I actually read First Boy before I read Trouble and originally thought I would discuss them in that order.  But today is my Dad’s 73rd birthday, and so I had to save First Boy for today! 

I intend to give this book to my father for his own reading.  I’ve often said that the good middler and YA novels of today are rich enough to satisfy adult readers and cannot be fully appreciated by young adults with their limited experience.  My Dad will fully appreciate this novel. 

You see, Cooper Jewett is a farm boy.  Although he is only 14, Cooper is a New Hampshire Dairy Man trying to keep it all together and get it all done.  As a retired Illinois farmer, my Dad will identify with this novel.  Although my father raised hogs himself, my grandpa kept dairy cows throughout my Dad’s childhood and mine.  (Actually, I think dairy cows keep you – they keep you tied down even more than other livestock which is why my father never had them!)

My Dad will approve of Cooper’s attitudes and values.  He will recognize and empathize with the struggles.  He knows about feeding the stock before you feed yourself.  He knows about balancing school work with farm chores for Dad taught school in addition to farming.  (Most farmers I know, and most of their wives, work elsewhere to support their farming habit!)  My father knows what it is like to have the barn burn to the ground in twenty minutes.  He knows what it is like to run into a burning barn to save livestock.  And he knows about good food, tacturn farm family members, and church folk and neighbors who will lift you up when you need it.

In addition to the richness of the rural setting and the unusual farm themed plot, Schmidt throws politics, mystery and intrigue into the mix for this novel.  The simple farm life is juxtaposed with the complications of dirty politics.  First Boy has enough action and drama to keep young readers turning the pages.  A less complicated narrative than Wednesday Wars or Trouble, I liked it just as much.  And I am happy that this is an offering from Schmidt which I can recommend to my less dedicated young readers.

So happy reading to you all - I recommend Schmidt’s First Boy.  And Happy Birthday to the “first boy” I ever loved - my dad.