Nine-year-old Almanzo lives with his family on a big farm in New York State at the end of the nineteenth century. He raises his own two calves, helps cut ice and shear sheep, and longs for the day he can have his own colt.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year. A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. A story of love and loss, and the evolution of farm life as the 20th century unfolded, narrated by a feisty farm woman as she reflects on her life.