The Home Ranch by Ralph Moody
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Number of pages: 279
Summary:
The Home Ranch continues the adventures
of young Ralph Moody known as Little Britches. During the
summer of his twelfth year he works on a cattle ranch in the
shadow of Pike’s Peak, earning a dollar a day. Little Britches
is tested against seasoned cowboys on the range and in the
corral. He drives cattle through a dust storm, eats his weight
in flapjacks, and falls in love with a blue outlaw horse.
Strong points:
- This book shows decency, honesty and old-fashioned
neighborliness.
- The author recalls a rich boyhood, which takes on an
added golden glow when viewed nearly a half-century later.
- The hard work of a twelve-year old shows his
determination to help support his fatherless family.
- The boy’s summer is packed with enough action that would
fill most adult years.
Cautions:
Based on the setting of Moody’s books and
the cowboy characters involved, there is some objectionable
language. God’s name is used in vain and there are a few swear
words.
All of the characters are of the Protestant
religion.
Conclusion:
This story introduces boys to an American
world as remote from today as if it had existed hundreds of
years ago. As at any point in our history, not all Americans
faced the same conditions in a given time period, but the ways
in which the Moody family had to cope, the part the children
played in the life of the family, and the expectations and
opportunities (or lack of them) that shaped people’s lives are
an integral part of American history. The Home Ranch
reads like fiction in its exciting and event-filled narrative,
but in reality it portrays significant aspects of our American
past.
