I’ve been reading Farmer Boy to the kids. It begins in winter, which is fitting to
begin reading it together in January.
Personally, Farmer Boy and Little House in the Big Woods are my favorite of all of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s
Little House on the Prairie series. I’ll
explain why shortly.
While I’ve been reading Farmer Boy aloud, I’ve gone back and
read By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie,
These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years to myself. Folks, there’s a whole different perspective
re-reading these stories as an adult!
The kids play this little game that they “invented” as we
read books and stories: midway through the story or at the story’s end, they
say, “I wanna be _________.” And now, they quickly “call” whom they want to be before the other one
“calls it.” Funny isn’t it. Isn’t that
how we all read books and stories, though?! We
read self-reflectively. Occasionally, I
get a “Momma, I do NOT want to be __________.”
So subversively, we’re interpreting positive and negative character
traits through the characters we read.
So where am I going with this? Well, Farmer Boy has always been my favorite
because, instinctively, I would have much rather lived with the Wilder family
on a New England farm than with the Ingalls family out in the middle of
nowhere Kansas or nowhere South Dakota.
And after getting through The Long Winter (which could also be called
the long, cold story), I’m wondering if I would rather be a lady’s maid on
Downton Abbey, working those long, grueling hours, than be Laura Ingalls
Wilder. At least the lady’s maid could
live in the warm “big house” without starving!
Don’t misunderstand me, though. As a little girl, I absolutely LOVED reading
all of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s tales! And
now as an adult, I've delighted in re-reading them. There is a new fascination and appreciation gained in
re-reading her stories. One thing that
stands out is the remarkable way she remembers and retells a story for
children. And in retelling her husband’s
story in Farmer Boy (and his “side” in The Long Winter, etc.), it became clear
to me that we don’t share the oral stories of our own lives with our children
enough. I also questioned if we’re
creating story-telling moments in our daily lives. Let’s face it, we can’t create a book about:
“Well, all I did today was play Pac-Man on Atari, and then when I was bored of
that, I watched hours of MTV, and then I went to soccer practice, came home,
ate, and went to bed.” For as difficult
and mundane as the Wilder’s lives were, they have incredible stories to share!
So my challenge to you, readers, is this: if you’re a young
reader, pick up one of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books (there are 9-11 to choose
from) and read it. If you’re an adult,
pick up one of Wilder’s books and re-read it.
And please come back to http://readmeastorynow.blogspot.com/ and share with our readers about your experience
reading these tales of life from a bygone era.
