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sarahisawesome88's review
4.0
This story follows the life of Almanzo Wilder, the husband of Laura Ignalls, who was the star of the first book in this series. The description says that it is #6 in the series, but it is actually #2. There is not much of a storyline in this book either. Mostly just character following and detailing how life on a farm was back in the day. I found it harder to hold my attention than Little House In The Big Woods. Still good though. Excited for #3 Little House on the Prarie.
iymain's review
4.0
I was waiting for an interface with Laura the whole time, but eventually reconciled myself to learning about this Almanzo kid. His life is so different from Laura's! The descriptions of the volumes of food they consume and the guests they host, the schooling and expectations for the children is so different from Laura's experience, but it gives great context to her life.
kellyhager's review
3.0
This is the book about Almanzo, who grows up to marry Laura Ingalls. He grew up in New York state, and his family was...well, I don't know if you'd say they're rich, but they're definitely better off than the Ingalls.
There are two recurring storylines in this book. The first is that Almanzo wants a colt to train, but his father is sure that he won't be able to do it right, so he's not even allowed to go NEAR the colts. This breaks Almanzo's heart (but doesn't keep him from visiting the colts every time he can). And the second? Food. Food is all over this book, and dinners and suppers are lovingly described (as are the times when Almanzo is double-fisting snack foods, doughnuts in one hand and cookies in the other).
The other thing that really grabbed me about this book is that it seems to be right on the cusp of farm-vs-town. Well, technically, I guess once there were farms and towns, there was an argument about which was better, but this seemed to be coming up every so often in this. First was when Eliza Jane was back from the sort of boarding school the three older kids went to and she was all snobby about how "Nice people drink from a cup, not the saucer, FATHER." And then at the end when there's the big fight about whether Almanzo should be a town apprentice or stay on the farm with his family. (And nobody asks Almanzo what he wants, which I thought was pretty funny.)
There are two recurring storylines in this book. The first is that Almanzo wants a colt to train, but his father is sure that he won't be able to do it right, so he's not even allowed to go NEAR the colts. This breaks Almanzo's heart (but doesn't keep him from visiting the colts every time he can). And the second? Food. Food is all over this book, and dinners and suppers are lovingly described (as are the times when Almanzo is double-fisting snack foods, doughnuts in one hand and cookies in the other).
The other thing that really grabbed me about this book is that it seems to be right on the cusp of farm-vs-town. Well, technically, I guess once there were farms and towns, there was an argument about which was better, but this seemed to be coming up every so often in this. First was when Eliza Jane was back from the sort of boarding school the three older kids went to and she was all snobby about how "Nice people drink from a cup, not the saucer, FATHER." And then at the end when there's the big fight about whether Almanzo should be a town apprentice or stay on the farm with his family. (And nobody asks Almanzo what he wants, which I thought was pretty funny.)
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