A Man of the Family

By: Elizabeth Burleson

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: As far as Speck was concerned, being the baby of the family was a disadvantage. Now that he had just passed his thirteenth birthday, he was bound and determined to prove to his mother, father, two older brothers, and sister that he was well on his way to becoming a man of the family. But being a man around a Texas ranch is hard work. This Speck learns when, trying to pen the stallion Big Red, he accidentally lets the other horses get away, and must bring them back to the corral by himself. All the same, Speck loves his ranch and everything connected with it. And he is thrilled when he is finally allowed to take part in the excitement of horse breaking, sheep marking, and other adult jobs. When Speck’s older brother Ab is thrown from a horse and seriously injured, Speck is given more responsibility around the ranch. He experiences many new and exciting things, such as hunting for wolves, herding sheep by himself, earning the big stetson hat he has always wanted, and catching a runaway thoroughbred horse. Speck tackles all his new tasks with enthusiasm and finds — despite having to learn about mortgages, drought, floods, and other serious problems of a ranch — that it feels very good to be included as "a man of the family.”