Farmer Boy is a children's historical novel by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family...

. First published in 1933, it is the second book in the nine part Little House

Little House

-Books, TV, and Song:* "Little House on the Prairie", a series of novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder * Little House on the Prairie , television series based on these novels...

series, also known as "The Laura Years". Although it was the second book written, Farmer Boy is usually read third in the series, following Little House on the Prairie

Little House on the Prairie

Little House is a series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published originally between 1932 and 1943, with four additional books published posthumously, in 1962, 1971, 1974 and 2006.-History:...

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Farmer Boy is based on the childhood of Laura's husband, Almanzo Wilder

Almanzo Wilder

Almanzo James Wilder was the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder and father of Rose Wilder Lane, both noted U.S. writers.- Early life :...

, who grew up in the 1860s near the town of Malone

Malone (town), New York

Malone is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 14,545 at the 2010 census.The Town of Malone contains a village called Malone, which is the county seat. The town is an interior town, centrally located in the county....

in upstate New York. The book covers one year in Almanzo's life, beginning just before his ninth birthday, and describes in detail the endless chores involved in running the Wilder family farm. Young as he is, Almanzo rises before 5 a.m. every day to milk several cows and feed stock. In the growing season, he plants and tends crops; in winter, he hauls logs, helps fill the ice house, trains a team of young oxen, and sometimes—when his father can spare him—goes to school. The novel includes stories of Almanzo's brother Royal and his sisters Eliza Jane and Alice.

Historical background

Since Almanzo was born in February of 1857, the novel is set in years 1866–1867, which is before the birth of the author, Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957). In the book, Almanzo had an elder brother Royal (1847–1925) and sisters Eliza Jane (1850–1930) and Alice (1853–1892). Meanwhile, he also had a sister Laura (1844–1899), who at the time and events in the novel was already about 22 and had presumably moved out. She was left out of the book for the obvious reason that two Lauras in the same book series would confuse some readers. He later had a brother Perley Day (1869–1934), who was not yet born.