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Coop

a Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting
Dec 11, 2016DBRL_KrisA rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Michael Perry is a little bit Mark Twain, a handful of Garrison Keillor, and a whole lot of Calvin Trillin. More than that, though, his descriptions of growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm remind me of my own childhood. No, I didn't grow up on a dairy farm, and there were only six kids (usually) around our dinner table at night, but the things like Popcorn Sunday and playing softball in the pasture and government cheese remind me of all that was good about my childhood. Perry alternates this with tales of how he and his wife are trying to raise all their own food (gardening, raising pigs and chickens), home-school her daughter (technically, his step-daughter, but you'll never hear him call her that - he's a better father than a lot of "real" dads), and generally live a quiet, do-unto-others type life. Easily one of the best books I've ever read.