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Little Britches #6
Shaking the Nickel Bush
Now 19-years old, skinny, and suffering from diabetes, Ralph Moody is ordered by his Boston doctor to seek a more healthful climate out West. Remembering his childhood ranching adventures, Ralph is delighted to strike out for new territory and prospects. Hustling jobs, and trying to find the means to follow the doctors orders, he becomes a Hollywood stunt rider. With Lonnie, a rascal and friend, he camps out in the Arizona desert and “shakes the nickel bush” as a cowboy artist-sculptor. Lawyers and bankers are eager to buy his work as the two move from town to town in an old Ford aptly named “Shiftless.” But will Ralph ever reach Littleton in time for the 4th of July roundup?....
236 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
32 people are currently reading
904 people want to read
About the author
Ralph Moody
62 books194 followersRalph Moody was an American author who wrote 17 novels and autobiographies about the American West. He was born in East Rochester, New Hampshire, in 1898 but moved to Colorado with his family when he was eight in the hopes that a dry climate would improve his father Charles's tuberculosis. Moody detailed his experiences in Colorado in the first book of the Little Britches series, Father and I Were Ranchers.
After his father died, eleven-year-old Moody assumed the duties of the "man of the house." He and his sister Grace combined ingenuity with hard work in a variety of odd jobs to help their mother provide for their large family. The Moody clan returned to the East Coast some time after Charles's death, but Moody had difficulty readjusting. Following more than one ill-timed run-in with local law enforcement, he left the family home near Boston to live on his grandfather's farm in Maine. His later Little Britches books cover his time in Maine and subsequent travels through Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Kansas—including stints as a bust sculptor and a horse rider doing "horse falls" for motion pictures—as he worked his way back toward Colorado while continuing to support his family financially.
Moody's formal education was limited, but he had a lifelong interest in learning and self-education. At age 50, he enrolled in a writing class, which eventually led to the publication of Father and I Were Ranchers. In addition to the Little Britches series, Moody wrote a number of books detailing the development of the American West. His books have been described as crude in the language of the times but are highly praised by Moody's readership and have been in continuous publication since 1950.
After a period as livestock business owner in rural Kansas, Moody sent to Massachusetts for his former sweetheart, Edna. They married and moved to Kansas City. They had three children.—Source
After his father died, eleven-year-old Moody assumed the duties of the "man of the house." He and his sister Grace combined ingenuity with hard work in a variety of odd jobs to help their mother provide for their large family. The Moody clan returned to the East Coast some time after Charles's death, but Moody had difficulty readjusting. Following more than one ill-timed run-in with local law enforcement, he left the family home near Boston to live on his grandfather's farm in Maine. His later Little Britches books cover his time in Maine and subsequent travels through Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Kansas—including stints as a bust sculptor and a horse rider doing "horse falls" for motion pictures—as he worked his way back toward Colorado while continuing to support his family financially.
Moody's formal education was limited, but he had a lifelong interest in learning and self-education. At age 50, he enrolled in a writing class, which eventually led to the publication of Father and I Were Ranchers. In addition to the Little Britches series, Moody wrote a number of books detailing the development of the American West. His books have been described as crude in the language of the times but are highly praised by Moody's readership and have been in continuous publication since 1950.
After a period as livestock business owner in rural Kansas, Moody sent to Massachusetts for his former sweetheart, Edna. They married and moved to Kansas City. They had three children.—Source
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
March 29, 2022
This one grows on you slowly.
January 25, 2018
In the tradition of the Little Britches series, this one is just as good as each previous book. We enjoyed it thoroughly. It’s frustrating to hear of so much lying and deceit going on and I’d like a little more of the natural consequences to be explained to balance that out.
That aside, this is an incredible story of entrepreneurship. I am just amazed at his willingness to try new things and use his talent for good as well as to provide for himself, his family back home and for his mooching friend Lonnie. Many times his choices made me wince and whine. I would often get verbally frustrated with his constant “blindness” with Lonnie and what he allowed him to get away with and what he freely provided for him without adequate return payment or earning. When my husband and I finished today we both shook our heads and felt a bit frustrated.
And then I went in to an appointment and had more time to ponder on this book. The insight that came to me was monumental. How many times are each of us like Lonnie? We are beggars to the Lord. We live off His goodness. He is constantly advocating for us, forgiving us, not holding things against us, not dropping us (as I kept saying I would have done if I was in Ralph’s shoes), and giving generously to us again and again. Even through to the end when Lonnie forsook Ralph and ran off with everything, Ralph still saw him as his buddy, explained things away for him and still felt much love and kindness towards that poor child of a man, knowing he just “couldn’t help himself.”
Essentially he (Ralph) is an example of the principle to “act” and not “react.” In this principle we decide how we will behave and it is not dictated by another’s behavior or negative choices (which would be reaction). May I be more like Ralph in mercy, love, and kindness.
That aside, this is an incredible story of entrepreneurship. I am just amazed at his willingness to try new things and use his talent for good as well as to provide for himself, his family back home and for his mooching friend Lonnie. Many times his choices made me wince and whine. I would often get verbally frustrated with his constant “blindness” with Lonnie and what he allowed him to get away with and what he freely provided for him without adequate return payment or earning. When my husband and I finished today we both shook our heads and felt a bit frustrated.
And then I went in to an appointment and had more time to ponder on this book. The insight that came to me was monumental. How many times are each of us like Lonnie? We are beggars to the Lord. We live off His goodness. He is constantly advocating for us, forgiving us, not holding things against us, not dropping us (as I kept saying I would have done if I was in Ralph’s shoes), and giving generously to us again and again. Even through to the end when Lonnie forsook Ralph and ran off with everything, Ralph still saw him as his buddy, explained things away for him and still felt much love and kindness towards that poor child of a man, knowing he just “couldn’t help himself.”
Essentially he (Ralph) is an example of the principle to “act” and not “react.” In this principle we decide how we will behave and it is not dictated by another’s behavior or negative choices (which would be reaction). May I be more like Ralph in mercy, love, and kindness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2016
November 2016:
Re-reading; man, this book is tough.
October 2014:
A genuine disappointment.
Yes, Ralph is in a desperate situation. Yes, Ralph is a man. Yes, it is the Great Depression. Yes, there are whole number of reasons why this segment of Ralph's life is grueling - but - he is acting out of character for most of the book. He enables his kind hearted but dishonest amoral friend far too long and at too great a cost to Ralph's character.
Ralph lies constantly - to everyone - including himself.
The book is boring. The choices are poor. Ralph's stupidity about his jeans and the money is mind blowing.
Ralph's talent, however, is incredible. He clearly is very bright, very skilled and very gifted.
I wish that I had not purchased this book. I am quite certain that we don't need to revisit it.
Re-reading; man, this book is tough.
October 2014:
A genuine disappointment.
Yes, Ralph is in a desperate situation. Yes, Ralph is a man. Yes, it is the Great Depression. Yes, there are whole number of reasons why this segment of Ralph's life is grueling - but - he is acting out of character for most of the book. He enables his kind hearted but dishonest amoral friend far too long and at too great a cost to Ralph's character.
Ralph lies constantly - to everyone - including himself.
The book is boring. The choices are poor. Ralph's stupidity about his jeans and the money is mind blowing.
Ralph's talent, however, is incredible. He clearly is very bright, very skilled and very gifted.
I wish that I had not purchased this book. I am quite certain that we don't need to revisit it.
August 4, 2011
What a disappointing book! After four excellent entries--some of which were truly stellar--I can't believe the sudden drop-off in quality. Allow me to elaborate.
**SPOILER ALERT**
1) Lies, lies lies. Gone is the highly scrupulous Ralph Moody we came to know and love in earlier volumes. His desire to honor his father's passion for honesty, integrity, and forthrightness seems to have disappeared completely, and with no explanation whatsoever. He routinely lies to his mother throughout the book and doesn't object in the slightest when his traveling partner repeatedly steals chickens, "borrows" horses without asking, and otherwise makes free with the belongings of others. While it is certainly true that those raised to be honest sometimes waver in their devotion to the cause, Moody offers no explanation whatsoever for his sudden departure from his family's values.
2) The devil is in the details. Much of this book is devoted to a painfully detailed account of Moody's travels across the back country of the southwest in a beat-up old Ford. Which would be fine, except he feels the need to explain each and every repair the car required--how they discovered it, what was broken, what they had to buy or fix, how much it cost, and so on. By the third or fourth breakdown, I wanted to scream "WE GET IT! The car is a pile of crap and you've spent way more than you should have to get her up and running. MOVE ON." But alas, there were yet more breakdowns to explain. In detail.
3) No end in sight. This is the big one. Early in the book, Moody throws his lot in with Lonnie, a cow hand he meets in Arizona. Throughout the bulk of the story, the reader wonders what kind of guy Lonnie will turn out to be. He screws things up and goes through money like water, but appears to be genuine in his desire to do right by Moody. Meanwhile, Moody has to constantly exercise patience with Lonnie, and ultimately ends up all but supporting Lonnie, financing his social life with money Moody earns--all Lonnie does is drive the car.
(As a side note, Moody's perpetual tolerance of Lonnie and his shenanigans was actually quite believable--with his family background, I buy that Moody would hate being alone and would put up with a lot to have a traveling buddy, no matter how annoying that buddy turned out to be.)
As I read this book, I wondered: Would Lonnie would redeem himself? Or would he screw things up royally? So in the final chapter, when Lonnie accidentally takes Ralph's pants--which have $700 secretly stashed in the cuffs (money Moody's been squirreling away throughout the book in the hope of buying some land in Colorado)--it seemed like a perfect opportunity to see if Lonnie would do right by Moody and track him down to return the money, or just make off with it and confirm himself as an ungrateful scoundrel.
Imagine my surprise when Moody goes in a completely different direction and . . . doesn't tell us anything about what happened to Lonnie, the money, or any of it. Instead, the book ends with him looking for Lonnie and feeling quite confident that good old absentminded Lonnie had no idea about the money and that Lonnie or his mom were bound to find it and return it. But we don't actually know that they do so. We don't know if Moody got his money back. So the mystery of the money and the mystery of Lonnie's character remain unresolved. And not in a "commentary on human naivete" or "the mystery is ongoing" sort of way. Moody is far too straightforward a writer for that. As far as he's concerned, that's the end of the story. It was at this point that I chucked the book across the room. After sticking it out through tedious descriptions of nuts and bolts and screws and tubes and oil and water and all the meals Moody made on the road ("this is how I cooked the chicken Lonnie stole," "this is how I made rice pudding," etc.), I was rewarded with . . . a fat lot of nothing. Story-telling FAIL.
There were other issues as well--Moody once again discovers that he is awesome at yet more things (stunt falls and--wait for it--sculpting, of all things), Moody discovers acquaintances who inexplicably assist him in his endeavors, etc. But those were minor issues compared to the three things discussed above. Moody's sudden change of character and lack of focus on serving and providing for others rendered him much less appealing than in previous volumes. Ultimately, this was a tedious story about two less-than-likable characters . . . with no actual ending or closure or anything.
I really hope the next one is better.
**SPOILER ALERT**
1) Lies, lies lies. Gone is the highly scrupulous Ralph Moody we came to know and love in earlier volumes. His desire to honor his father's passion for honesty, integrity, and forthrightness seems to have disappeared completely, and with no explanation whatsoever. He routinely lies to his mother throughout the book and doesn't object in the slightest when his traveling partner repeatedly steals chickens, "borrows" horses without asking, and otherwise makes free with the belongings of others. While it is certainly true that those raised to be honest sometimes waver in their devotion to the cause, Moody offers no explanation whatsoever for his sudden departure from his family's values.
2) The devil is in the details. Much of this book is devoted to a painfully detailed account of Moody's travels across the back country of the southwest in a beat-up old Ford. Which would be fine, except he feels the need to explain each and every repair the car required--how they discovered it, what was broken, what they had to buy or fix, how much it cost, and so on. By the third or fourth breakdown, I wanted to scream "WE GET IT! The car is a pile of crap and you've spent way more than you should have to get her up and running. MOVE ON." But alas, there were yet more breakdowns to explain. In detail.
3) No end in sight. This is the big one. Early in the book, Moody throws his lot in with Lonnie, a cow hand he meets in Arizona. Throughout the bulk of the story, the reader wonders what kind of guy Lonnie will turn out to be. He screws things up and goes through money like water, but appears to be genuine in his desire to do right by Moody. Meanwhile, Moody has to constantly exercise patience with Lonnie, and ultimately ends up all but supporting Lonnie, financing his social life with money Moody earns--all Lonnie does is drive the car.
(As a side note, Moody's perpetual tolerance of Lonnie and his shenanigans was actually quite believable--with his family background, I buy that Moody would hate being alone and would put up with a lot to have a traveling buddy, no matter how annoying that buddy turned out to be.)
As I read this book, I wondered: Would Lonnie would redeem himself? Or would he screw things up royally? So in the final chapter, when Lonnie accidentally takes Ralph's pants--which have $700 secretly stashed in the cuffs (money Moody's been squirreling away throughout the book in the hope of buying some land in Colorado)--it seemed like a perfect opportunity to see if Lonnie would do right by Moody and track him down to return the money, or just make off with it and confirm himself as an ungrateful scoundrel.
Imagine my surprise when Moody goes in a completely different direction and . . . doesn't tell us anything about what happened to Lonnie, the money, or any of it. Instead, the book ends with him looking for Lonnie and feeling quite confident that good old absentminded Lonnie had no idea about the money and that Lonnie or his mom were bound to find it and return it. But we don't actually know that they do so. We don't know if Moody got his money back. So the mystery of the money and the mystery of Lonnie's character remain unresolved. And not in a "commentary on human naivete" or "the mystery is ongoing" sort of way. Moody is far too straightforward a writer for that. As far as he's concerned, that's the end of the story. It was at this point that I chucked the book across the room. After sticking it out through tedious descriptions of nuts and bolts and screws and tubes and oil and water and all the meals Moody made on the road ("this is how I cooked the chicken Lonnie stole," "this is how I made rice pudding," etc.), I was rewarded with . . . a fat lot of nothing. Story-telling FAIL.
There were other issues as well--Moody once again discovers that he is awesome at yet more things (stunt falls and--wait for it--sculpting, of all things), Moody discovers acquaintances who inexplicably assist him in his endeavors, etc. But those were minor issues compared to the three things discussed above. Moody's sudden change of character and lack of focus on serving and providing for others rendered him much less appealing than in previous volumes. Ultimately, this was a tedious story about two less-than-likable characters . . . with no actual ending or closure or anything.
I really hope the next one is better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2024
One word.
Lonnie.
Hand to forehead.
Ugh.
It was impressive to see how creative Ralph got in making money but thoroughly agonizing watching Lonnie manipulate it away from him. It hurt. 😞😂
Content Considerations: h*ll and d*mn are used. Ralph lies to his mom often, and tells half truths a lot. A guy spends money frivolously on girls.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide Content Considerations, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
If you’re considering a book or looking for a new title to read, check out my highly categorized shelves, read my reviews and Friend or Follow me to spiff up your feed with clean, wholesome, living books
Lonnie.
Hand to forehead.
Ugh.
It was impressive to see how creative Ralph got in making money but thoroughly agonizing watching Lonnie manipulate it away from him. It hurt. 😞😂
Content Considerations: h*ll and d*mn are used. Ralph lies to his mom often, and tells half truths a lot. A guy spends money frivolously on girls.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide Content Considerations, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
If you’re considering a book or looking for a new title to read, check out my highly categorized shelves, read my reviews and Friend or Follow me to spiff up your feed with clean, wholesome, living books
September 1, 2022
We listened to this on a road trip to Phoenix which turned out to be the setting for the book! That made it extra fun to drive through wickenburg AZ. The kids didn’t follow along as much but I think it was for the better because chandler and I were slightly irritated with the irresponsible friend who gets him into trouble the whole time. I was also bugged by the letters he wrote his mom. But overall I love these stories and the lessons Ralph learns along the way.
April 3, 2013
I love how this shows that the author can pretty much turn his hand to anything he tries, and he's tried quite a few things. I don't know how I'd present the "lying to Mother so she doesn't worry" aspect of the book.
December 15, 2019
This was my least favorite of the series so far. Too much stress and too much winking at sin.
February 12, 2017
Reader thoughts: Even after knowing how it ends, I keep reading and hoping it's different this time. No, it's not as bad as the ending to Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers, but it's still pretty upsetting. I completely agree with Ralph when he says he still doesn't know if meeting Lonnie was good or bad.
So, Lonnie. Because I only meet him through Ralph's eyes, I think of him as a well-meaning bloke who doesn't quite have his head on straight. He loves his car to death, gets distracted by every pretty dame, steals a chicken for dinner when he can get away with it, and sleeps until 10am when Shiftless (the Ford) didn't need him. I don't think we saw Lonnie do any real work the entire book (except fixing up Shiftless). Yet, Ralph pays him so much money to drive him around so Ralph can work molding plaster busts for rich bankers. Part of me wants to dislike Lonnie, but then he says, "Buddy, I promise," and Ralph gives him another chance. Besides, Lonnie gets so excited about things, and he turned into Ralph's best salesman.
Shiftless, the car, had her own personality. Lonnie fell in love with her, Ralph disliked her, and she kept trying to break down on them, especially in the first week. Let's see. She needed a new engine, extra oil, kept boiling off all her radiator water, needed a new brake, needed a new little gear key thing (spark plug?), didn't crank on right, rattled if she went over 5 miles an hour, and got a flat tire. This stranded Lonnie and Ralph 80 miles from civilization at least once. Somehow, the two of them cobbled together enough parts and tender care to get the car running through the first month. Then she ran smoothly. Finally.
Reader thoughts: The first couple times I read this, I didn't realize how serious Ralph's condition was. I think RM downplayed how sick he was to the reader. Even as he was losing weight and restricted to, like, a dozen things he could eat, Ralph didn't make this story about him nearly dying or recovering his health. He made this story about living in the not-so-old-west. He made this story about horses and friendship and job hunting and fixing a car and being the Cowboy Artists of the South West.
Now that I've been close to a few people with incurable diseases and how scary it can be to watch them lose weight when they're still supposed to be growing . . . I realize this had to be scary. Ralph was 19, barely over 100 lbs, and only given 6 months to live.
Having diabetes 100 years ago was pretty near a death sentence, but Ralph trusted God and trusted only the optimistic doctors. He rode some horses, made some money, got lots of sunshine, and ate salmon and peanuts by the crate full.
So, Lonnie. Because I only meet him through Ralph's eyes, I think of him as a well-meaning bloke who doesn't quite have his head on straight. He loves his car to death, gets distracted by every pretty dame, steals a chicken for dinner when he can get away with it, and sleeps until 10am when Shiftless (the Ford) didn't need him. I don't think we saw Lonnie do any real work the entire book (except fixing up Shiftless). Yet, Ralph pays him so much money to drive him around so Ralph can work molding plaster busts for rich bankers. Part of me wants to dislike Lonnie, but then he says, "Buddy, I promise," and Ralph gives him another chance. Besides, Lonnie gets so excited about things, and he turned into Ralph's best salesman.
Shiftless, the car, had her own personality. Lonnie fell in love with her, Ralph disliked her, and she kept trying to break down on them, especially in the first week. Let's see. She needed a new engine, extra oil, kept boiling off all her radiator water, needed a new brake, needed a new little gear key thing (spark plug?), didn't crank on right, rattled if she went over 5 miles an hour, and got a flat tire. This stranded Lonnie and Ralph 80 miles from civilization at least once. Somehow, the two of them cobbled together enough parts and tender care to get the car running through the first month. Then she ran smoothly. Finally.
Reader thoughts: The first couple times I read this, I didn't realize how serious Ralph's condition was. I think RM downplayed how sick he was to the reader. Even as he was losing weight and restricted to, like, a dozen things he could eat, Ralph didn't make this story about him nearly dying or recovering his health. He made this story about living in the not-so-old-west. He made this story about horses and friendship and job hunting and fixing a car and being the Cowboy Artists of the South West.
Now that I've been close to a few people with incurable diseases and how scary it can be to watch them lose weight when they're still supposed to be growing . . . I realize this had to be scary. Ralph was 19, barely over 100 lbs, and only given 6 months to live.
Having diabetes 100 years ago was pretty near a death sentence, but Ralph trusted God and trusted only the optimistic doctors. He rode some horses, made some money, got lots of sunshine, and ate salmon and peanuts by the crate full.
January 17, 2025
Reading this series is rather like watching an old TV series from before they invested in narrative arcs. Every book feels like a stand-alone episode which has to deliver Ralph right back in the same situation he was in at the beginning, no matter what developments seem to take place between the front and back covers. This is admittedly good for accessibility but frustrating for a reader to feel the narrative pulled from underneath her feet time and time again.
In addition, one begins to wonder whether author-Ralph is whitewashing character-Ralph. In this installment, upright Ralph partners up with a sidekick who repeatedly makes poor decisions which contribute to the aforementioned failure of character-Ralph to get ahead. In the real-life events Moody fictionalizes here, I suspect that author-Ralph may have made some of the foolish choices which he attributes to Lonnie. The pair might as well be Goofus and Gallant, as Ralph constantly makes the generous, manly, upstanding decision while Lonnie is invariably the bumbling comic relief, unwilling to listen to Ralph's wise advice.
The series was apparently not written in chronological order; rather, Moody came back and "filled in" the gaps of his narrative after what was, originally, a trilogy, comprised of Father and I Were Ranchers, Man of the Family, and The Fields of Home. This undoubtedly accounts for the somewhat choppy transitions between books when read chronologically.
In addition, one begins to wonder whether author-Ralph is whitewashing character-Ralph. In this installment, upright Ralph partners up with a sidekick who repeatedly makes poor decisions which contribute to the aforementioned failure of character-Ralph to get ahead. In the real-life events Moody fictionalizes here, I suspect that author-Ralph may have made some of the foolish choices which he attributes to Lonnie. The pair might as well be Goofus and Gallant, as Ralph constantly makes the generous, manly, upstanding decision while Lonnie is invariably the bumbling comic relief, unwilling to listen to Ralph's wise advice.
The series was apparently not written in chronological order; rather, Moody came back and "filled in" the gaps of his narrative after what was, originally, a trilogy, comprised of Father and I Were Ranchers, Man of the Family, and The Fields of Home. This undoubtedly accounts for the somewhat choppy transitions between books when read chronologically.
May 13, 2013
"Shaking the Nickel Bush" was very different from all the other books in the Little Britches series. This book focuses solely on Ralph and his life experiences. His family is mentioned occasionally, but Ralph does not really interact with them. His life has taken a different route, and he is on his own in this story. Although I enjoyed reading it and I really liked it, I have to say that so far, this is my least favorite book of the series. Ralph's life is drastically different from the previous books, and some of his experiences aren't too pleasant. I didn't care for Ralph's deceitfulness in this book. Throughout the entire story, Ralph is lying to his mother about his life. Also, Ralph's choices- especially his choice in friends- are sometimes frustrating. The only reason I don't give it five stars, is because I wasn't very satisfied with the events that occurred or the ending of the story. However, that's how his life was, and he only wrote what happened to him.
March 6, 2024
Extremely well written, as were the last. We love following Ralph on his adventures.
However, he seems to have come to be such an enabler of Lonny as well as so dishonest... And this is not recognized by the end of the book, but we are left feeling like he is fine with these things.
I get that it is his life, and so he has to work with that truth, I just was left feeling let down reading this with my children who were beginning to really admire his growth and cleverness.
I wish he could have somehow addressed these issues. I hope he can redeem his virtue a bit in the next one... Or we will sadly have to walk away.
However, he seems to have come to be such an enabler of Lonny as well as so dishonest... And this is not recognized by the end of the book, but we are left feeling like he is fine with these things.
I get that it is his life, and so he has to work with that truth, I just was left feeling let down reading this with my children who were beginning to really admire his growth and cleverness.
I wish he could have somehow addressed these issues. I hope he can redeem his virtue a bit in the next one... Or we will sadly have to walk away.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2018
Kinda slow moving, and while Ralph's patience and generosity with Lonnie is maybe a little commendable, at some point it's just obnoxious, and Lonnie is obnoxious and you question whether Ralph has any brains at all.
Also, he seems to have lost any problems he might have had before about lying to his mother. :l
Also, he seems to have lost any problems he might have had before about lying to his mother. :l
June 17, 2024
It took me a while to read because it was so STRESSFUL ! there's a lot of lies by omission and flawed decision making in this book. nonetheless, the author's great descriptive language and crazy stories kept me coming back until i finished it.
June 2, 2023
This is my favorite book out of the series. By the end, Ralph realizes what is truly important.
June 8, 2023
This entire series has allowed me to live vicariously through Ralph Moody and I've enjoyed every part of it.
We see Bud as a young man, once again with no money, and still with health problems, use his resourceful mind, spirit of entrepreneurship, and most importantly his incredible emotional intelligence to lead and inspire those around him.
It is another amazing story from an amazing individual. An almost RPG-like story where the main character starts with nothing, and ends with everything: friends, money, the girl. The story alone is worth the read. It will keep you engaged.
The problem-solving and Moody's signature writing ability to walk us through his thought process as if it were our own is a cherry on top for me and anyone else who enjoys problem solving.
It was hard for me to put this book down.
We see Bud as a young man, once again with no money, and still with health problems, use his resourceful mind, spirit of entrepreneurship, and most importantly his incredible emotional intelligence to lead and inspire those around him.
It is another amazing story from an amazing individual. An almost RPG-like story where the main character starts with nothing, and ends with everything: friends, money, the girl. The story alone is worth the read. It will keep you engaged.
The problem-solving and Moody's signature writing ability to walk us through his thought process as if it were our own is a cherry on top for me and anyone else who enjoys problem solving.
It was hard for me to put this book down.
February 18, 2019
This is the sixth book in the series and we love reading them aloud—this one, not as much as the others. It still has Ralph’s well-written style, was interesting, but something was missing for us. Maybe it’s just that he is on his own now, maybe because he had a friend who we didn’t exactly like or maybe that it was mono-thematic. In any case it didn’t keep our attention like the other ones did and their wasn’t an ending—just kind of a pause. At some point we will get to the next book, and hopefully there will be an ending to the situation as it was left here (so as not to give spoilers I won’t say more.) (i would like to see what his busts looked like though.) if you are reading the series read it Because it is a part of his life, but it was different.
August 6, 2018
I love the business principles in the book. He strikes on a gold vein and makes a ton of money, yet some of his decisions aren't the best. "Lonnie" is really just a freeloader who turns down a job, gets Ralph to spend hundreds of dollars on him for no apparent reason, doesn't do any part of the actual business while Ralph earns all the money, and gets Ralph into a terrible deal with a used car that they spend so much money on it he would have been better off getting a brand new vehicle. He would have been so much better off and way richer if Lonnie had never entered the picture. A must read for anyone, especially those who like business/entrepreneurship.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2021
Ralph is now nineteen and skinny as a rail. He recently was diagnosed with diabetes and his Boston doctor sends him out west for a better climate. He was told to get plenty of sun and eat a proper diet. Well, at first Ralph was short on cash and took any job he could get a hold of. His one job consisted of riding horses for a movie outfit. Then he connected with a buddy of his and he and Lonnie purchased an old fliver aptly named Shiftless. While Ralph made busts of bankers and lawyers to make money, Lonnie spent it nearly as fast on his beloved car and on girls. It was a learning experience for both boy's.
February 21, 2024
Moody’s style is simple and easy to read. He writes casually and colloquially, giving the book a comfortable feel. Values such as work ethic and integrity are endorsed, while Lonnie must learn the hard way why Ralph practices these principles. Ralph isn’t a perfect character either though, and he must learn from mistakes as well. There are also positive messages about money and work. But admittedly, the plot moved much more slowly than previous books in the series and after a certain point became somewhat repetitive. This would be a good story for young boys interested in the western theme.
June 26, 2019
During the years that I home educated my brood we managed to read through Ralph Moody's first 5 books as a family and they were wonderfully entertaining, inspiring and delightful. Ralph Moody told his own stories, the highs and the lows, with a spirit of strong optimism, hope and even joy. He lived his life well and then wrote one of the best biographical series of books I've ever had the joy to read.
In his own words...
"When I was twenty-one I got a diary as a birthday present and I wrote in it that I was going to work as hard as I could, save fifty thousand dollars by the time I was fifty, and then start writing."
True to his word, he did start writing on the night of his fiftieth birthday."
In his own words...
"When I was twenty-one I got a diary as a birthday present and I wrote in it that I was going to work as hard as I could, save fifty thousand dollars by the time I was fifty, and then start writing."
True to his word, he did start writing on the night of his fiftieth birthday."
November 20, 2025
Read this one to my kids, and we all enjoyed it. Ralph again shows great resourcefulness in finding ways to earn his living under some very difficult circumstances. Along the way he had to be a bit less than forthright, but I think the only really bad example he gives is of consistently lying to his mother to avoid worrying her. He spends a lot of time dealing with a lazy friend he picked up along the way, and the automobile that Ralph brought them.
I'd put this somewhere in the middle of the pack of the Little Britches books we've ready so far.
I'd put this somewhere in the middle of the pack of the Little Britches books we've ready so far.
July 11, 2019
I just didn’t enjoy this book as much as the previous ones. I think he did a fine job of telling the tale, and the twist at the end was satisfying/frustrating, but overall, I didn’t love the story. There is a big time gap between this book and the previous one. I was able to locate information about what happened in that gap, but I wish he had written about it. It feels like he left his readers hanging.
December 26, 2019
After being given a “death sentence“ Ralph doesn’t give up, but heads west and tries to follow the doctor’s orders. But he has to take some foolhardy actions in order to support himself and send money back home to his family. Along the way he meets a friend named Lonnie who has some character flaws, But has a good heart. Just like the previous books in the series, I really enjoyed this one. It was great as an audiobook. I look forward to listening to the next one in the series.
July 7, 2022
I am enjoying this series so much. I love the characters, and I look forward to what challenges Ralph will get himself into next. This novel however gave me pause in terms of how Ralph told lies to his mother and how at times he treated his business associates and his companion. This book felt a bit out of character of his typical, hard working, honest ways. Again, I look forward to books 7 and 8 and will be sad when the series is over.
October 28, 2022
As usual, Ralph Moody did a great job of telling his story in a relatable and humorous way. I sometimes have a hard time in the early parts of his writing before I get invested in the story, but I always end up getting hooked. This was one of those. It was also a pretty quick read. I really appreciated his example of a good work ethic even though he didn't find the type of work he thought he would.
May 3, 2018
Ralph Moody is growed up to a young man, and forced to return west for climate to take care of his health. He heads out with plans to be a cow puncher, but circumstances force him to get creative to make a living and stay alive. A seriously good book, and a brilliant insights into a by gone era. Very enjoyable.
April 28, 2019
Based on some of the reviews, we almost skipped this book in the series, but I’m glad we didn’t. It might not be my favorite season of Ralph’s life, but it’s part of his story. And who hasn’t gone through their own “desert” wanderings? He made some poor choices, but his resourcefulness, common sense, and resilience still shine through.
March 23, 2020
4* Ralph Moody's adventures never cease! He goes from earning money as a stunt rider in old western movies to sculpting clay busts for bankers in western towns to working as a ranch hand. Ralph meets up with broke cowboy Lonnie who shares his adventures through the book. The old car they've got is named Shiftless:) I am enjoying the series!
May 7, 2020
The honorable, hard-working, entrepreneurial Ralph I thought I knew becomes a young man I don’t understand as his story continues amid a series of questionable decisions. Ralph’s circumstances kept me nervous through the whole book and left me on a cliffhanger that I hope will resolve pleasantly in the next book.
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