ate so much! I'm pretty sure that there was pie at every meal. Really this book centers on food - growing it, raising it, harvesting it, preparing it, and eating it. Boy do I take a lot for granted! I loved the look at a prosperous farm - from the filling the ice house to eating the pie :)
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LacingMaster
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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After taking up the first Little House book and being caught up in the nostalgia, I was tempted and gave in to keep going with the series. What a delighted it was to switch from the Ingalls household in the woods of Wisconsin to visiting the Wilders of New York State to see Alonzo's life as the youngest boy in a prosperous farm family and determine that farming and working with horses was what he wanted to do.

The detail of daily life and family was endearing and I could have happily hung around for a few more years of Alonzo's life. Cherry Jones told Farmer Boy with the heart and warmth that made the book even more special. I will most likely keep going through the Little House books now that I've been bitten by the bug for more family and pioneer life once again.
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rudra_senpai
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Another lovely audiobook experience from LIW and Cherry Jones. I love the Ingalls family more but it was fun to get to know Almonzo as a child.

And her food descriptions always make me so hungry while reading these books.
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Davizolabr
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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SO MUCH WORK! And they all seem to enjoy it, even create MORE work for themselves instead of looking for opportunities to have some leisure time (or a nap at least). I would have never made it in those olden days. I am just too lazy.
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Pietru
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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What a ride. This book is so fun to read and the ending is amazing. I love that Almanzo gets Starlight for his own! My siblings and I loved this book so much after mom read it to us years ago that we named our two steers Star and Bright, they were even similar colors to Almanzo's steers so it was pretty cool.

Something about living the way they did back then sounds so satisfying, being able to reap the benefits of all the work you put into the ground and the animals. But it was also a hard life, and I'm super grateful to have the modern conveniences that we have.

Once again, highly highly recommend this book! It remains up with my top favorites in the series.

Reading this book made me really eager for The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, and These Happy Golden Years. But I have a couple to read before I get to those so farewell!
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KusoBakaSenpai
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I still didn't love it as well the first few books about Laura's childhood, perhaps because I know and love the Little House stories so well from my own childhood (I know my mom read me "Farmer Boy" but I don't really remember it). That said, I did quite enjoy and appreciate Almanzo's story this time and feel Laura deftly articulated his conundrums being on the cusp of boyhood and young-manhood, both his eagerness to do the more adult work on the farm with his father and older brother as well as the angst of having independent thoughts and wishes but not being able to express them most of the time. I appreciated his gentle, thoughtful nature and earnest desire to be a good, hard worker as well as his abundant love for animals and especially his desire to have a colt of his very own. I didn't feel the siblings and parents were as well-developed as Ma, Pa and Laura's sisters, though I did enjoy some of father Wilder's wisdom and his ultimate gift to his son (both the tangible one and the gift of letting his son chose his own future).

Some of my favorite chapters included Independence Day, Keeping House, Christmas and the final chapter. I must say I was a bit shocked by the first few chapters which talk about the new school master and the abuse he (and the previous school teacher) endured from the big boys from town. It is rather violent and I would probably consider skipping those when I read this to my own son in the future.
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BraveDoll
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Couldn't help but cry at the end... this book was wonderful. My two little girls loved it so much. Thank God for these beautiful stories.
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SmoothCoffee
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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What a delightful way to revisit this classic series. Cherry Jones does a lovely job narrating this story about Almanzo Wilder as a young boy on the farm. His parents are loving, but firm and so industrious. They are so efficient at using their resources and providing what they need for the family and the farm. They waste not, want not and strive for excellence in their work. Inspiring!
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