(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Like legions of girls, I became a rabid Little House on the Prairie fan as a child. I devoured the books, inhaled the television series, and spent hours imagining what it would be like to live Laura's seemingly-charmed life. Although I've been meaning to revisit the books as an adult, it's taken me a long time to do it. I finally picked up Little House in the Big Woods a few months ago and enjoyed the nostalgic re-read.
If you've been living under a rock and you don't already know, Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiographical series about growing up in Wisconsin during the late 1800s. Full of fascinating details about homesteading and life on the prairie, the novel doesn't have much of a plot. It's very episodic, highlighting the Ingalls' experiences with inclement weather, wildlife, farming, family, and eking out a life in the wilds of Middle America. Overall, it paints a fairly cozy, romantic picture of life in that place and period.
While I didn't find Little House in the Big Woods quite as engrossing as I did as a child, I still enjoyed it. There's a reason it's a classic, a reason it's stood the test of time, and that's because it's really very charming. I still love the story (plot-less, though it may be) and am excited to continue re-reading the series.
(Readalikes: other books in the series, including Little House on the Prairie; Farmer Boy; On the Banks of Plum Creek; By the Shores of Silver Lake; The Long Winter; Little Town on the Prairie; These Happy Golden Years; and The First Four Years)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for some scary images
To the FTC, with love: This is a selection from my personal library.
I've thought about rereading these books. Like you, I loved them as a young girl. And that was before the TV show. Ha! I probably won't take them on again though. Too many other books that appeal more. Enjoy the rest!
ReplyDeleteI would be afraid to re-read these books since I absolutely LOVED them as a child. What if they didn't hold up?
ReplyDeleteI like the later books in the series best...from Little House on the Prairie on up to Happy Golden Years. They're my favorites. (Although I tend to skip over Farmer Boy and By the Shores of Silver Lake.)
ReplyDeleteMy mom wanted me to love these books and pushed them on me as a kid. Sadly I could never get into them. She read them over and over. Wish I could have loved them for her but I just never could.
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