We finished Man of the Family at the beginning of last week, and I really should’ve written up my post then. (Pregnancy lethargy has really taken a toll on my motivation to do much during my free time except sleep, unfortunately. 🙂 ) I was quite excited about the story, and I know I finished it with a happy sigh and my girls immediately began clamoring for the next book in the series, which we unfortunately do not own or have immediate access to. Some of the details have been lost in the pregnancy fog, but I think we liked this one every bit as much as we liked Little Britches, the first Ralph Moody book we read, and that is quite a lot. Man of the Family begins where Little Britches leaves off, with the Moody family leaving their ranch and moving into town after Father’s death. They are left with very little money, of course, so Mother, Grace, and Ralph (the oldest of the children) immediately begin thinking of ways to earn money. Of course, much of the responsibility falls to Ralph as the oldest son and newly-appointed “Man of the Family,” but in this tale we really see Mother’s hard work, independence, and ingenuity, too. I like this expanded viewpoint; in the first book, we meet Father, and in this book, we get to know Mother and Grace. The Moody family does everything from bottling and selling milk to sellling “cookery” (selling hot meals, bread, etc., on order) to washing and starching lace curtains for a fancy hotel. Ralph picks up every odd job he can find, including organizing the local kids to help cowboys from ranches drive their cattle safely and quickly through town to collecting and selling railroad ties to going on a solo cattle drive with some very pregnant cows. There’s some heartache in the story, of course, and even a few pleasant surprises. This is a book we all enjoyed thoroughly, and I know we’ll eventually get our hands on the rest of the series and read them, too. In fact, this book ends in such a way that it will probably be sooner rather than later. (It’s not exactly a cliffhanger ending, thankfully, but it definitely leaves us wanting to know how things work out for the Moody family.) Highly Recommended. (University of Nebraska Press, 1951)
Congratulation on your pregnancy! This is my first time linking up, thanks for hosting- we LOVE to read aloud!!
I’ve wanted to read this series for a long time as it is set in Colorado where we used to live. I haven’t read much about the story line before. Thanks for the review.
I need to add this author to our read-aloud list! We are nearing the end of Little Town on the Prairie and I’d hoped to link up this week, but it didn’t happen. Soon, I hope! I miss participating.
Oh, we just finished it a few weeks ago, and we love it, too. You’ve described it in a wonderful way. The kids are all excited about Ralph and Grace, but I really, like you, focus on mother. What a wonderful woman she was.
We just finished chapter 4 in The Home Ranch, which takes place in the middle of Man of the Family, and it’s wonderful. A bit funnier, so far, than the other ones but just as interesting. We’re still on the edge of the cliff as far as the rest of the Moody family goes, but that’s OK.
We get these books by interlibrary loan if our library doesn’t have them. They are not on Gutenberg yet. Sigh.