Man of the Family - Book 30

I do not care for the artwork on this cover.  Who is that man?  It's like they didn't actually read the book but just went from the title.  The 'man' of the family is a boy during his 11th to 13th year.  Also the artwork is really bleak, whereas the story is full of warmth, humor and strong family ties.

Man of the Family is the second book in the Little Britches series by Ralph Moody.  It's 1910 in Littleton, CO.  Ralph's father died tragically at the end of the first book (spoiler!).  Now his mother, his older sister Grace, his little sister and brother, Muriel and Hal, all have to survive somehow.  Ralph is a scrappy hardworking 11 year old, He's used to the hardscrabble life and has been working to bring in money since he was nine.  He loves horses and the ranching life, but the family had to move to town just before the father died.  Their ranch couldn't make it.  They were at the end of a long irrigation ditch and the people closer to the river kept diverting more water for themselves.

The family works hard just to make it.  Ralph collects coal from along the railroad to keep the stove going at home.  He asks the railroad overseer if he can gather the grass growing on their property to use as hay to feed his cow and horse.  He figures out how to make money from helping the cowboys get their huge herds through the streets of Littleton by hiring his fellow school children to keep the strays from running down the side streets. His mother begins cooking New England specialties and desserts for the neighbors which Ralph and his sister deliver by wagon.  Then we realize Mrs. Moody is pregnant!  She never tells her kids until right up until she goes into labor.  She has a little girl, Elizabeth.  The strength of that woman is amazing.  Her reliance on her faith is admirable.

However, bad luck follows the family.  The kids come down with the measles and can't work for over a month.  That means no income.  The mother in desperation remembers how she once saw people repairing lace.  She gets the idea of going to a hotel in Denver and offering to care for their lace curtains.  The whole family is involved in this endeavor. Ralph figures out how to build a stretching frame, Grace and mother use their exquisite needlework skills to repair the lace.  This turns into steady income for them.

Ralph is a natural with horses.  He loves helping out with this cowboy friend, Hi, and working on ranches.  When he's 13 he's in charge of bringing a bunch of pregnant cows 20 miles from winter pasture to spring.  However the cows start having babies before he can get home and he literally has to go without food for a couple days.  It's an amazing story!  Ralph is also a natural jockey and he earns money by racing, to his mother's chagrin.

The story ends poignantly with the family suddenly having to abandon Colorado, a place they've come to love and where their beloved father is buried, to go back to New England.

I enjoyed this story so much.  I was completely immersed in Ralph's world.  I look forward to reading the next installment.  Two thumbs up!

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