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Little Britches…..(not seeing character lessons yet?)
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Hi Everyone,
I bought Little Britches since so many people here recommended it for character lessons. However, we are 1/3 oof the way in, and I’m not seeing much other than a well-written story. There are so mnay rich character books (is Lamplighter type) and I might ditch it soon if we don’t get to something other than a story. I just have such a long list of books to read with not much time to do so. Tyring to make the most of it.
Have we just not gotten to any life-lessons or heart-issues yet? Disappointed so far……
You’ve already run into the value of hard work. Listening to parents. The effect a good man can have on a boy and a community. The good giving heart of a mother. I love Lamplighters, too, but they are so much less “real.” Kind of “fantasy-character.” These are real-life, in-the-face, real people responding to real life. I don’t know about you, but my life doesn’t exactly resemble a Lamplighter. 🙂 I know my boys much preferred, and talked about (and still talk about!!!) Little Britches much, much more than all the Lamplighters we read, all put together. We did like Lamplighters, don’t get me wrong, but they were more “story” and Little Britches is more “life.”
Ditto Bookworm. We’ve loved all of the Lamplighters, but they can be somewhat fantasy like and heavy handed with life lessons. Little Britches, the whole series, is a DO NOT MISS in my opinion for reasons Michele already laid out.
Hi Kelly,
I would highly recommend sticking with them. My family read the whole series aloud and it’s still one of my top read-aloud memories of growing up. What makes it all the more amazing is that this all really happened!
These books are what I call “do not EVEN think about missing them” books. My boys still talk about them…did yesterday in fact. Something reminded them of Lonnie. 🙂 Real books teach us so much more about living than the sugar-coated “character” books out there. I personally loathe preachy books and I find my boys tune that kind of stuff out. Stick with them. Sharing these books together has been one the highlights of our family life.
My dh and ds are reading this series together in the evenings. It is a special time for them. I would urge you to stick with it and agree with what the others have said about the significance of the lessons learned in the trenches of this series.
YEAH> Thank you for pointing out the lessons being learned. I guess I feel like I need to make everything COUNT BIG. I now see, the difference between real and fantasy character traits….and more preachy books. It is very interesting…and the kids really enjoy it, (and they are all grils)! I just wasn’t sure it was enough heart lessons.
He does a lot of naughty things w/o permission…..but the outcome of his disobedience (in the first book) actually seems to work out good. I guess I need to figure out how to point out the naughtiness of his sin, and then remind them it doesn’t always turn out good when the wrong choice is made.
Thank you for encouraging me to stick with it. I sure WILL! 🙂
So glad you gals are out there!
Ralph really depends on the character lessons that his father and mother taught him by example in his later books Man of the Family and The Home Ranch. Keep reading.
@Kellywright006 – with this series I don’t think you need to point it out. Let your kids do the work of making connections. They will get it without it being explicitly laid bare. Keep reading. It’s some of the best there is.
Ok, point taken. I will keep going. It is a really great book. 🙂
Thank you everyone for your insight! It has helped to to re-correct some perspective!
Yes, they are chapter books by Ralph Moody. We read aloud or listened to all of them when our kids were 3-11. It’s time to revisit. All this talk makes me want to reread.
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