Little House in the Big Woods

Little House #1

by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Garth Williams (Illustrator)

Laura Ingalls's story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Four-year-old Laura lives in the little house with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack.

Pioneer life is sometimes hard, since the family must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her folks celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town. And every night they are safe and warm in their little house, with the happy sound of Pa's fiddle sending Laura and her sisters off to sleep.

And so begins Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved story of a pioneer girl and her family. The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America's frontier past and a heartwarming, unforgettable story.

Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Middle Grade

238 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Ingalls wrote a series of historical fiction books for children based on her childhood growing up in a pioneer family. She also wrote a regular newspaper column and kept a diary as an adult moving from South Dakota to Missouri, the latter of which has been published as a book.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't need magic to make a series magical.

Four-year-old Laura Ingalls Wilder lives with her Ma, Pa and sisters, Mary & Carrie, in a little house in the big woods of Wisconsin in 1871.

We follow a year in the life of Laura - from celebrating Christmas to the fall harvest.

The Ingalls family is always bustling about and preparing for the next season. There very survival depends on their cooperation.

In the winter, we watch them make maple sugar, in spring they plant the garden, the summer they play in the fields and fall they gather their ccrops.

From corn-husk dolls to pig roasts to sugaring-off parties - they are busy, busy, busy.

"The barrels of salted fish were in the pantry, and yellow cheeses were stacked on the pantry shelves."

Despite the tough circumstances, they always make it work with Ma's gentle guidance and Pa's happy fiddle.

"She was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago."

For a series written so long ago and geared towards young children, this holds so well.

All the little details make this story come alive.

Every time I go back to this story, I am just as enraptured and enthralled as I was when I was a little girl.

All activities seem so different from the commonplace childhood memories I have...and yet, I identified so closely with Laura when I was younger.

I couldn't have been the only kid wishing our attic was filled with preserves or wanting to roast a pig tail. I'll even admit, I wanted to kick around the ol' pig bladder just to see what it was like.

The love, and friendship, and happiness Laura experiences along with the harsh and hungry winters truly makes for a wonderful story.

The little tales from Pa brings this book to life and Ma's gentle nurturing firmly holds together the family. Every time I read this series, I think about my own family. And give my Ma and Pa a call.

"But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa’s fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods."

Audiobook Comments
Narrated by Cherry Jones and accompanied on the fiddle by Paul Woodielv. Paul gave life to Pa's songs and Cherry truly made this audiobook a masterpiece. Loved every word of it.

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started rereading this series because of John Scieszka's bizarre hatred of Little House on the Prairie. In attempting the perfectly noble task of getting young boys to read more, Scieszka has continuously heaped scorn on that book, banishing it to the girl ghetto of the Sweet Valley High and American Girls series. Putting aside the unfair comparison to syndicate titles published for purely commercial reasons, his assesment of Little House as a book purely for girls is infuriating.

For one thing, gender-segregated reading rubs me the wrong way. For another thing, these books contain aspects that any child might enjoy. There's farming, hunting, construction, cooking, locust plagues, wolf packs, riots, blizzards, tragedy, hope, family, hard work, preserverance, horses, dogs, railroads, envy, loss, and triumph. Ignore the sugary-sweet, insipid television series - these books are genuine and engaging.

[Lisa of Troy · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Stop crying, Laura….Don’t be so greedy.”

“Then he took down a strap from the wall, and he whipped Laura with the strap.”

Little House in the Big Woods has not aged well.

First, the book has graphic depictions of hunting and preparing carcasses. Reading this aloud was very uncomfortable especially for a pescatarian.

Second, the parents in Little House in the Big Woods were too harsh. My parenting philosophy can be described as, "Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!" Thanks, Ms. Frizzle! Contrast that with this book. In one scene, a little boy named Charley is stung by hundreds of yellow jackets. When the child is swollen and suffering tremendously, the father said, “It served the little liar right.” Whoa. Where is the compassion for this child? Where is the love thy neighbor? This child could have died!

This book gave me a bad feeling when I was reading it. Be gone, dark cloud! Be gone!

2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal

Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Insta My Bookstore at Pango

[Julie G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up with the Little House on the Prairie tv series, but I didn't read any of the actual books until my son was about seven. We read all nine books together, and before we knew what was happening, I was wearing a bonnet and we'd traveled to all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder historic sites in South Dakota, Minnesota and Missouri.

(I can only bless my son for his patience and grace that hot summer day as he stood politely over by a tree while I had an animated conversation and shared some hot tears with Laura, at her grave in Mansfield, Missouri).

When I read the series to my middle child, she'd already seen the photos of her mother's and brother's Laura Ingalls adventures, and she was ready to don the bonnet and aprons, but I told her she needed to wait until her little sister had experienced the books and then we'd go together, as a family.

This past week marked my youngest child's first exposure to the series, (this book being the perfect selection, also, for our “Wisconsin” entry of our Kids Read Across America project).

To be honest, I didn't know how this particular reading experience was going to go. This child, my third child, is my “Janis Joplin.” She moves around quite a bit while I'm reading to her, often humming or singing under her breath, and she's the most challenging of my kids to engage.

For the first several chapters of this book, she kept saying, “So that girl with the brown hair. She's telling the story?” When I explained that yes, this is Laura's story, and it's a true story, she would say, “So, she's still a girl?” When I explained that no, she's not a girl anymore, and she is in fact dead now, my daughter became horrified, and wondered how a dead woman wrote this story.

I'm not sure why we got stuck in this loop, but we did. For a couple of nights.

Eventually, the story completely took over her senses and she absolutely loved it. Loved it so much in fact, she demanded to know when we were going to “Laura's house,” like her big brother did when he was little. She also said she doesn't want to read any more states in our challenge, she just wants to read this series.

Wow. Can you believe, after all of these years, that this story of pioneer life in the 1870s is still so engaging to a modern child (even despite the descriptions of Pa slaughtering animals for dinner?)

This will be my favorite memory of reading this classic to my youngest child. . . when we got to the part where little Laura is sitting with her sister, Mary, there's this charming illustration of the sisters with their dolls:



I pointed out to my daughter that Mary had a rag doll made by her mother, but Laura had only a corncob for a doll. I explained “that's how things were, back then. Children didn't have as many things as they have now.”

My daughter was chomping on a big wad of gum at this moment, and she pointed at the corncob doll and said, “That? That piece of corn was her doll?”
I said, “Yep. Can you imagine that being all you had?”

She shook her head and said, “Damn.”

I looked at her and said, “Damn? That's adult language, honey. Where did you learn that word?”

She said, “The other day, Mommy, you said to Daddy: I can't get anything on this damn computer to work.”

Sigh.
Ma and Pa would be so proud, wouldn't they??

[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a story that tells of Laura’s early childhood and upbringing in Wisconsin during the 1870s. Readers learn how her family had to live and survive in a little log cabin during pioneer times.

In some ways life seems much simpler during this time period, but the hard work that was necessary to survive had to be arduous. Either you grew a garden and hunted or you didn’t eat. You chopped wood or didn’t have heat for the hard, frosty winters. There wasn’t much entertainment available or toys to play with. Children had daily chores that had to be done. Because Laura’s family are devout Christians, Sunday’s are reserved for church and Bible and nothing else. There were strict rules. I think young readers will be fascinated comparing what life was like then to how they live now.

This book was extremely thought-provoking to me. It conjured up thoughts from the past and present, making me think of the differences between my upbringing in the city compared to rural, country living now. When we moved over a decade ago I had visions of becoming a homesteader, until I was thrust into the harsh realities of raising animals for food. I learned really quick that I lacked something others around me didn’t: the capability to kill an animal that you nurtured and cared for. My first visit to the backyard butcher was like culture shock. That day my distant neighbor (who’s a homesteader) made the comment that my generation will never survive. Obviously when it comes down to survival, people will do what they have to, in contrast to our day and age now where it’s so convenient to just head to the supermarket and grab some meat that someone else processed, or produce someone else grew. In this book they’re hunting mainly wild deer, but they do have pigs that the children care for. The story gets quite graphic—sharing the preparation of the meat after hunting. Obviously I’m not a hunter either, but what if it came down to surviving and the need to feed my family without farmers? These are just some of the thoughts that came to mind when reading this with my children.

Overall, we enjoyed this story and have plans to finish the entire series. I always admire themes of family and kindness, and the love this family shares is something special. Times spent singing and listening to Pa’s fiddle by the fire were my favorites. The children do find ways to have fun during their chores which is nice. It’s such a cozy tale at times, written well with beautiful descriptions, and one we’ll likely revisit in the future.

If you’re reading this with children, I highly recommend the audio companion to the book by Cherry Jones. We used it along with the physical books. Cherry does a wonderful job with the audio and even sings along. It really brings the story to life.

4****

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My two younger daughters recently discovered the Little House series and are speeding through the books this summer. As I am in between books and wanted to avoid a reading rut, I decided to revisit the first book in the series for myself. As I am always on the lookout for quality children's books, I spent a few hours rereading the beginning of a series that I had enjoyed when I was my daughters' age.

Little House in the Big Woods begins the classic children's saga that follows Laura Ingalls Wilder on her journey from childhood to marriage. It features a wide eyed five year old girl who has her entire future ahead of her at a thrilling time in American history as the country has moved past the civil war and is starting to settle the west. Ingalls was born in 1867 in the big woods of Wisconsin. She lives with her parents and sisters Mary and Carrie in a log cabin in the middle of the woods and has rarely traveled anywhere other than to visit her grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins. The woods and all that was in it made up her entire life.

Even if the country was beginning to modernize, and we glimpse it with the horse powered threshing machine toward the end, the industrial revolution had yet to come to Wisconsin. The Ingalls family lived according to the seasons of the year, was a devout Christian family, and each member of the family worked from morning to night doing their share of chores. Pa hunted and farmed while Ma cooked, baked, and sewed the entire family's clothing from scratch. Mary and Laura were expected to do their share of chores as well, including helping with the dishes and basic needlepoint and cross stitch. Both girls were model citizens who children of today could learn many lessons from, especially in obeying their parents and knowing to be seen and not heard.

The edition I read is the collectors edition illustrated by Garth Williams. Williams had illustrated over one hundred books for children including the classic Charlotte's Web. His illustrations bring Laura's life to life as readers see her dancing at her grandpa's barn dance, going into town, and her daily life throughout the year. Williams met an adult Ingalls and traveled to all of her homes in order to view first hand how she lived. I felt the illustrations were vital as children are reading about a different era in history, and illustrations can assist them on their journey through time. Even an adult can benefit from viewing color illustrations as they can once again become captivated by a series they read as children.

As an elementary aged student, my favorite series was All of a Kind Family. I had much in common with the girls in the story and reread more times than I could count. Yet, Little House was easily a close second as I was and am a lover of history and enjoyed reading about a girl and her family in an earlier part of my nation's history. I am glad my daughters have discovered this series as we can share our memories of it as they continue Laura and her family's journey through life.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely Classic! I would absolutely fallen in love with this book if I had read it as a child.🥰The illustrations (colorized on ebooks) by Garth Williams are gorgeous.

This is the first book in the "Little House" series. It's 1870s in Big Woods of Wisconsin, a little girl named Laura lives in a little gray log house with her Pa, Ma, her sister Mary and baby sister Carrie. They have Jack a brindle bulldog and Black Susan the cat. What a joy to read about their day-to-day life!

"...the Big Woods stood all around the house, and beyond them were other trees and beyond them were more trees. As far as a man could go to the north in a day, or a week, or a whole month, there was nothing but woods. There were no houses. There were no roads. There were no people. There were only trees and the wild animals who had their homes among them."

[Bookishrealm]

So I'm currently working my way through the Little House series. I read a few of these as a child and watched a little of the TV Show. There has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding these books as the award (Laura Ingalls Wilder Award) was removed by the ALA and changed to the Children's Literature Legacy Award. For my own personal reasons, I wanted to go back and read this series as an adult and truly understand the intricacy of the controversy surrounding it. For that reason, I will be reviewing these titles, but leaving them unrated.

Before I begin this review, I want to point out that these stories are stories of their time. Some of the content gives readers insight to what it was like for families such as Laura's to live and survive during the 1800s and some of the content is harmful. As a librarian, it is against my personal code of ethics to tell people not to read a book. However, I try to encourage all readers to read these stories and use it as an opportunity to discuss why the content is harmful to certain groups. I also encourage readers to try stories that give a scope of this time period without all of the problematic content and come from marginalized voices that are often underrepresented.

Little House in the Big Woods is interesting in the fact that it doesn't really have much of a plot. Readers simply follow Laura and her family through day to day activities or special holidays. Nevertheless, it does set the stage for understanding the ins and outs of settler life. The way in which they caught animals for food, interacted with others, celebrated holidays, and more will prove to be interesting for children reading this from a 21st century perspective. In the same regard, there are parts of the text that warrant discussion and illustrate the casual racism that existed in the 19th century. One that stood out to me that I had to read over and over occurred during a song that Pa sang to Laura and her sister. The lyrics included the term "darkey" which is a clear reference to a Black person. As a Black person, it is never a thought in my mind to excuse racial slurs and even at 31 and reading this in 2022, I was extremely uncomfortable. I couldn't imagine reading this to my daughter (at a young age) and having to have a conversation about why people thought it was remotely appropriate to use such a term and in such a casual situation. It; however, was the norm for Laura and her family. There is no conversation about the inhabitation of land that technically did not belong to the Ingalls family or any other settlers which unfortunately, for me, was expected. As with a lot of these older books, the idea or consideration for Native/Indigenous communities never seems to exist.

I understand that many people hold this book and the rest of the series dear to their hearts because it was such a huge part of their childhood; however, I think that it is just as important to point out what behaviors and language are no longer appropriate, but are clearly woven into the pages of these stories. That doesn't mean that there aren't lessons to be taken from this or that it doesn't provide a historical picture of life in the 19th century; however, I think it is detrimental to ignore the harmful content and not use it as a means for open dialogue. There were parts of the story that I did find interesting, but I think that reading this as a BIPOC woman made the experience a little different. Stories have a way of making people feel seen and also unseen. So while this may be such a fond memory for many, I can only question the level of discomfort and pain that it causes others. Does this mean that we cancel these books? Absolutely not. However, I think that openly engaging with this text without true discernment of it's harmful content doesn't do good either.

Overall, I can see why these stories would be appealing to children. The adventure and suspense of life out in the wilderness would seem fun to many. I will be continuing the series, but with caution and keen awareness to some of the content that often goes unaddressed.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another classic read with the kids!

I think as we get more into an era where kids don’t know a time without computers and easily accessible technology, books like Little House in the Big Woods will start to appeal less to the young crowd. Listening to stories of pioneer life is so far removed from what they know it is at times incomprehensible. At least when I was a kid we were not all that far removed from a simpler and less wired lifestyle. I do think my kids enjoyed the time we took to read this together, but it was much less easier for them to stay interested in than in some other books we read (Willy Wonka and his fantastic factory and elevator, Bunnicula the vampire rabbit, Ralph and his Motorcycle (which also had some more old timey content that was a bit hard to connect to, but nothing like Little House)). I will continue to read to them and hope to keep the spirit of these classics alive.

I know that this was the second time reading this. I vividly remember the cover as the same one from elementary school. But before I re-read it, it would have been impossible for me to tell you anything about it. However, as our family got into it, I noticed some of the parts were very familiar. Apparently, I had retained a lot of the content, but my brain hadn’t filed it with any point of reference. I kept looking at my wife and kids while I was reading and saying, “Hey, I remember this!”

But I am also pretty sure that this is the only book I read in the series. I never moved on to Little House on the Prairie and I never watched the television show. Maybe this time I will move on to the second book with my family. Seems like I really must at some point to get the full feel of this classic series.

One major thing to point out about the first book that stood out to me, and is not really a criticism - it just is what it is – is that there is not a whole lot of plot. The point of the book is that each chapter shares a little bit of what life was like for the children while living through the year secluded in the big woods. So, instead of a beginning, middle, and end, you get a series of detailed anecdotes about some aspect of life in the cabin. I would be interested to know if that is how the rest of the series is as well.

This selection is worth checking out – especially if you are looking for something easy to read with the kids.

Disclaimer: Frequently as of late, books and movies have been putting disclaimers on content with dated cultural depictions. While Little House in the Big Woods does seem sweet and innocent, there is a song sung by the father with racial slurs. I am sure it was representative of what was acceptable at the time, but I wanted to make sure that anyone who might be sensitive to this know about it up front.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Little House on the Prairie books bring back so many good memories. I have been looking for my box of old books for awhile now but still haven't found it. I'm really hoping it didn't get lost when I moved last year. There are so many books that I would love to re-read.

I'm not sure why I didn't read these to my daughter. I think she had so many books that we just never got around to it.

Little House in the Big Woods is the first book of the series and will always be my favorite, but I did enjoy all of the books in the collection. I tried to find the edition on here that looked most like what I remember, and I think this is the same cover that was on my book.

I can clearly my mom reading it to me before I could read myself. Sitting on my bed next to her watching as she read. Once I was able to read it myself I picked it up again to read to her, watching as her fingers slid underneath the words and helping me with the hard ones. She mentioned the other day that it's one of her favorite memories too.

I loved all of the characters. Laura, Ma, Pa, Carrie and Mary as well as many others. I dreamt of living in that little cabin in the woods and desperately wanted Laura Ingalls as a best friend. The fun and adventures these children had along with their dog, Jack was entertaining every time it was read to me or by me.

When it was turned into a TV show, I was escastic! I remember it was on every Sunday at 6pm on Channel 2. I was allowed to watch it while sitting in my dads lazy-boy recliner and nothing could tear me away.

If I can't find my old books I will definitley buy another collection as I would love to re-read them at some point.

Even writing this review has brought back great memories of these wonderful stories <3

[Janssen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, I loved re-reading this so so much. It was just magic.

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

How is it possible that I have never read these books growing up? When I came across the series at a used bookstore for $1 each, I just had to snag them all. I love the vivid portrayal of simple family life, and the descriptions of -40 degree winter makes me snuggle down that much more! Looking forward to the rest of the series!

[Crumb · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting interpretation of what life was like in 1871. There is discussion of what life was like with absolutely no technology. This is a book children would definitely warm to more than an adult, in my opinion.

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute but kind of read like an instructional guide for six year olds on how to survive in the Wisconsin winter, and i'm not sure where there's a market for instructional guides for six year olds on how to survive in the Wisconsin winter.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little House in the Big Woods is what Walden wishes it was, or could have been if Thoreau wasn't such a dick. Laura and her family aren't misanthropic creeps - and they have real skills, unlike vacationing Thoreau. But the book is about self-reliance, getting back to the basics, and living in harmony with nature. It shares a philosophy with Walden - along with two other sortof less-great things.

The first is a hopeless lack of plot, and that frustrated me when I first read it. And I do mean first read: this was the first chapter book I ever read all by myself. I battled through the entire series, because my mother told me I'd be a good reader when I was done, and I suppose it worked (I can read!) but honestly I should have just stuck to comic books; the meandering pace here wasn't a great match for little me. (Some of the Little House books have more plot than others.)

The second thing Little House shares with Walden is that it's bullshit. Thoreau went home to his mommy when he wanted cookies, and Laura's real life family were subsistence farmers always one bad season away from starving to death. Wilder leaves out her real brother's death in infancy to focus on singing by the fire. Both books hide the hardships of the lives they promote.

Wilder's book was published in 1932, during the Depression, and it was a collaboration between Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, who was a successful novelist and also a rabid libertarian who advocated the assassination of New Dealing FDR and threatened to do it herself. This is the story Lane and Wilder want to sell you: hardy stock living by their own hard work without government interference. In reality, the Wilders lived harsh and desperate lives. Young, just-married Laura's first farm failed, and she lost it. It was only these books that finally pulled her out of a life of poverty - these books, which advocated exactly the grueling life they rescued her from.

That said, this is still a great source of information about such topics as:
- Making maple sugar
- Square dancing
- How much Laura's sister sucks
- Why children should be seen and not heard - remember when that was a thing? Ha!
- Old-timey songs, and there's a song about an "old darkey" who dies that you will need to watch out for if you're reading this to your child. It's in chapter 5. That's the only truly oh-shit content.
- Weaving straw hats
- Old-time candy - if there is a plot, it's that Laura Ingalls Wilder has a sweet tooth; this book is basically about candy
- Leaving babies in a pile on a bed while everyone does square dancing
- Extremely specific gender roles

It's pleasant enough to read, if a little boring. Just keep in mind, when Laura says,

"This is now."

She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

It can never be now, either; it never existed at all.

[Duane Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Little House Series, and somewhat overlooked due to the popularity of the second book, Little House on the Prairie. I've read both and liked both; this volume being a wonderful introduction to Laura and the Ingalls familly. I didn't read this series as a child, but as an adult I've come to appreciate it's beauty, and it's importance in the canon of American Children's Literature. Some may say this is too simple for adults to appreciate, and starting out it seems that way, but the more you read the more you realize that Ingall's style is perfect for this type of story. I'm glad I started the series and I look forward to reading more.

Revised January 2018.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is sure to make you want to churn butter, and knit mittens, and harvest sap to make maple syrup. And once you’ve done all that, you’ll crave family stories and fiddle tunes, enjoyed around a toasty fire.

Yessir, this book amounts to 85% homesteading work, 15% family bonding exercises.

As a direct consequence of reading this book, I found myself inspired to finish all the mending projects I’ve been putting off, to make an overnight bone broth from Thanksgiving leavings, and to take a six mile hike along the Blue River in MO. I’ve also logged less screen-time and fostered more intentional connections with the people I love.

Isn’t that strange? A book that magically transforms chores and physical exertion and human connection into the most sparkly, fulfilling uses of one’s time. It's a Christmas miracle!!

As glossed over as Laura Ingalls Wilder’s youthful recollections may be, the sheer, darn-tootin’ wholesomeness of it all is sure to have a positive effect on all who partake.

Book/Song Pairing: Money Musk (Pa's Fiddle Band)

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was AMAZING! Such a classic, and the vibe it gave was just... 😍😍😍

P.S. The official audiobook version has singing and fiddle music every chapter!

[Glenn Sumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was familiar with the TV show based on this series, but I’d never read the books themselves. What a delight!

There’s not much plot in this first book, which isn’t set on the prairie (that’s book #3) but in a little log house in a forest outside Pepin, Wisconsin in the early 1870s. Wilder recounts a year in the life of her family – she’s there in her autobiographical alter ego, bright middle child Laura – and most of it has to do with household and seasonal farm chores, with vignettes about rag dolls, Christmas, dangerous animals, visiting town for the first time, etc.

Wilder was in her 60s when she wrote this, and the clear, effective writing is suffused with a nostalgic but never sentimental air. You get a subtle sense of the differences between her and her more proper and attractive older sister, Mary, and you wonder at the life of their mother, who left what seemed to have been a more genteel upbringing in the east for a challenging, often hard life in the middle of nowhere.

Wilder’s respect for the land and nature – and her love for her family – comes through in every page. And the descriptions of things like churning butter and collecting maple syrup are more vivid than anything you might see on the Food Network.

I’m so impressed I now plan to read the other books in this series.

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa’s fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods. She looked at Pa sitting on the bench by the hearth, the firelight gleaming on his brown hair and beard and glistening on the honey-brown fiddle. She looked at Ma, gently rocking and knitting.

She thought to herself, “This is now.”

She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.”


Simply the best passsage of American prose. Never once read it without tears. This morning my student said, "Miss Cindy, are you crying?" I was supposed to finish the book on Tuesday but it was a rough day for me because of my dad and so I knew better than to read the last chapter on that day.

[Laurel Wicke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this to my daughter has helped me rediscover the joy of the Little House series all over again. Probably the best gift this little book has to offer is that of perspective. How blessed but complicated our lives seem now. How very different and yet the same. I loved sharing a slice of history with my child who has no concept of life before dvr's, minivans, and microwaves. That a child could be happy with a corncob doll was a unique thought. This series should be on the reading list for every mother.

[Tharindu Dissanayake · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mary was bigger than Laura, and she had a rag doll named Nettie. Laura had only a corncob wrapped in a handkerchief, but it was a good doll. It was named Susan. It wasn't Susan't fault that she was only a corncob. Sometimes Mary let Laura hold Nettie, but she did it only when Susan couldn't see."

Came across this book, probably after more than 20 years since I read it first, and couldn't help but re-reading it again. Back then, this used to be my favorite book, and I remember reading it so many times over and over. Now, though it is a very short book, I still enjoyed it, and got to relive that original feeling to some extent, taking me back to those wonderful times. I believe, anyone who had read this when they were little could easily relate to what I'm saying. Laura was, is and will be one of my all time favorite fictional characters.

It's harder to pinpoint what exactly makes this so beautiful. May be it's the cozy little house, or lovely little family, or may be just how the Author manages to put it all together. Matters little to me that it's a children's book - for me, this has no age limit.

"But it had been a wonderful day, the most wonderful day in her whole life. She thought about the beautiful lake, and the town she had seen, and the big store full of so many things. She held the pebbles carefully in her lap, and her candy heart wrapped carefully in her handkerchief until she got home and could put it away to keep always. It was too pretty to eat."

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a few years now, I've been interviewing my twins after they finish reading their books, posting those interviews on their own goodreads profile. My girl, Brontë, finished reading Little House in the Big Woods about a month ago, and I read it this week (I always read or reread the books they've read.) You can see that interview with me right here:

Brontë: So first ... did you like it? did you love it? or did you hate? did you think it was okay? or did you really like it?

Pa: I loved it. It was good. Much better than I expected.

Brontë: Who was your favourite character?

Pa: Hmmm ... that's a tough one because I loved Pa and Laura a lot, but I also dug Ma. Mary's a bit of pain, but to be fair, the story is being told by Laura, and little sisters don't tend to be too kind to their older sisters. So maybe I can't judge Mary on that. But I guess I like Pa the best because he's really the focus of the story for Laura. He's the one she talks most about. And he seems like a pretty good guy.

Brontë: Interesting.

Pa: Did you expect something different? Did you think I'd like someone else?

Brontë: I thought you'd say Laura, but my second favourite was Pa.

Pa: So we're reversed.

Brontë: Yeah.

Pa: I figured you'd like Laura best.

Brontë: What was your favourite moment and your favourite chapter?

Pa: My favourite moment was when Ma slapped the bear in the night. That was awesome. And my favourite chapter was the Maple Syrup dance on the day of the sugar snow. That was pretty cool. I loved how everyone really just had fun even with all the hard work that still had to be done.

Brontë: Did you like the Harvest chapter?

Pa: That must have been your favourite.

Brontë: It was one of my favourites.

Pa: Yeah. I liked it. It was awesome. Charley deserved to get stung by the bees.

Brontë: Yeah he did. When that happened I almost said, "Get off your lazy butt and do some work!"

Pa: Yeah he was lazy all right, and a total pain the ass. Pa didn't approve of the way Charley ignored his Dad, did he?

Brontë: No, he didn't. I thought the same thing. I love how in the picture when he was wrapped in the bandages all the girls were staring at him with mean faces on.

Pa: That's something else I loved, the art.

Brontë: Oh yeah, the art was beautiful.

Pa: But Laura's writing was even more beautiful. I was impressed.

Brontë: I agree.

Pa: It was so clear and descriptive, and I felt like I was there sometimes.

Brontë: Me too. Every moment I felt like I watched it in my head.

Pa: It's cool when you read a book like that.

Brontë: And then I could look at the pictures and think, that's what the boys and girls look like and watch it in my head as I read.

Pa: I think I could see what they looked like even without the pictures.

Brontë: Yeah, me too.

Pa: The writing was just that good.

Brontë: Especially what she said, like in the dance part when the girls were getting ready, and she described what the dresses looked like and you could totally see the dresses in your head.

Pa: Darn good book. Thanks for reading it so I could.

Brontë: No problem. Don't forget to say thanks to Auntie Marci too.

Pa: And Ma. It's her book.

Brontë: Yeah, you're right.

Pa: So when are you going to read Little House on the Prairie?

Brontë: Umm ... after I finish The Templeton Twins.

Pa: I'm looking forward to it.

[Justin Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as I know, my mother enjoyed only two books: The Bible and Little House on the Prairie. The Bible was a hard pass for me, but I can get into Laura Ingalls Wilder. She's clear about the difficulties of pioneer life, but also showcases a joy in simple living that is infectious.

Pa is the real star of the show, with his fiddle at the ready and a vivid story or two not far behind. The girls and Ma have their charms too. Certainly Laura's innocent perspective is a wonderful lens to reflect on the process of churning butter and slaughtering the family pig.

With so little to do while living an isolated life in the woods, the excitement the girls feel when literally anything happens makes for great reading. The real art to the story, perhaps, is in Wilder's ability to abridge pioneer life so that only the fascinating bits remain.

Reading the book as an adult, there is a cloud that looms over the events, knowing this era of American history was not all fun and games for large swaths of people. We get some insight into the era when Pa sings about the "darkies" in a flippant way. Still, in portrayal at least, Laura's family are kind-hearted people whose lives I wish to follow.

One of the most powerful moments occurs when Pa tells the story of how he stayed out all night planning to shoot a deer or bear, but every time he had opportunity for the shot he became mesmerized by the animal's majestic beauty. While this may have been an excuse he gave to the girls to explain a lack of meat in the morning, it made me like him a lot.

Will definitely be moving on to other books in the series soon. Great stuff!

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was obsessed with the Litte House books and the TV show when I was a child. I think I began reading and re-reading the books in second grade. This time around I listened to it on audio, and it was my first time "reading" the book as an adult. I have to admit, I think this book may have played a big part in my choice to be a vegetarian at a young age! It's hard to imagine my 8-year-old self making sense out of the hunting, etc. The farm life in the woods is not for me! That said, the book will always hold a special place in my reading heart, and I hope to re-read and/or listen to all of the books in the series again.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still re-reading some childhood favorites! I don't remember this one so much, but definitely Little House on the Prairie. I'm surprised to see that one doesn't come until the 3rd installment of the series.

[Lori Keeton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful blast from my past to pick up this first book in the series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My favorite TV show when I was little was Little House on the Prairie. I wanted to be Laura Ingalls! I lived vicariously through her as I watched her life portrayed on my TV and just thought how awesome it would have been to live on the prairie with the Ingalls family.

This is written perfectly for a pre-teen, tween age about her life growing up in the pioneer times in Wisconsin. This is such a beautiful story of a loving family who always works and plays together. We see a year in the life of the Ingalls’ family and get to look in on their daily lives. Ma and Pa Ingalls and their 3 daughters, Mary, Laura and Carrie live in a log cabin in the middle of the Big Woods. This was a time and a lifestyle so different from today. Food must be grown and meat must be hunted. Clothes were made and everything was useful. Pa playing his fiddle before they went to bed and the girls begging him to tell them stories is so reminiscent of a simpler time and way of life. I particularly enjoyed reading the scene about Mary and Laura’s dolls:

Mary was bigger than Laura, and she had a rag doll named Nettie. Laura had only a corncob wrapped in a handkerchief, but it was a good doll. It was named Susan. It wasn't Susan's fault that she was only a corncob. Sometimes Mary let Laura hold Nettie, but she did it only when Susan couldn't see.

These are books that I look forward to reading with grandchildren some day. I only remember reading Farmer Boy to my boys when they were little. I wish I had read them all to them. What wonderful conversations we could have had about pioneer living. I own all of these books and will look forward to the day (when I have grandchildren) when I can share some of my favorite books with a new generation!

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

No plot, but still an addictive story of a life style both idyllic and boring as hell. And torturous Sundays!

[Cam (Lana Belova) · Rating 4 out of 5]

GARTH WILLIAMS
On the Banks of Plum Creek, (The Little House Series), original cover art

Sometimes it’s difficult to capture the real colour of a story, but not with this one. There were so many endearing moments I want to someday return to. The colour of kindness, maybe? Because, as I think, every reader cannot help but become kinder to every creature alive after experiencing this wonderful story.
The Christmas feel to the story there was - wintery scenes in here were like the festive postcards so beautifully depicted. And at the same time, when my eyes settled on the pages where the thawing and snow melting had begun, I thought that the real spring is outside - it's how vivid those descriptions were as if you could even go walking into all those green woods with wild flowers' clearings under endless blue sky with white clouds and brightly shining sun. Those have to be among the most green sceneries there are in the literature.



I loved to be immersed in a little child Laura's world - the way she thinks and feels, and experiences the outside world. Through her eyes I was able to see all around the place she lives in: endless woods in different shades of green, shimmering blue water and looking hazy blue hills; dearest to her heart people.

Pa's merry blue eyes and his fiddle singing was one of my favourite things in this book. Ma in her beautiful delaine dress, and when making a butter with a strawberry leaf pattern, and when slapping a bear! on the shoulder. Mother deer and her fawn, a pretty little thing with big dark eyes. The maple woods. Laura getting the most beautiful doll on Christmas day; having a quibble with her namesake about whose baby sibling is the prettiest; pebbles and the pocket :)

"It smelled good. The whole house smelled good, with the sweet and spicy smells from the kitchen, the smell of the hickory logs burning with clear, bright flames in the fireplace, and the smell of a clove-apple beside Grandma's mending basket on the table. The sunshine came in through the sparkling window panes, and everything was large and spacious and clean."

"She thought to herself, “This is now.” She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the fire-light and the music, were now.
They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago."



19 November '22
"Nothing but woods, more and more trees... "
What a lovely beginning to the story I've been meaning to read for a while. Digital books might sometimes definitely be elusive, like something in the air that not easily can be reached... Thank you, Darla, so much for inspiring me to finally pick this series up! I remember that it was the cover of the forth book that caught my eye and the one I wanted to read, but didn't feel like reading at that particular moment the first three books prior to On the Banks of Plum Creek :)

"Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.
The great, dark trees of the Big Woods stood all around the house, and beyond them were other trees and beyond them were more trees. As far as a man could go to the north in a day, or a week, or a whole month, there was nothing but woods." <3

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. This is a book that I have known literally forever. It is among my earliest remembered reads, as a five-year-old and younger. I loved this book as a child, reread it scores of times, copied down parts, played being Laura… As a grown up, although I may LOVE it less, I ENJOY it more. I appreciate seeing the pioneer living so much! Frankly, Ma is an unsung heroine. I really admire her and everything she did and went through. Pa is a very inspiring person too, when you consider all he did so matter-of-factly. And Mary & Laura are just as childlike as the children of today are. As a child, I was bothered by their moments of strife; but now, as a young woman, although I still wish it didn’t happen, I can understand Laura’s feelings of less worth because of her looks as compared to Mary’s (and that storekeeper irritates me every time; that dude just reinforced Laura’s ideas of being unvalued!). Of course I don’t agree with everything in this story, but it is a beautiful tale of how human nature was the same in the mid-1800s as it is now in the 21st century. The last paragraph of the book always makes me tear up… Laura wrote these books because she believed her family and their way of life should not be forgotten, and a hundred years later people still read and love them. <3

When the fiddle had stopped singing Laura called out softly, “What are days of auld lang syne, Pa?”
“They are the days of a long time ago, Laura,” Pa said. “Go to sleep, now.”
But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa's fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods. She looked at Pa sitting on the bench by the hearth, the firelight gleaming on his brown hair and beard and glistening on the honey-brown fiddle. She looked at Ma, gently rocking and knitting.
She thought to herself, “This is now.”
She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.