Need an alternative to Little Britches

[Guest dawnsmith]

I am looking for an alternative to Little Britches. Something about ranching in the early 1900's for a kiddo who is 10. The language is a bit too abbrassive in Little Britches.

Thanks,

Dawn in Texas

Edited January 4, 2010 by dawnsmith
left out words

[KathyBC]

I don't know if you're going to get much milder language than that.

[Guest dawnsmith]

milder than GD and taking Gods name in vain no less than 15 times so far? Surely there are some good books for 10 year olds about ranching.

[stripe]

Maybe I Am Lavina Cumming by Susan Lowell, or The True Memoirs of Charley Blankenship by Benjamin Capps (not sure how "adult" this one is), or The American Cowboy by Will James (covers 3 generations).

 

ETA: You may want to check out the Autry National Center (western heritage museum). They have some lesson plans and audio tours.

Edited January 5, 2010 by stripe

[calandalsmom]

I think you are missing out if you skip Little Britches. What a wonderful series. Overall the family is not profane, they are respectful people with a high moral standard.

[Mothersweets]

We read this one out loud in our family. Instead of saying G*d, I would just say gosh or goodness or whatever else would fit. It really is a fantastic book.

[Julie in MN]

I am looking for an alternative to Little Britches. Something about ranching in the early 1900's for a kiddo who is 10. The language is a bit too abbrassive in Little Britches.

Thanks,

Dawn in Texas

 

Wasn't it just the one chapter with the cowboys?

 

But if you really want something else, how about Farmer Boy? Boxcar Children? Rascal? Old Yeller? Or Billy & Blaze for your son to read himself. Well, I can't think of anything offhand that is *exactly* about ranching in the early 1900s and long enough for a read-aloud.

 

ETA: Be sure to hang onto it for later years, because my ds has loved it at age 13-14.

Julie

Edited January 7, 2010 by Julie in MN

[Guest dawnsmith]

It is more than the one chapter. There is a website questia.com

At this website you may type in a word or phrase in a particular book and it will tell you exactly what page these words or phrases are on. There is a pretty impressive list of cursing and taking Gods name in vain.

These are my own convictions.

Reading aloud I guess is an option, but....feel like I am compromising.

Again, just my own convictions.

[Annie Laurie]

I understand these are your convictions, and am not trying to change your mind at all, but had to add my agreement that this is a wonderful book with fantastic moral lessons. My son and I still refer to our "character houses" which we got from that book. Is it possible to edit the parts you don't agree with as you read aloud? Or are you looking for a reader? My 15 yo son LOVES that book to this day, and we read it together years ago.

[swimmermom3]

I think I need to go and pull out my copy again. My recollection of the book is that my kids all loved it, my husband loved it and wanted to be as wise as the father in the book, and that we had numerous discussions about people "now and then" and value systems. I think the website you went to can be somewhat misleading like the website I go to for movies. If I plugged in the words sodomy, rape, incest, murder, violation, adultery, idolatry, the instances in the Bible would run several pages. If I were to base my decision solely on that exercise I would surmise it was one of the worst books ever written.

 

Ranching in the 1900's isn't going to be pristine. The boy in the story ( a real person) did get into trouble-many young boys do careless things without thinking. There were consequences. The language isn't used to titillate anyone; it's how the people talked. One of my children read the book, Shiloh. It is set in Appalachia. My ds was somewhat stunned at some of the raw language. It was an opportunity for us to discuss why certain language is used in certain books. You wouldn't expect soldiers in the trenches in WWI in the heat of battle to say, "Timothy, would you be so kind as to pass my weapon?"

 

Please read the book for yourself before you dismiss it. You need to see how the words are used. Then you can judge from there.

[lisabees]

All this talk sent me to Amazon to find out about this book. To the OP, I completely understand if you don't want to read this book. I cannot think of any ranching books to recommend, though. Of course, there are lots of other great genres out there. I hope some board members have some ideas for you.

 

If you have a moment, check out this Amazon link. Look "inside the book" at page 14. It mentions God a few times. Do you think that is what the website is referring to?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Britches-Father-Were-Ranchers/dp/0803281781/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262746622&sr=8-1

Edited January 6, 2010 by lisabees

[HSMom2One]

I understand these are your convictions, and am not trying to change your mind at all, but had to add my agreement that this is a wonderful book with fantastic moral lessons. My son and I still refer to our "character houses" which we got from that book. Is it possible to edit the parts you don't agree with as you read aloud? Or are you looking for a reader? My 15 yo son LOVES that book to this day, and we read it together years ago.

 

:iagree:

 

I agree with all my heart. My husband and I are also very strict about language use, so when this was a RA the words were edited. The moral lessons taught in the story FAR outweighed the need to edit some sentences.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[HSMom2One]

I think I need to go and pull out my copy again. My recollection of the book is that my kids all loved it, my husband loved it and wanted to be as wise as the father in the book, and that we had numerous discussions about people "now and then" and value systems. I think the website you went to can be somewhat misleading like the website I go to for movies. If I plugged in the words sodomy, rape, incest, murder, violation, adultery, idolatry, the instances in the Bible would run several pages. If I were to base my decision solely on that exercise I would surmise it was one of the worst books ever written.

 

Ranching in the 1900's isn't going to be pristine. The boy in the story ( a real person) did get into trouble-many young boys do careless things without thinking. There were consequences. The language isn't used to titillate anyone; it's how the people talked. One of my children read the book, Shiloh. It is set in Appalachia. My ds was somewhat stunned at some of the raw language. It was an opportunity for us to discuss why certain language is used in certain books. You wouldn't expect soldiers in the trenches in WWI in the heat of battle to say, "Timothy, would you be so kind as to pass my weapon?"

 

Please read the book for yourself before you dismiss it. You need to see how the words are used. Then you can judge from there.

 

:iagree: Well said, swimmermom.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[dhudson]

I have to agree with the rest. I am really strict regarding reading (and other) materials but "Little Britches" morals far outweighed the language. If you read it aloud you can change the words. We laughed, we cried, we learned great moral lessons and in the end we're blessed by it. Of course, it helps to have it written about the area in which we live in and the fact that my dh's family owns a ranch and have since the late 1800's and the stories they talk about are much like "Little Britches".

 

Read it yourself first before dismissing totally.

[ubermomto5]

i agree with the OP. i read it last year for my book club and decided my kids would have to wait a while. it won't kill them to read it when they are 15 instead of 8 and 10! but i haven't got a lot of alternates for you...but then i haven't researched it either.

[Renai]

It is more than the one chapter. There is a website questia.com

At this website you may type in a word or phrase in a particular book and it will tell you exactly what page these words or phrases are on. There is a pretty impressive list of cursing and taking Gods name in vain.

These are my own convictions.

Reading aloud I guess is an option, but....feel like I am compromising.

Again, just my own convictions.

 

I understand how you feel. If I came across a book that took the Lord's name in vain a lot, I'd have to put it down. So, for me, what is a lot I guess would be the question. So, I went to questia (thanks for the site by the way!). I found the book and typed in the word "God." 16 pages popped up. I couldn't get the references without a subscription, so I popped over to Amazon...

 

I found out I can do the same at Amazon when I clicked on "Look inside the book." I typed in God and d*mn separately. So here are the references so you can judge if it is a book you can read.

 

p. 14-- 1. God-forsaken place; 2. God has led us to this place.

p. 26-- I heard Mother whisper, "Oh, God" and knew she was praying...

p. 57-- "All you got to have for this ground is water, and God help the man who ain't got it."

p. 72-- "God made us...."

p. 119--"And, by God...." (used as swearing as even the narrator says the father didn't like him around when the men started swearing)

p. 123-- "For God's sake..."

p. 132-- same as 123

p. 145-- "By God, that's the way he got it all right..."

p. 177-- "The same God that made you and me..."

p. 196-- "By God..."

p. 198-- same as 123

p. 204-- "By God..."

p. 206-- By God...

p. 207-- ...by God...

p. 245-- God and everybody know that we...

 

There were 7 references for d*mn.

[jeri]

this is a fantastic series. I cried at the end of the first two (my kids thought I was crazy). I also did *not* like the horse's name (Nig) so I changed it to Blackie. But you have to realize that language is appropriate to the setting.

 

Jeri

[sassenach]

Oh, please reconsider! Read it for yourself. This book had so many Godly lessons. This is my absolute all time favorite read aloud. The chapter where there are several "by God"s was a chapter that actually addressed the sin involved in using those phrases. This book is a real treasure!

[Penny]

this is a fantastic series. I cried at the end of the first two (my kids thought I was crazy). I also did *not* like the horse's name (Nig) so I changed it to Blackie. But you have to realize that language is appropriate to the setting.

 

Jeri

 

FYI niger (pronounced Nee gair) means black in latin. I didn't relate it to anything else.

[Jen+4dc]

Oh, please reconsider! Read it for yourself. This book had so many Godly lessons. This is my absolute all time favorite read aloud. The chapter where there are several "by God"s was a chapter that actually addressed the sin involved in using those phrases. This book is a real treasure!

 

My kids and I still talk about how our character houses are coming and how our prisons are full of people whose biggest mistake was not admitting that they made a mistake and taking responsibility for it in the first place. We read the first three of that series as Read-Alouds in our house (yes, I edited language on the fly) and I cried and the kids cried and we learned soooooooo much! This is by far one of the best read alouds we have ever done as far as learning examples with good stories!! There's a fantastic scene where Ralph's dad teaches him about "life" and hard work. "There's only 2 kinds of men in this world: black, brown, red, yellow or white, there's only 2 kinds of men: honest and dishonest. One thinks the world owes him a living and the other works for his keep. Some men work with their heads and some work with their hands, but all honest men work." We've discussed this many times as dh works with his head and a dear uncle (or 2) work their hands. But, everybody works!

 

Wow, there are So.Many.lessons. in this book that really stick. My boys were 9 and 6 when we read this and if I had to do it over again there are many, many other books I would eliminate before I eliminated this one! Ralph's dad (and then Ralph as he grows up) is one of the best examples of a godly, hard-working "man" you'll find! (By the term "man" I mean one who takes responsibility for his life and his family and honors God and works hard to support them, unlike soooooo many male "role models" in our world today).

 

FWIW, just my opinion!

[stripe]

I haven't read Little Britches, nor am I offended by some of the expressions you highlighted, but I completely understand your desire to explore alternatives. The books I listed in my post are about ranching; I wasn't sure if I made that clear, so do at least take a look to try to find those. I don't know about the language issue, though.

[Soph the vet]

I have read most of the series out loud to dc 11, 9, and 7. We are currently in The Dry Divide, the second to last book if I am counting right. This is a tremendous series. I put "gosh" if a character says OMG. I don't recall any GD references but there are a few harsh characters in some of the stories so I could be mistaken, but usually I am very sensitive to language. I would give it another chance.

[jeri]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeri

this is a fantastic series. I cried at the end of the first two (my kids thought I was crazy). I also did *not* like the horse's name (Nig) so I changed it to Blackie. But you have to realize that language is appropriate to the setting.

 

Jeri

 

Quote: FYI niger (pronounced Nee gair) means black in latin. I didn't relate it to anything else.

 

I say: Perhaps if you were reading it to your own African-American kids you would be able to relate to it. Back then it wasn't Latin they were talking, it was regular American and in this day and age that's a word I will not say. However, I'm still a huge fan of the series!

 

Jeri

[KIN]

We are reading Little Britches out loud right now and really enjoying it! I do change the words every now and then. Another book we read about the same time period and in the Dakota territory that was *wonderful* was Old Sam Dakota Trotter. http://www.amazon.com/Old-Sam-Trotter-History-Bethlehem/dp/1932350284/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262814842&sr=8-1

[Guest Barb B]

I agree wholeheartedly! I thought the language wasn't needed and too much. Have you tried Bethlehem Books (bethlehembooks.com). Great historical fiction from a variety of ages. They even have a time line with the names of the books to help you choose!

 

Barb

[kalanamak]

This book is a real treasure!

 

I have a strong stomach, but I couldn't stand all the injured horses. I can read about factual accounts, but fiction is usually written to "put you there". I voted to be elsewhere.

[KathyBC]

I have a strong stomach, but I couldn't stand all the injured horses. I can read about factual accounts, but fiction is usually written to "put you there". I voted to be elsewhere.

 

 

I thought Little Britches *was* autobiographical. (Well, at least as factual as an elderly man writing about his youth is gonna be, lol.)

[kalanamak]

I thought Little Britches *was* autobiographical. (Well, at least as factual as an elderly man writing about his youth is gonna be, lol.)

 

It was not written like a documentary, but like a novel.

[mommyrooch]

I understand these are your convictions, and am not trying to change your mind at all, but had to add my agreement that this is a wonderful book with fantastic moral lessons. My son and I still refer to our "character houses" which we got from that book. Is it possible to edit the parts you don't agree with as you read aloud? Or are you looking for a reader? My 15 yo son LOVES that book to this day, and we read it together years ago.

 

I so completely agree!! I am currently reading this series to my kids (ages 11 and 8) and the moral lessons in them are amazing! I actually started this series as part of our character studies. Now we read them just for the enjoyment. We are currently reading The Home Ranch.

 

I agree that these are wonderful books. If you aren't comfortable with some of the language used then you could edit it as you came across it. The moral lessons in this series are so wonderful that I believe it would be a shame to not share it with your kids.

 

I also agree with the poster that mentioned looking at the context the language is written in. Back in the early 1900's this is how many men spoke. I use the presentation of such language to educate my kids on the way people acted and spoke back then and how it differs from how we do things today. To me, the book would somehow be fake if it weren't historically accurate on all accounts, even the way men spoke. Even though I don't speak like that and I don't want my kids speaking like that I appreciate the accurate portrayal of a working man during that time. It is just more historically correct to portray the men as they would have been back then.

 

I want my kids to really "see" what that time was like. I don't want the portrayal to be innacurate. That's just me though. To each their own. You will have to do for your kids what you feel is best. Whatever you decide I am sure that it will be the right decision for your family.

[Penny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeri

this is a fantastic series. I cried at the end of the first two (my kids thought I was crazy). I also did *not* like the horse's name (Nig) so I changed it to Blackie. But you have to realize that language is appropriate to the setting.

 

Jeri

 

Quote: FYI niger (pronounced Nee gair) means black in latin. I didn't relate it to anything else.

 

I say: Perhaps if you were reading it to your own African-American kids you would be able to relate to it. Back then it wasn't Latin they were talking, it was regular American and in this day and age that's a word I will not say. However, I'm still a huge fan of the series!

 

Jeri

 

I'm sorry if I offended you. I don't remember how I read this name to my African American child. We did love the book, and I'm very good at editing on the fly. Maybe I read it with the Latin pronunciation?

[KathyBC]

I pronounced it as it seemed to be spelt: Ni (long i)- ger (jer). Like a short form of Nigeria. I assumed it was spelled differently for a reason.

[jeri]

I last read the series. But I distinctly remember the horse's name being Nig.

 

Anyway, I just ordered it from our library to read it to my younger kids so I guess I can check then.

 

jeri

[stripe]

I last read the series. But I distinctly remember the horse's name being Nig.

 

I "looked inside" on Amazon. Your memory is correct.

 

I don't think most English speakers would pronounce "Nig" as "Neej," but perhaps I'm not sufficiently refined...

[KathyBC]

It's been a couple of years since I read it, too. I was pronouncing it and making assumptions based on the way it was typed in this thread. (bad girl) Huh. Ya, I'd have to go with Stripe on that one.