Farmer Boy
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''Farmer Boy'' is a children's
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
written by
Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the ''Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...
and published in 1933. It was the second-published one in the '' Little House'' series but it is not related to the first, which that of the third directly continues. Thus the later ''Little House on the Prairie'' is sometimes called the second one in the series, or the second volume of "the Laura Years".


Plot summary

The novel is based on the childhood of Wilder's husband,
Almanzo Wilder Almanzo James Wilder (; February 13, 1857 – October 23, 1949) was the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the father of Rose Wilder Lane, both noted authors. Biography Early life Almanzo James Wilder was born on February 13, 1857 a ...
, who grew up in the 1860s near the town of
Malone, New York Malone ( moh, Tekanatà:ronhwe) is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 14,545 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also named Malone. The town is an interior town located in the north-central part ...
. It covers roughly one year of his life, beginning just before his ninth birthday and describes a full year of farming. It describes in detail the endless chores involved in running the Wilder family farm, all without powered vehicles or electricity. Young as he is, Almanzo rises before 5 am every day to milk cows and feed stock. In the growing season, he plants and tends crops; in winter, he hauls logs, helps fill the ice house, trains a team of young oxen, and sometimes — when his father can spare him — goes to school. The novel includes stories of his brother, Royal, and sisters, Eliza Jane and Alice.


Historical background

Since Almanzo (1857–1949) was born in February 1857, the novel is set in 1866–1867, before Laura's birth (1867–1957). It features Almanzo's brother, Royal (1847–1925), and sisters, Eliza Jane (1850–1930) and Alice (1853–1892). Meanwhile, he also had a sister named Laura (1844–1899), who at the time and events in the novel was already about 22 and had presumably moved out. He later had a brother named Perley Day (1869–1934), who was not yet born at the time the novel is set.


Reception

Virginia Kirkus Virginia Kirkus (December 7, 1893 – September 10, 1980) was the founder and president of the Kirkus Reviews, Virginia Kirkus Bookshop Service from 1933 to 1962. In 1969, the service became ''Kirkus Reviews''. Before creating her service in 1933, ...
established her pre-publication review service and its semimonthly bulletin ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' (a later name) in January 1933."Our History"
Kirkus (kirkusreviews.com). Retrieved 2015-10-17.
As book editor from 1926, she had handled Wilder's debut novel ''
Little House in the Big Woods ''Little House in the Big Woods'' is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published by Harper in 1932 (reviewed in June). It was Wilder's first book published and it inaugurated her ''Little House'' series. It ...
'' for Harper & Brothers, which had published it early in 1932 and cut its children's department as an economy measure some months later, for about a year. According to its online archive, Kirkus provided a short review of this novel in the issue dated October 1, 1933, which was also its publication date at Harper: "A juvenile ''As the Earth Turns''. The story of a vanishing phase of American life, with delightful illustrations by Helen Sewell." ''As the Earth Turns'' by
Gladys Hasty Carroll Gladys Hasty Carroll (June 26, 1904 – April 1, 1999) was an American novelist active from the late 1920s into the 1980s. In her fiction and non-fiction, Carroll wrote about what she knew and people that she loved, especially those in the Southe ...
was released by Macmillan on May 2 with advanced sales of 20,000 and as the Book-of-the-Month Club selection for May. It featured one year on a family farm in Maine. The Boyhood Home of Almanzo Wilder near Malone is operated by the Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder Association is an interactive educational center, museum, and working farm. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2014.


Notes


References


External links

*
Little House Books
at HarperCollins Children's Books
Almanzo & Laura Ingalls Wilder Association
{{Little House Little House books 1933 American novels Children's historical novels Novels set in New York (state) Novels set in the 1860s Harper & Brothers books 1933 children's books