Farmer Boy

Last night, I finished reading Farmer Boy to my boys. A while back, I decided that I didn't have enough opportunities to share my cool books with them, and started making nightly reading part of our bedtime routine. We do five pages of a book I choose, and five pages of a book they choose. (Theirs tend to be shorter, and they take turns making the selection.)

I chose Farmer Boy for a few reasons. One, because it was handy and unpacked at a time when 99% of my books were still lost in boxes. Two, because it's one of the Little House books that I adore, and obviously the most boy-centric of them. Three, because Almanzo Wilder's home is a living history site now, and I intend to take the crew of them to see it.

Surprisingly, they really enjoyed it. (Greyson more so than Charles.) They'd ask questions, stop what they were doing (they often play while I read) to come over and listen more closely, and would remember what we'd read when similar themes came up in our daily lives. Our next selection is Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which we're all quite excited about, especially since the movie found a new backer and is back on the schedule!

As a final note on Farmer Boy: It's one of a set that I was given for Christmas when I was 10 months old. I still have all but two (tragically left behind for safe-keeping and lost in a move), all still in readable condition. Granted, Farmer Boy has long ago lost its cover and title page, but given that the book is 33 years old now, and has been read probably twice a year since I learned to read (at a conservative estimate), I think it's holding up well.

(As an additional note, I think the Arial font is a failed experiment.)