Sixty-five years ago, on a big farm in northern New York state, there lived a little boy named Almanzo. He and his brother Royal and his two sisters went to school a often as they could, but for the most part the demands of the turning seasons governed all their lives. In the spring, there was sowing to be done—the ground must be plowed and furrowed, and potatoes, corn and wheat planted in their proper order. Before they knew it, it was summer, and after that the early harvest had to be got in. The event of the year was the county fair, where Almanzo's mother won a prize with her famous butter, and where Almanzo himself captured a blue ribbon with his twin red calves, Star and Bright. After the heavy snowfalls began, came the task of cutting great slabs of ice from the river, and packing them in the ice-house. There was threshing to be done, too, and wood-hauling, and every day the inevitable chores. And at intervals throughout the year they could look forward to the visits of the cobbler, the jolly tin peddler, and the butter buyer.

Like last year's successful "Little House in the Big Woods," by the same author, "Farmer Boy" is memorable not only as a delightful story, simply and sincerely told, but also as a faithful record of the hardships and pleasures of a way of life this generation will never experience. (For 8-12 years)

From the dust jacket