Little Britches by Kim Wilson

Little Britches
By Ralph Moody

The book begins with Ralph Moody's (Little Britches) family moving to a ranch in Colorado. They were told, by Cousin Phil, that it was one of the finest ranches in the county and in one year they could make as much money as they'd make in a lifetime at their current residence.  Oh yeah, and apparently in Colorado there are  "three hundred and sixty-five sunshiny days in a year." It is no surprise that the ranch was not at all what Cousin Phil made it out to be, in fact, quite the opposite.  Father called it a "God-forsaken place."
I read this book to my children, and at this point in the story they were furious.  They wanted to haul Cousin Phil to jail. They wanted justice! Revenge!  Something... anything.  We had a good discussion on accountability and taking responsibility for our choices; getting caught up in "get rich quick" schemes and forgoing logic. Is it reasonable to believe that one could make that kind of money in one year? Is it wise to move to a place sight unseen? Is it reasonable to believe that anywhere in the United States could have three hundred sixty-five days of sunshine? And even if that were true, it would be bad, because you need rain for your crops.
I don't know if Mother's response to their unfortunate situation had root in her want to take responsibility for their choice or not, but it is a  beautiful response nonetheless. Says Mother,
"The Bible says, 'Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.' The hand of God has led us here; we have set our shoulders to the wheel, and we will not turn back."
This was only the beginning of many great conversations with my children about righteous principles such as:  integrity, honesty, faith, hard and honest work, perseverance, discipline, duty, patience and more.  I really appreciated the part where Ralph accidently catches and consequently kills a pheasant with his steel trap.  He had been told previously that you would go to jail for killing a pheasant.  His first instinct is to hide the carcass, but soon realizes he needs to tell his father.  Father helps him understand that he needs to turn himself in and take whatever punishment may be given him.
Ralph often finds himself in situations where he is faced with ethical decisions to make. As the book progresses,  he draws on the memories of previously learned lessons and words of wisdom from his parents to help him make the right choice.  He hears his father or mother's voice in his mind and he can't seem to ignore it, so he listens.  Isn't this what we want for our children? We want them to learn from their mistakes. We want to help guide them through their childhood as to prepare them to become honest men and women in society. As is the theme in "Little Britches."