''Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers'' is an autobiographical account of Ralph Moody's early life in the vicinity of

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

, from 1906 to 1910. Moody was eight when his father moved to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, and eleven when his father died. This is the first book in Moody's series of autobiographies. It has been in print continuously since 1950. One topic Moody discusses is the importance of

water rights Water right in water law is the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious. In o ...

and the profound challenges these can pose to a community. The book was the basis for the 1970 Disney film '' The Wild Country''."Film Reviews: The Wild Country". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''. January 13, 1971. 24.

Plot summary

Ralph and his family move from East Rochester, New Hampshire, to

, because they cannot make enough money on their farm. There, Ralph learns to be a cowboy and competes in the roundup trick riding contest. Ralph's family lives at the end of the water ditch, so they don't get any water when there is a drought. In 1910 Ralph's father dies and Ralph became the man of the family.

Editions

* New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1950. * New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1962. * Cutchogue, NY: Buccaneer Books (reprint edition), 1986. * Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991. * Spokane, WA
Books In Motion
2000. Audiobook * Cynthiana, KY:
Purple House Press
(hardcover reprint), Oct 2017. and (hardcover reprint), Dec 2022.

References

External links

''Little Britches'' - University of Nebraska Press

''Little Britches'' hardcover - Purple House Press

Ralph Owen Moody - ''Biography''

New York Times review - ''The Wild Country''
1950 non-fiction books American autobiographies History of Colorado History books about the American Old West {{OldWest-book-stub