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Little House #5
By the Shores of Silver Lake
The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they move from their little house on the banks of Plum Creek to the wilderness of the unsettled Dakota Territory. Here Pa works on the new railroad until he finds a homestead claim that is perfect for their new little house. Laura takes her first train ride as she, her sisters, and their mother come out to live with Pa on the shores of Silver Lake. After a lonely winter in the surveyors' house, Pa puts up the first building in what will soon be a brand-new town on the beautiful shores of Silver Lake. The Ingallses' covered-wagon travels are finally over.
385 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1939
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About the author
Laura Ingalls Wilder
452 books5,417 followersIngalls 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,022 reviews
December 26, 2025
"Laura knew then that she was not a little girl any more. Now she was alone; she must take care of herself. When you must do that, then you do it and you are grown up."Sniffs. Wipes away tear
Oh, they grow up so fast, don't they? I do wish that this series could stay with Laura as a young girl - running around and having adventures with Ma, Pa and her sisters. But, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote this as autobiographical and so her younger-self had to grow.
Gone are the isolated cabins in Wisconsin and here is the bustling brand-new town of DeSmet. Laura and her family are living in a town now and with that comes quite a lot of differences. The girls have to go to school and behave like little ladies - but if you think that will stop Laura from letting loose, then you have another thing coming.
Told in simple, plain language, this book manages to capture the beauty and the wildness of town life in the late 1800s. What a time to be alive!
Audiobook Comments
Read by Cherry Jones and accompanied by Paul Woodiel on the fiddle - absolutely loved it!
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May 4, 2007
One of the things I love about this series is how the prose grows with the protagonist. Four-year-old Laura lives in a world with short sentences and simple feelings, and thirteen-year-old Laura, who has had to broaden her vocabulary to help describe things to her blind sister, inhabits a text that is intricately described and which gives a broader overview of events and situations.
January 29, 2021
I just love reading about how the town is built and the homestead. It’s so fascinating! I think I enjoy winter chapters most of all.
July 7, 2013
Alright... By the Shores of Silver Lake... You ready, Eleanor?
E: Mm-hmm.
Dad: Ok. Go for it.
E: Um. Well. My favorite paaaarrrrt waaaassssss.... hmmmmmmm... hmmm. hmmm. hmmm. Chapter 8? I thiiiink. I think, daddy. I think... uh... My favorite part was when they went out in the shanty, and when they got- do you want me to tell you the surprising part that I liked, or the regular part that I liked?
D: Start with the regular part.
E: My favorite parts were the ones with the littlest sister, Grace!
(Grace was introduced in chapter one. One of the first sentences says, "Mary, Carrie, and baby Grace..." Eleanor picked up on a funny thing though. They never actually say Grace is their sister. This was pretty frustrating for Eleanor, because she wanted to be CERTAIN that it WAS their sister before saying it. We talked about it being inferred, but that wasn't good enough for her. I had forgotten all about this, even though Eleanor brought it up quite a few times. It took all the way until page 180 before it was explicit: "And there on Ma's lap sat the littlest sister Grace, with her hair the color of sunshine, and eyes as blue as violets." When I read that part, El interrupted, shouting out "DAD! DAD!!! GRACE IS THEIR SISTER!!! Does this mean we don't have to infer anymore?")
(I just read what I wrote to Eleanor...)
E: Dad, I didn't mean to interrupt, I was just so surprised and shocked, I couldn't help it.
D: Yeah, don't worry about it. I love it when you get into the story. What other parts did you like in the book?
E: I liked when they talked about the Shepherdess, because they hadn't talked about her in a REALLY long time.
D: Anything else?
E: Something big happened to Mary, Laura, Carrie, Ma, and Pa! Men kept coming to their house, because theirs was the only house around. And they kept EATING AND EATING AND EATING.
OH! DAD?!?!
D: Yeah?
E: It's the review now, so why do they keep moving and moving and moving?
D: What do you mean?
E: Well, because... when we read that book - you said not to ask that question, and wait until the review to ask it.
D: Oh, yeah. It's a good question. They moved a LOT, didn't they?
E: Yeah. Why did they? Did Pa like to move or something? Why did they keep moving and moving and moving?
D: I think, if I were Ma, I would have been very frustrated about this. How many times did they move? Do you remember?
E: They moved in Little House on the Prairie, from Wisconsin to... the Prairie. And then to Independence, Missouri. And then to the Creek. And to the Wonderful House - that was book 5 - remember, Farmer Boy wasn't about them.
D: Yeah, yeah. You're right. Keep going.
E: Then, to the Shanty. Then to the surveyor's house. And then to the one with cracks. Then to their claim. So, it looks like the one with the surveyors was 6 - which means they've moved 8 times so far.
D: You are really good at keeping track of this. I'm not going to fact check you.
E: What's fact check mean? And why are the Big Woods called Wisconsin?
D: I'll get to that later. Give me a minute to be impressed with you. I would have forgotten a couple of those places.
E: DAD! You still didn't answer my question! Why did they move so much?
D: I don't know. But maybe it was because Pa was never content. Maybe he thought the grass was always greener on the other side. That means he thought life would be better somewhere else, even though it would have been just as good where they were. Like, Pa thought the wonderful house was going to be wonderful... but he didn't know about the grasshoppers... If they would have just stayed in the big woods, they would have had to dig out all those stumps, but they wouldn't have had to deal with the grasshoppers - you know?
I think Ma's the best character in the books.
E: Why?
D: She's very self-less. And I think it's very admirable to be self-less.
E: I like Grace more.
D: Why do you like Grace more?
E: I like Grace more, because she started out like a baby, like Carrie.
D: So, you like youth? Young people?
E: Yeah. I like them to start out young, and get older and get older and get older...
D: Our family has 3 little girls and up until now, their family had 3 little girls. Do you think we need to have another little girl now too?
E: I think so, because... who will be Grace? That's what I wanna know.
D: Well, who are the other kids, and tell me why...
E: Me, Gwennie, and Poppy. Poppy's is Carrie because she's 1. Gwen's Laura because she's 4. And I'm Mary because I'm 6 and the oldest and Mary and I are blind. And Mary sometimes bosses Laura around, and I sometimes boss Gwennie around. Will mom be mad if I put that in the review.
D: I don't think so.
E: And sometimes Gwennie tries to boss me around too. And sometimes Laura tries to boss Mary around too, even though Laura's younger.
D: So this was another good Little House book?
E: Mm-hmm. Lets add (laughs) The Long Winter to the currently-reading shelf.
D: Ok.
E: Mm-hmm.
Dad: Ok. Go for it.
E: Um. Well. My favorite paaaarrrrt waaaassssss.... hmmmmmmm... hmmm. hmmm. hmmm. Chapter 8? I thiiiink. I think, daddy. I think... uh... My favorite part was when they went out in the shanty, and when they got- do you want me to tell you the surprising part that I liked, or the regular part that I liked?
D: Start with the regular part.
E: My favorite parts were the ones with the littlest sister, Grace!
(Grace was introduced in chapter one. One of the first sentences says, "Mary, Carrie, and baby Grace..." Eleanor picked up on a funny thing though. They never actually say Grace is their sister. This was pretty frustrating for Eleanor, because she wanted to be CERTAIN that it WAS their sister before saying it. We talked about it being inferred, but that wasn't good enough for her. I had forgotten all about this, even though Eleanor brought it up quite a few times. It took all the way until page 180 before it was explicit: "And there on Ma's lap sat the littlest sister Grace, with her hair the color of sunshine, and eyes as blue as violets." When I read that part, El interrupted, shouting out "DAD! DAD!!! GRACE IS THEIR SISTER!!! Does this mean we don't have to infer anymore?")
(I just read what I wrote to Eleanor...)
E: Dad, I didn't mean to interrupt, I was just so surprised and shocked, I couldn't help it.
D: Yeah, don't worry about it. I love it when you get into the story. What other parts did you like in the book?
E: I liked when they talked about the Shepherdess, because they hadn't talked about her in a REALLY long time.
D: Anything else?
E: Something big happened to Mary, Laura, Carrie, Ma, and Pa! Men kept coming to their house, because theirs was the only house around. And they kept EATING AND EATING AND EATING.
OH! DAD?!?!
D: Yeah?
E: It's the review now, so why do they keep moving and moving and moving?
D: What do you mean?
E: Well, because... when we read that book - you said not to ask that question, and wait until the review to ask it.
D: Oh, yeah. It's a good question. They moved a LOT, didn't they?
E: Yeah. Why did they? Did Pa like to move or something? Why did they keep moving and moving and moving?
D: I think, if I were Ma, I would have been very frustrated about this. How many times did they move? Do you remember?
E: They moved in Little House on the Prairie, from Wisconsin to... the Prairie. And then to Independence, Missouri. And then to the Creek. And to the Wonderful House - that was book 5 - remember, Farmer Boy wasn't about them.
D: Yeah, yeah. You're right. Keep going.
E: Then, to the Shanty. Then to the surveyor's house. And then to the one with cracks. Then to their claim. So, it looks like the one with the surveyors was 6 - which means they've moved 8 times so far.
D: You are really good at keeping track of this. I'm not going to fact check you.
E: What's fact check mean? And why are the Big Woods called Wisconsin?
D: I'll get to that later. Give me a minute to be impressed with you. I would have forgotten a couple of those places.
E: DAD! You still didn't answer my question! Why did they move so much?
D: I don't know. But maybe it was because Pa was never content. Maybe he thought the grass was always greener on the other side. That means he thought life would be better somewhere else, even though it would have been just as good where they were. Like, Pa thought the wonderful house was going to be wonderful... but he didn't know about the grasshoppers... If they would have just stayed in the big woods, they would have had to dig out all those stumps, but they wouldn't have had to deal with the grasshoppers - you know?
I think Ma's the best character in the books.
E: Why?
D: She's very self-less. And I think it's very admirable to be self-less.
E: I like Grace more.
D: Why do you like Grace more?
E: I like Grace more, because she started out like a baby, like Carrie.
D: So, you like youth? Young people?
E: Yeah. I like them to start out young, and get older and get older and get older...
D: Our family has 3 little girls and up until now, their family had 3 little girls. Do you think we need to have another little girl now too?
E: I think so, because... who will be Grace? That's what I wanna know.
D: Well, who are the other kids, and tell me why...
E: Me, Gwennie, and Poppy. Poppy's is Carrie because she's 1. Gwen's Laura because she's 4. And I'm Mary because I'm 6 and the oldest and Mary and I are blind. And Mary sometimes bosses Laura around, and I sometimes boss Gwennie around. Will mom be mad if I put that in the review.
D: I don't think so.
E: And sometimes Gwennie tries to boss me around too. And sometimes Laura tries to boss Mary around too, even though Laura's younger.
D: So this was another good Little House book?
E: Mm-hmm. Lets add (laughs) The Long Winter to the currently-reading shelf.
D: Ok.
December 12, 2022
Which lady did Santa ask to sit on his lap at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas party tonight?
This lady!
And did he ask any other grown ass woman (or man) on the scene to do so?
No friends, he did not.
And it wasn’t even pervy.
No mistletoe in the vicinity.
We shared a few laughs, I gave him a big hug, and I left that party feeling like I’m sure to get exactly what I want for Christmas.
…
Also... which lady checked into the hotel afterward, and hit it off with the clerk who is also originally from California, and ended up hanging with her and eventually her two daughters in the hotel lobby, because they all somehow felt like extended family members?
This lady!
…
In other words, it’s been a good night.
And this is precisely what I love about traveling. You never know if it’s going to be one of those terrible, tire-popped-on-the-side-of-the-road kind of days (I've had too many of these), or if it'll be bursting with kind strangers who make you feel like you’re not alone.
And perhaps that’s part of why our dear protagonists, the Ingalls, move around so much in this series. Yes, there are definite push and pull factors at work in the fore, but Charles in particular strikes me as a man who gets antsy if he can’t explore what possibilities may be waiting, just around the bend.
Now, don’t get me wrong.
In this fifth book of the series, the eldest Ingalls daughter goes blind, and the beloved family dog dies, and the new homestead in South Dakota wreaks havoc on an already storm tossed family.
But they also find a lot of good that would never have entered their lives without a significant risk, and a significant change of scenery.
Highly recommend this one, though I’ve decided to take a hiatus from the series. The Ingalls rock, but I need a literary change of scenery, myself. I’m thinking my next read should be something aggressively unwholesome, to restore balance in the universe (I'm open to book suggestions). I do believe these were decent folks, salt of the earth. But no one in real life is as cheerful and good as these people are all the time in Ms. Ingalls Wilder's rose-colored memory, and I don’t even know if it’s healthy to always be so “up.”
Book/Song Pairing: I Still Haven’t Found (U2)
This lady!
And did he ask any other grown ass woman (or man) on the scene to do so?
No friends, he did not.
And it wasn’t even pervy.
No mistletoe in the vicinity.
We shared a few laughs, I gave him a big hug, and I left that party feeling like I’m sure to get exactly what I want for Christmas.
…
Also... which lady checked into the hotel afterward, and hit it off with the clerk who is also originally from California, and ended up hanging with her and eventually her two daughters in the hotel lobby, because they all somehow felt like extended family members?
This lady!
…
In other words, it’s been a good night.
And this is precisely what I love about traveling. You never know if it’s going to be one of those terrible, tire-popped-on-the-side-of-the-road kind of days (I've had too many of these), or if it'll be bursting with kind strangers who make you feel like you’re not alone.
And perhaps that’s part of why our dear protagonists, the Ingalls, move around so much in this series. Yes, there are definite push and pull factors at work in the fore, but Charles in particular strikes me as a man who gets antsy if he can’t explore what possibilities may be waiting, just around the bend.
Now, don’t get me wrong.
In this fifth book of the series, the eldest Ingalls daughter goes blind, and the beloved family dog dies, and the new homestead in South Dakota wreaks havoc on an already storm tossed family.
But they also find a lot of good that would never have entered their lives without a significant risk, and a significant change of scenery.
Highly recommend this one, though I’ve decided to take a hiatus from the series. The Ingalls rock, but I need a literary change of scenery, myself. I’m thinking my next read should be something aggressively unwholesome, to restore balance in the universe (I'm open to book suggestions). I do believe these were decent folks, salt of the earth. But no one in real life is as cheerful and good as these people are all the time in Ms. Ingalls Wilder's rose-colored memory, and I don’t even know if it’s healthy to always be so “up.”
Book/Song Pairing: I Still Haven’t Found (U2)
November 15, 2017
These books give such a view into the psyche of America back when the land was being settled. The pace is slow compared to today's literature, but there is something here.
One of the best parts of the book is toward the end. The Ingalls family are living out on the prairie alone during the winter. The spring comes and droves of men begin coming through. The Ingalls have the only house so they all stay with them. The town literally is put up in two weeks. I was shocked. I can't believe how that happened.
The most intense part of the book is the day Charles goes to claim the homestead and 15 men come through and need to spend the night. Ma and the girls have locked themselves in their bedroom while the drunk men are fighting downstairs. It was a deeply unsettling piece to read. I could feel the tension. Very well written.
It is a window into our past for sure. I did enjoy this or parts of this. It is a much more innocent time. Ma kind of gets me down. She is a killjoy in the book. She is always saying that seems heathen and she can't simply laugh at Pa's jokes. I have a modern perspective. We really have changed as a society. I will read more of these.
One of the best parts of the book is toward the end. The Ingalls family are living out on the prairie alone during the winter. The spring comes and droves of men begin coming through. The Ingalls have the only house so they all stay with them. The town literally is put up in two weeks. I was shocked. I can't believe how that happened.
The most intense part of the book is the day Charles goes to claim the homestead and 15 men come through and need to spend the night. Ma and the girls have locked themselves in their bedroom while the drunk men are fighting downstairs. It was a deeply unsettling piece to read. I could feel the tension. Very well written.
It is a window into our past for sure. I did enjoy this or parts of this. It is a much more innocent time. Ma kind of gets me down. She is a killjoy in the book. She is always saying that seems heathen and she can't simply laugh at Pa's jokes. I have a modern perspective. We really have changed as a society. I will read more of these.
January 22, 2021
So yes, in By the Shores of Silver Lake (the fifth of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie novels) it quickly becomes abundantly clear that not only is Laura growing up and facing increased domestic and social responsibilities and pressures as a thirteen year old, but that textually and content wise, Wilder is clearly also demonstrating that she believes her young readers are by the fifth series instalment obviously mature enough to handle some rather heavy-duty issues and themes (not only Mary’s sudden illness caused blindness but indeed that even just making a homestead claim could be a potentially dangerous undertaking, not to mention that Charles Ingalls’ job as company storekeeper and earnings distributor at the railroad camp might well bring an appreciated fifty dollars per month salary for the family but is equally not entirely safe especially on payday with mobs of roving and sometimes raging workers demanding their salaries and often being fuelled by drunk and disorderly behaviours).
But thankfully, Laura Ingalls Wilder still does not ever fall into the trap of making By the Shores of Silver Lake into some kind of one disaster after another wallowing, that while heavier and more uncomfortable scenarios are of course being portrayed, they are also juxtaposed and interspersed with episodes of joy, laughter and tenderness (and that even with regard to Mary’s blindness, both she and her family are first and foremost glad that the scarlet fever did not claim her life). Delightfully historically realistic, and I also do appreciate that By the Shores of Silver Lake seems to portray considerably more nuance with regard to development and progress, that for example, while Charles Ingalls and his family are clearly supportive of westward expansion, they also seem to at least partially realise that this has been tragic for Native Americans and for the Buffalo (and yes, that Charles Ingalls is good friends with Métis Big Jerry and that even generally prejudicial Caroline Ingalls tends to become a bit less vindictive against Native Americans by the end of By the Shores Of Silver Lake also does make me smile).
Four stars for By the Shores of Silver Lake, but lowered to a high three stars, as I personally would definitely have liked it (and desired it) had Laura Ingalls Wilder featured her older sister Mary just a trifle more prominently and also textually expanded on Mary’s blindness and how she learns to deal with this (for just reading that Mary Ingalls is patient and uncomplaining about her affliction, about suddenly becoming blind is just not enough information to and for me, since as an avid reader I really would like to know how studious and book loving Mary is able to face and deal with no longer being able to read and do her school work).
But thankfully, Laura Ingalls Wilder still does not ever fall into the trap of making By the Shores of Silver Lake into some kind of one disaster after another wallowing, that while heavier and more uncomfortable scenarios are of course being portrayed, they are also juxtaposed and interspersed with episodes of joy, laughter and tenderness (and that even with regard to Mary’s blindness, both she and her family are first and foremost glad that the scarlet fever did not claim her life). Delightfully historically realistic, and I also do appreciate that By the Shores of Silver Lake seems to portray considerably more nuance with regard to development and progress, that for example, while Charles Ingalls and his family are clearly supportive of westward expansion, they also seem to at least partially realise that this has been tragic for Native Americans and for the Buffalo (and yes, that Charles Ingalls is good friends with Métis Big Jerry and that even generally prejudicial Caroline Ingalls tends to become a bit less vindictive against Native Americans by the end of By the Shores Of Silver Lake also does make me smile).
Four stars for By the Shores of Silver Lake, but lowered to a high three stars, as I personally would definitely have liked it (and desired it) had Laura Ingalls Wilder featured her older sister Mary just a trifle more prominently and also textually expanded on Mary’s blindness and how she learns to deal with this (for just reading that Mary Ingalls is patient and uncomplaining about her affliction, about suddenly becoming blind is just not enough information to and for me, since as an avid reader I really would like to know how studious and book loving Mary is able to face and deal with no longer being able to read and do her school work).
December 31, 2014
This was a charming book to read on Christmas Day. Last summer I started rereading the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, and this fifth one was a delight.
"By the Shores of Silver Lake" covers the family's move to the Dakota territory at about 1879, when Pa gets a job working for the railroad. Laura loves being out on the open prairie, and she's fascinated when she gets a chance to watch the men preparing the ground for railroad tracks. Pa explains the process for how railroads are built, and how efficiently the crews work.
"I wouldn't wonder if you'll live to see a time, Laura, when pretty nearly everybody'll ride on railroads and there'll hardly be a covered wagon left."
This book was also interesting because Laura turns 13, and some other girls about her age are already getting married, which startles her.
"I'd like my own house and I like babies, and I wouldn't mind the work, but I don't want to be so responsible. I'd rather let Ma be responsible for a long time yet."
Like the other books in the series, there are some great stories about pioneering and setting up living quarters on the prairie, and how neighbors had to help each other, and the occasional run-in with wild animals. There was also a happy Christmas, and Pa picks out some land for their future homestead, which was near De Smet, South Dakota. It's a lovely story.
It was fortunate that I started rereading the books last year, since there is a new annotated autobiography out about Laura Ingalls Wilder ("Pioneer Girl"), and I want to finish the series before I read that. This is a wonderful children's collection, and I'm happy to see it's still in print and that kids today seem to respond to it positively.
"By the Shores of Silver Lake" covers the family's move to the Dakota territory at about 1879, when Pa gets a job working for the railroad. Laura loves being out on the open prairie, and she's fascinated when she gets a chance to watch the men preparing the ground for railroad tracks. Pa explains the process for how railroads are built, and how efficiently the crews work.
"I wouldn't wonder if you'll live to see a time, Laura, when pretty nearly everybody'll ride on railroads and there'll hardly be a covered wagon left."
This book was also interesting because Laura turns 13, and some other girls about her age are already getting married, which startles her.
"I'd like my own house and I like babies, and I wouldn't mind the work, but I don't want to be so responsible. I'd rather let Ma be responsible for a long time yet."
Like the other books in the series, there are some great stories about pioneering and setting up living quarters on the prairie, and how neighbors had to help each other, and the occasional run-in with wild animals. There was also a happy Christmas, and Pa picks out some land for their future homestead, which was near De Smet, South Dakota. It's a lovely story.
It was fortunate that I started rereading the books last year, since there is a new annotated autobiography out about Laura Ingalls Wilder ("Pioneer Girl"), and I want to finish the series before I read that. This is a wonderful children's collection, and I'm happy to see it's still in print and that kids today seem to respond to it positively.
January 18, 2019
Like every book in the series this one is filled with moments of poignant hardship (Mary going blind) and sweet levity. Pa’s wanderlust hasn’t rested, but he’s agreed for Ma’s sake to stay put. About time, is what I have to say to that. She put up with a lot, that woman.
Read
March 4, 2025This has always been my least favorite of the series and I stand by that on this re-read.
February 13, 2016
Listened to this volume with kids, in car, over supper. And it, the whole series, is an old classic I might have been tempted to dismiss. I had three sisters and all these books were in the house and I read everything, so I knew these stories decades ago, and it is surprising to return to them and find what a good writer Wilder is. This book was written in 1939, and is meant to reflect 1880 U.S., and it is a sort of fictional treatment of Ingalls's own experiences growing up, with herself as the main character who would write these books.
It is impossible for me to read these books without images of the TV show in my head, Michael Landon as Pa Ingalls taking his family west to the unsettled wilderness of the Dakota Territory. And now we own the DVDs and we are watching them. I can recall coming home from school in the sixties and sometimes joining my mom and my sister watching episodes of this show, and almost every show, crying over some thing. The death of a dog, a close member of the family, takes up three pages or more, for instance.
After a series of moves, Pa heads to what will become DeSmet, South Dakota. When Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie, and baby Grace join him, they become the first settlers in this town. They file a claim for the settlement they choose. And Pa begins work on the first building in what will soon be a brand-new town on the shores of Silver Lake. Mary is already blind, Laura is urged to be the family teacher (against her will, since she wants to be more independent than this), and much of the book is focused on just surviving a hard winter. We see how hard they have it economically. How close they are to losing everything. But then there's Christmas, and we get a portrait of this American holiday, circa 1880.
My favorite scenes include the railroad trip west, the family's first. Wilder captures the absolute magic and thrill of this trip, and the feel of the Future for all of them. Laura's watching some of the building of the railroad is fascinating. You realize this is what it must have been like, and she captures it with precision and detail and awe, and you feel that, the thrill of "progress".
You also get to observe what we learned in school is Manifest Destiny, the idea that this was the white settlers's land to take. The Ingalls family don't really question this. This is land they will claim and build on. Ingalls is not unaware of this problem, as she sees the Native American tribes are all cleared out. One "half breed" friend of theirs is a positive character. But the very fact of injustice is only hinted at and not really discussed in this volume; nor do I recall, growing up, reflecting much about it, though in elementary school and later in high school we did spend some time on how the hopeful "westward ho" movement also entailed the destruction of the Native American way of life.
Which is a devastation you don't really get the feel for in this volume, and why most people don't want to read these books anymore. They are a kind of sweetness that cloaks tyranny. And maybe Ingalls never adequately addresses it, I can't recall; we'll see. But the stories are well written, and now, being read, we can use them as an occasion to reflect on these important issues. Have to! This is exactly what the idea of deconstruction is about: Sometimes you have to read books for what is NOT there, what is missing. The Ingalls family didn't kill anyone or move tribes out of the area to make room for westward expansion. But they are also not entirely innocent, either.
And the buffalo are gone at this point. At one point they see a lone buffalo wolf, and realize this is the end of an era. What makes this experience pretty special (in spite of the above issues) is that it is read by the wonderful Cherry Jones. There's so much music throughout, too, which is fun, too, hearing the music of the times. The family portrait is terrific, pretty unforgettable. I will keep reading.
It is impossible for me to read these books without images of the TV show in my head, Michael Landon as Pa Ingalls taking his family west to the unsettled wilderness of the Dakota Territory. And now we own the DVDs and we are watching them. I can recall coming home from school in the sixties and sometimes joining my mom and my sister watching episodes of this show, and almost every show, crying over some thing. The death of a dog, a close member of the family, takes up three pages or more, for instance.
After a series of moves, Pa heads to what will become DeSmet, South Dakota. When Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie, and baby Grace join him, they become the first settlers in this town. They file a claim for the settlement they choose. And Pa begins work on the first building in what will soon be a brand-new town on the shores of Silver Lake. Mary is already blind, Laura is urged to be the family teacher (against her will, since she wants to be more independent than this), and much of the book is focused on just surviving a hard winter. We see how hard they have it economically. How close they are to losing everything. But then there's Christmas, and we get a portrait of this American holiday, circa 1880.
My favorite scenes include the railroad trip west, the family's first. Wilder captures the absolute magic and thrill of this trip, and the feel of the Future for all of them. Laura's watching some of the building of the railroad is fascinating. You realize this is what it must have been like, and she captures it with precision and detail and awe, and you feel that, the thrill of "progress".
You also get to observe what we learned in school is Manifest Destiny, the idea that this was the white settlers's land to take. The Ingalls family don't really question this. This is land they will claim and build on. Ingalls is not unaware of this problem, as she sees the Native American tribes are all cleared out. One "half breed" friend of theirs is a positive character. But the very fact of injustice is only hinted at and not really discussed in this volume; nor do I recall, growing up, reflecting much about it, though in elementary school and later in high school we did spend some time on how the hopeful "westward ho" movement also entailed the destruction of the Native American way of life.
Which is a devastation you don't really get the feel for in this volume, and why most people don't want to read these books anymore. They are a kind of sweetness that cloaks tyranny. And maybe Ingalls never adequately addresses it, I can't recall; we'll see. But the stories are well written, and now, being read, we can use them as an occasion to reflect on these important issues. Have to! This is exactly what the idea of deconstruction is about: Sometimes you have to read books for what is NOT there, what is missing. The Ingalls family didn't kill anyone or move tribes out of the area to make room for westward expansion. But they are also not entirely innocent, either.
And the buffalo are gone at this point. At one point they see a lone buffalo wolf, and realize this is the end of an era. What makes this experience pretty special (in spite of the above issues) is that it is read by the wonderful Cherry Jones. There's so much music throughout, too, which is fun, too, hearing the music of the times. The family portrait is terrific, pretty unforgettable. I will keep reading.
September 8, 2016
It was toward the beginning of this novel that I abandoned the Little House books at age eleven, and to a large degree, I blame the television series. The book opens with the news of Mary’s blindness, which was shown with typical pioneer stoicism: “She was able to sit up now, wrapped in quilts in Ma’s old hickory rocking chair. All that long time, week after week, when she could still see a little, but less every day, she had never cried. Now she could not even see the brightest light anymore. She was still patient and brave.”
Compare that to the TV series, in which Mary just woke up one day completely sightless and screaming, “Pa! I can’t see! I’m blind!” The actress was nominated for an Emmy for that performance, but it was nothing like the book.
Another discrepancy came in the chapter “Grown Up” in which Jack, the family dog, dies. Twelve-year-old Laura realizes that just as she has put her old rag doll Charlotte away, she’s too old to run around playing with a dog along the prairie. She’s got responsibilities now. Among them is being Mary’s “eyes,” which she does by describing aloud to Mary everything she sees. No doubt that is part of what shaped her into a writer.
In the TV show, Jack is simply replaced by another dog, Bandit, who gets his name because he is caught stealing bacon and because he has a black “mask” around his eyes. He won’t stop following Laura around, and she, grieving over Jack, doesn’t accept him as hers until the end of the episode. I guess Michael Landon didn’t think the viewing public wanted Laura to grow up just yet.
These things I was able to reconcile. There were the books, and there was the TV show, and they didn’t always match. What bothered me much more was a minor detail: Laura’s first ride on horseback didn’t occur until this book. The Laura on the TV show was an expert rider at a young age, and some of my favorite episodes revolved around her riding. I wasn’t willing to let go of those images and the feelings they gave me, even if the book clearly showed they were inaccurate.
But even that was not enough to turn me off to the books. What I think happened was that I reached a dull part (the books do have them, as do the works of many other great writers), and I wasn’t willing to push myself through as I had with The Long Winter years before. I’d grown lazy, spoiled by the minute-to-minute entertainment of television.
I finally finished By the Shores of Silver Lake two Shabbosim ago, and I loved it. But once again, I don’t think I had enough understanding of the history to have appreciated it back in fifth grade. I remember quite clearly that I listed “homestead” as a vocabulary word from the book, and I remember noticing I had no others, from which I concluded that the Little House books were getting easy for me. But when I looked up “homestead” in the dictionary, I didn’t learn anything about the Homestead Act, which is what the whole book is about. Any social studies teachers who want their students to understand the settlement of the American west ought to give them the chapters called “The Spring Rush,” “Pa’s Bet,” and “Building Boom.” These bring the concept of manifest destiny to life. So while the Little House books aren’t necessarily vocabulary builders for older readers, they’re most definitely a slice of history, and that goes for all ages.
Compare that to the TV series, in which Mary just woke up one day completely sightless and screaming, “Pa! I can’t see! I’m blind!” The actress was nominated for an Emmy for that performance, but it was nothing like the book.
Another discrepancy came in the chapter “Grown Up” in which Jack, the family dog, dies. Twelve-year-old Laura realizes that just as she has put her old rag doll Charlotte away, she’s too old to run around playing with a dog along the prairie. She’s got responsibilities now. Among them is being Mary’s “eyes,” which she does by describing aloud to Mary everything she sees. No doubt that is part of what shaped her into a writer.
In the TV show, Jack is simply replaced by another dog, Bandit, who gets his name because he is caught stealing bacon and because he has a black “mask” around his eyes. He won’t stop following Laura around, and she, grieving over Jack, doesn’t accept him as hers until the end of the episode. I guess Michael Landon didn’t think the viewing public wanted Laura to grow up just yet.
These things I was able to reconcile. There were the books, and there was the TV show, and they didn’t always match. What bothered me much more was a minor detail: Laura’s first ride on horseback didn’t occur until this book. The Laura on the TV show was an expert rider at a young age, and some of my favorite episodes revolved around her riding. I wasn’t willing to let go of those images and the feelings they gave me, even if the book clearly showed they were inaccurate.
But even that was not enough to turn me off to the books. What I think happened was that I reached a dull part (the books do have them, as do the works of many other great writers), and I wasn’t willing to push myself through as I had with The Long Winter years before. I’d grown lazy, spoiled by the minute-to-minute entertainment of television.
I finally finished By the Shores of Silver Lake two Shabbosim ago, and I loved it. But once again, I don’t think I had enough understanding of the history to have appreciated it back in fifth grade. I remember quite clearly that I listed “homestead” as a vocabulary word from the book, and I remember noticing I had no others, from which I concluded that the Little House books were getting easy for me. But when I looked up “homestead” in the dictionary, I didn’t learn anything about the Homestead Act, which is what the whole book is about. Any social studies teachers who want their students to understand the settlement of the American west ought to give them the chapters called “The Spring Rush,” “Pa’s Bet,” and “Building Boom.” These bring the concept of manifest destiny to life. So while the Little House books aren’t necessarily vocabulary builders for older readers, they’re most definitely a slice of history, and that goes for all ages.
August 2, 2018
Another enjoyable read. Laura is growing up and while the story is still kid friendly there are some more serious things that happened that made it less lighthearted than the previous book. A couple things early on even made me cry a little In spite of these sad things it was still interesting to see the way Laura is maturing and becoming more of a young lady and less of a little girl, get a taste for adventure and heading west, and help with the younger girls instead of being the main cause of mischief for once. I also thought it was very sweet how she has taken it upon herself to describe things to Mary to help her still experience the things she can no longer see.
Looking forward to more.
Content Advisory
A beloved but very old family pet
Mention of members of the Ingalls family having contacted scarlett fever some time before the book started and one character having lost her sight to the fever.
There are threats of violence ranging from a possible bandit following the family's wagon (the attack never happens), to a mob of rowdy townspeople threatening Pa because he won't do what they want (but then leave without doing anything), to Ma having to tell the girls to stay upstairs because some men being boarded downstairs are drunk and causing a commotion (no one gets hurt), to fear of wolves being nearby.
What little actual violence occurs is not described and mainly includes a man physically holding off a bunch of other men (and enjoying himself doing it) so Pa can get inside a building to make a bid for some land, and Pa killing animals for food.
The closest thing to sexual/romantic content is Laura and another girl talking about how a girl not much older than them just got married and won't be able to have fun and play anymore. (Laura is only 12 or 13 at this point. ) Neither girl seems interested in marriage at this point, though they sing an innocent little song about wanting to marry a railway man instead of a farmer.
A very young child is feared to be missing at one point but
Looking forward to more.
Content Advisory
A beloved but very old family pet
Mention of members of the Ingalls family having contacted scarlett fever some time before the book started and one character having lost her sight to the fever.
There are threats of violence ranging from a possible bandit following the family's wagon (the attack never happens), to a mob of rowdy townspeople threatening Pa because he won't do what they want (but then leave without doing anything), to Ma having to tell the girls to stay upstairs because some men being boarded downstairs are drunk and causing a commotion (no one gets hurt), to fear of wolves being nearby.
What little actual violence occurs is not described and mainly includes a man physically holding off a bunch of other men (and enjoying himself doing it) so Pa can get inside a building to make a bid for some land, and Pa killing animals for food.
The closest thing to sexual/romantic content is Laura and another girl talking about how a girl not much older than them just got married and won't be able to have fun and play anymore. (Laura is only 12 or 13 at this point. ) Neither girl seems interested in marriage at this point, though they sing an innocent little song about wanting to marry a railway man instead of a farmer.
A very young child is feared to be missing at one point but
January 14, 2024
I've always thought that this is where the series really started to grow up and mature, much like Laura herself. Sure, bad things happened in previous books, but you never really felt it, quite like you do here. I still always cry about Jack, and I always feel so sad about Mary, and about how Laura takes it upon herself to make sure Mary gets to go to college, no matter what Laura has to do.
October 7, 2023
Wow, I did not remember this book much at all. The book skips two years in the saga because of sad events: the birth and death of an infant brother, Mary going blind (from viral meningoencephalitis, not scarlet fever, which is really untreated strep throat), and financial ruin. The book opens with the family’s sudden move to a place near (future) De Smet, South Dakota. They go by train, traveling at the break-neck speed of 20 mph!
The only people out this wilderness are mostly single men working to level the ground for the coming railroad. There is a sense of fear about them, especially when Pa is not around. It was not a good idea to be female and alone in that kind of environment.
The book covers about a year, with Laura age 12. She is leaving childhood behind and starting to take on adult responsibilities. As a result, the book has a more somber tone.
Language: Clean
Sexual Content: None
Violence/Gore: Mob violence, not graphic
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
The only people out this wilderness are mostly single men working to level the ground for the coming railroad. There is a sense of fear about them, especially when Pa is not around. It was not a good idea to be female and alone in that kind of environment.
The book covers about a year, with Laura age 12. She is leaving childhood behind and starting to take on adult responsibilities. As a result, the book has a more somber tone.
Language: Clean
Sexual Content: None
Violence/Gore: Mob violence, not graphic
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
Read
July 20, 2015This was always my least favorite of the Little House books, so I tried to read it with a more interested and knowing eye this time, and liked it better. So impressed with how LIW is aware of both the story arc for the individual book, and for the series as a whole by this time. She introduces Almanzo here, and brings back many characters - some of them fictional - from previous books (Aunt Docia, Mr. Edwards, Reverend Alden) - doing a really good job of making this book a link from all her previous travels to the settled domestic life - but changing social life - that lies ahead for her.
Also, I don't think I realized before how complete a story this is - it is the story of the Ingalls' final move and of the building of the new town of De Smet. There are so many "lasts" and "firsts" that occur in this book. I'm also kind of shocked at the changes that have *already* occurred in the land - the Native American population is gone, and many times it's mentioned that "the buffalo are gone" and that Laura will never see one in her lifetime; she sees the last buffalo wolf the winter before the town is settled, but in fact it has already left - just makes one lonely return journey with its mate to visit its old den before heading out west. The wild birds so abundant on Silver Lake during the Ingalls' first winter there don't settle on their way north in the spring because the new town site is so busy. It is all the last. As Pa talks about the tree claims that settlers are supposed to plant, Ma comments that the new trees will act as wind breaks, and Pa replies, "Likely they'll... change the climate, just as you say."
Laura Ingalls Wilder published this book in 1939, and imagines Pa speaking in 1880. Too bad some of us STILL can't get this concept into their heads.
Also, I don't think I realized before how complete a story this is - it is the story of the Ingalls' final move and of the building of the new town of De Smet. There are so many "lasts" and "firsts" that occur in this book. I'm also kind of shocked at the changes that have *already* occurred in the land - the Native American population is gone, and many times it's mentioned that "the buffalo are gone" and that Laura will never see one in her lifetime; she sees the last buffalo wolf the winter before the town is settled, but in fact it has already left - just makes one lonely return journey with its mate to visit its old den before heading out west. The wild birds so abundant on Silver Lake during the Ingalls' first winter there don't settle on their way north in the spring because the new town site is so busy. It is all the last. As Pa talks about the tree claims that settlers are supposed to plant, Ma comments that the new trees will act as wind breaks, and Pa replies, "Likely they'll... change the climate, just as you say."
Laura Ingalls Wilder published this book in 1939, and imagines Pa speaking in 1880. Too bad some of us STILL can't get this concept into their heads.
January 15, 2019
Well, Jack's dead so what is really the point of these stories now?
August 4, 2018
This is a series I read so much in childhood, and at least once as an adult, that I really didn't think it had anything more to offer me, but after reading Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography, Laura's unpolished, first draft, autobiography, I felt an itch to pick up the Little House Books again. But not the first one; I wanted to start here, where it seems like the books really start to build on each other in a way they don't earlier in the series. This one, I've realized, is where the series starts to become young adult rather than juvenile, much the way the Betsy-Tacy series enters a distinct new phase with Heaven to Betsy. Picking up By the Shores of Silver Lake, I read the first few paragraphs. I read this:
"Her blue eyes were still beautiful, but they did not know what was before them, and Mary herself could never look through them again to tell Laura what she was thinking without saying a word."
Yeah, this still has something to offer, familiar or not, it's just so good.
"Her blue eyes were still beautiful, but they did not know what was before them, and Mary herself could never look through them again to tell Laura what she was thinking without saying a word."
Yeah, this still has something to offer, familiar or not, it's just so good.
July 2, 2018
I still like Farmer Boy a little bit better, but of the stories about the Ingalls family, this one is the strongest so far. Charles Ingalls is definitely the main character of the series. Through the absolutely adoring eyes of Laura, our narrator, we see what a kind and loving father he was. Based on the events of the series so far, he was really weird. Much more anti-social than a guy desperate for opportunity. In a society where women like the Ingalls women had almost no power, Charles dragged the five women in his family back and forth across the continent. And they loved him! And loved each other and made it work. It's an interesting series for an adult reader too.
September 25, 2011
Man, oh man, again I start out feeling disappointed by Pa and Ma's life choices. Since we last left the Ingalls family, they have come down with scarlet fever and Mary is now blind. To be fair, they could have gotten sick any ol' place, but Pa, Plum Creek was clearly a bad decision for your family. Locusts, blizzards, BLINDNESS. The scary thing is, Laura's now 13, which means it's been a couple years since the last book left off. What the heck other crazy things happened that Laura doesn't want to tell us? Maybe nothing happened, life was boring those years, you say. I have serious doubts about that theory. Poor Laura.
Luckily, this book opens with Pa's sister who comes to the house and offers Pa a job with her husband's railroad business. Thank God--see, Pa, what can happen when you stick to family?
Then Jack the dog dies. OMG. This is so terribly sad. I kind of relied on Jack, like he was Nana from Peter Pan. He would at least take care of the children. RIP, Jack. I'm glad Laura fluffed your bed before you died.
Anyway, the family moves to follow the men who are building the railroad, and again, I'm worrying about the family because Laura and cousin Lena are allowed to run around like hooligans jumping on and falling off horses. Your first child is blind, are you at all worried your second one might break something? UGH.
I become pretty convinced reading through this book that after Jack dies, Laura's the one in the family that has to step up and keep things together. Like when Ma and Pa let Laura and Carrie play outside at night, Laura sees a wolf and without freaking out Carrie, hauls ass out of there, pulling her little sister along. When they burst into the house, Pa's 'aw, shucks, I thought those wolves were gone' reaction just slayed me. I felt like he had turned into Homer Simpson or something. And Mary, again, is blind, so Laura's the one always explaining things to her. And baby sister Grace wanders off and Ma and Pa do a whole, 'I thought she was with you' bit and run to the water to look for her, and Laura's the only one thinking, Where would I go if I was a baby? And then finds her of course.
Anyhoodle, for all that I'm making fun of them, I of course love the Ingalls family and these books. Christmas again was awesome, and when I really just felt like, Oh, you are the cutest, sweetest family ever. A couple of special moments: Driving to their homestead, Laura gets a glance at her future hubby Almanzo and his brother Royal. I wanted to give Laura a high-five and shout, "Oh yeah, get it, girl!"
Another moment from the beginning--as Pa is driving away to begin their new life, right after Jack's death: "Jack was not standing besides Laura to watch Pa go. There was only emptiness to turn to instead of Jack's eyes looking up to say that he was there to take care of her.
Laura knew then that she was not a little girl any more. Now she was alone; she must take care of herself. When you must do that, then you do it and you are grown up."
Luckily, this book opens with Pa's sister who comes to the house and offers Pa a job with her husband's railroad business. Thank God--see, Pa, what can happen when you stick to family?
Then Jack the dog dies. OMG. This is so terribly sad. I kind of relied on Jack, like he was Nana from Peter Pan. He would at least take care of the children. RIP, Jack. I'm glad Laura fluffed your bed before you died.
Anyway, the family moves to follow the men who are building the railroad, and again, I'm worrying about the family because Laura and cousin Lena are allowed to run around like hooligans jumping on and falling off horses. Your first child is blind, are you at all worried your second one might break something? UGH.
I become pretty convinced reading through this book that after Jack dies, Laura's the one in the family that has to step up and keep things together. Like when Ma and Pa let Laura and Carrie play outside at night, Laura sees a wolf and without freaking out Carrie, hauls ass out of there, pulling her little sister along. When they burst into the house, Pa's 'aw, shucks, I thought those wolves were gone' reaction just slayed me. I felt like he had turned into Homer Simpson or something. And Mary, again, is blind, so Laura's the one always explaining things to her. And baby sister Grace wanders off and Ma and Pa do a whole, 'I thought she was with you' bit and run to the water to look for her, and Laura's the only one thinking, Where would I go if I was a baby? And then finds her of course.
Anyhoodle, for all that I'm making fun of them, I of course love the Ingalls family and these books. Christmas again was awesome, and when I really just felt like, Oh, you are the cutest, sweetest family ever. A couple of special moments: Driving to their homestead, Laura gets a glance at her future hubby Almanzo and his brother Royal. I wanted to give Laura a high-five and shout, "Oh yeah, get it, girl!"
Another moment from the beginning--as Pa is driving away to begin their new life, right after Jack's death: "Jack was not standing besides Laura to watch Pa go. There was only emptiness to turn to instead of Jack's eyes looking up to say that he was there to take care of her.
Laura knew then that she was not a little girl any more. Now she was alone; she must take care of herself. When you must do that, then you do it and you are grown up."
January 26, 2018
The Ingalls family at last gets to stake their claim out by DeSmet. One of my favorite scenes in this particular novel is when Laura catches a glimpse of Almanzo and his brother Royal out on the prairie. Looking forward to watching their story come together as I continue listening to the series.
June 9, 2007
Still a wonderful book in a wonderful series, but this one lacks the memorable moments of the others, and Mary is blind, which shocked me as a child.
March 8, 2025
Quite a transitional and paradigm-shfiting book in the series—Laura grows out of childhood, the Ingalls family settles down, and for the first time, the world is unmistakably one of the 19th century—that seems like a beautiful silver pin holding together the three earlier and three later installments.*
Though my children begged me to read it last summer, right after Plum Creek, I held off because I wasn't sure how well they would respond to the different tone and circumstances of this volume. When we did finally begin, I was curious to see how they would react—Laura is now 13, much older than any of them, and assuming many adult responsibilities in the household; Mary is blind; Jack dies. Everything seems to have changed at the beginning of the book.
But my three children found, as I remember finding when I first read the book, enough to compensate for these sad or uncomfortable changes. Perhaps the real consolation is that, despite so many alterations, much more stays the same—Laura's zest for life, Pa's cheerful optimism, Ma's loving caution, the sisterly bond between Laura and Mary, a newer bond with Carrie, the music of the fiddle, the comfort of family life and the ability to make a home and cook excellent food whatever the odd living arrangements.
Everyone says that one of the main events of 19th-century America is the building of the railroad that linked east to west. You can hardly find a better dramatization of this watershed than Silver Lake. The story opens with the family riding a train for the first time, Pa is employed by the railroad commission, and the family lives for a few months in a railroad camp. Scarcely has the railroad been built, but east moves west, and those symbols of 19th-century civilization emerge: Laura encounters magazines and serialized stories, Pa teaches his daughters to dance, the Ingallses and their friends sing together—in parts!—with great enthusiasm, they have a prayer meeting when itinerant preachers visit, and they learn about the seminary for the blind that Mary ends up attending. It's fun to see how even on the yet-unsettled prairie with only one neighbor for 60 miles, the family begins to have much closer contact with the culture of the eastern states—far more than in the first two Little House books, and more even than in Plum Creek—a trend that will continue in the remaining books of the series.
In fact, it's this blend of emerging eastern culture and the wilder pioneer culture (each personified by one of Laura's parents) that makes the whole series so fascinating. There is a constant trend toward greater civilization, and that is the way that Ma always pulls the family, but there are many setbacks along the way as Pa changes his mind, the family loses prosperity, or the weather interferes. (The most surprising, though the most temporary, setback is in The Long Winter, which sees the Ingalls family, though settled in a town with a railroad, cut off from all civilization and reduced to lower standards of living than ever before by unremitting blizzards.)
Silver Lake is also transitional in that it sets the stage for Laura's adult life. She begins to ponder (with dread and eventual acceptance) the vocation as teacher that she will pursue in the following volumes. And I think the book also invites, very quietly, speculation about her eventual marriage. West and east seem to vie for her allegiance when she learns of the marriage of a 14-year-old friend of her cousin; she and Lena sing lots of romantic songs as they milk cows, and they discuss the idea of early marriage, raising the possibility that Laura and Lena might both end up as very young pioneer brides. But Ma again pulls Laura back into what feels like eastern sanity; we hear no more of Lena and her half-wild lifestyle. But by the end of the book a glimpse of Almonzo—and his horses—whispers of Laura's eventual marriage, three books later, that will take place at the much more civilized age of 19.
Altogether, Silver Lake strikes me as a wondrously rich book that maintains the threads of all earlier books while introducing some dazzling new threads. And it might be my favorite in the whole series—except I think that about every book I reread with my children. (I will have to content myself by declaring the whole Little House series my favorite series.)
* Here I exclude Farmer Boy from the set of earlier volumes, since it doesn't tell Laura's story. I always exclude The First Four Years from the later volumes, since it is so very inferior to the others: unrevised, posthumously published, and never meant, in the state it was left in, to be part of the series.
Though my children begged me to read it last summer, right after Plum Creek, I held off because I wasn't sure how well they would respond to the different tone and circumstances of this volume. When we did finally begin, I was curious to see how they would react—Laura is now 13, much older than any of them, and assuming many adult responsibilities in the household; Mary is blind; Jack dies. Everything seems to have changed at the beginning of the book.
But my three children found, as I remember finding when I first read the book, enough to compensate for these sad or uncomfortable changes. Perhaps the real consolation is that, despite so many alterations, much more stays the same—Laura's zest for life, Pa's cheerful optimism, Ma's loving caution, the sisterly bond between Laura and Mary, a newer bond with Carrie, the music of the fiddle, the comfort of family life and the ability to make a home and cook excellent food whatever the odd living arrangements.
Everyone says that one of the main events of 19th-century America is the building of the railroad that linked east to west. You can hardly find a better dramatization of this watershed than Silver Lake. The story opens with the family riding a train for the first time, Pa is employed by the railroad commission, and the family lives for a few months in a railroad camp. Scarcely has the railroad been built, but east moves west, and those symbols of 19th-century civilization emerge: Laura encounters magazines and serialized stories, Pa teaches his daughters to dance, the Ingallses and their friends sing together—in parts!—with great enthusiasm, they have a prayer meeting when itinerant preachers visit, and they learn about the seminary for the blind that Mary ends up attending. It's fun to see how even on the yet-unsettled prairie with only one neighbor for 60 miles, the family begins to have much closer contact with the culture of the eastern states—far more than in the first two Little House books, and more even than in Plum Creek—a trend that will continue in the remaining books of the series.
In fact, it's this blend of emerging eastern culture and the wilder pioneer culture (each personified by one of Laura's parents) that makes the whole series so fascinating. There is a constant trend toward greater civilization, and that is the way that Ma always pulls the family, but there are many setbacks along the way as Pa changes his mind, the family loses prosperity, or the weather interferes. (The most surprising, though the most temporary, setback is in The Long Winter, which sees the Ingalls family, though settled in a town with a railroad, cut off from all civilization and reduced to lower standards of living than ever before by unremitting blizzards.)
Silver Lake is also transitional in that it sets the stage for Laura's adult life. She begins to ponder (with dread and eventual acceptance) the vocation as teacher that she will pursue in the following volumes. And I think the book also invites, very quietly, speculation about her eventual marriage. West and east seem to vie for her allegiance when she learns of the marriage of a 14-year-old friend of her cousin; she and Lena sing lots of romantic songs as they milk cows, and they discuss the idea of early marriage, raising the possibility that Laura and Lena might both end up as very young pioneer brides. But Ma again pulls Laura back into what feels like eastern sanity; we hear no more of Lena and her half-wild lifestyle. But by the end of the book a glimpse of Almonzo—and his horses—whispers of Laura's eventual marriage, three books later, that will take place at the much more civilized age of 19.
Altogether, Silver Lake strikes me as a wondrously rich book that maintains the threads of all earlier books while introducing some dazzling new threads. And it might be my favorite in the whole series—except I think that about every book I reread with my children. (I will have to content myself by declaring the whole Little House series my favorite series.)
* Here I exclude Farmer Boy from the set of earlier volumes, since it doesn't tell Laura's story. I always exclude The First Four Years from the later volumes, since it is so very inferior to the others: unrevised, posthumously published, and never meant, in the state it was left in, to be part of the series.
January 21, 2022
So I am trying to read more classics and this is one of them. I admit I picked this because of the horse on the cover while having no idea what the story is actually about. And apparently it's the fifth book in a series although this certainly can be read on it's own because that is what I just did.
So what is this about? It's about a family in 1880 moving west to an area near Silver Lake (although they don't seem to say what state this is? Oh its the Dakota Territory so its not a state yet) on the wide open prairie. The father gets a job with people building a train track - not the actual track but getting the ground ready for a track. The book describes this process although I didn't fully understand it (except in a more simple way: remove dirt from one area and put it in another area to make it all nice & level)...
The main character is young Laura and she has several sisters: Mary, Grace and Carrie. Basically the story is about their everyday life and the little adventures they had living on the prairie, including staying there through the winter. And the fervor is getting a claim for land.
I did enjoy this story. It's entertaining and interesting to see how they lived: what they ate, how they made Christmas gifts for each other in secret, the strange people that were passing through and how their presence affected the wildlife. Some of the descriptions were really amazing, like how two of the girls went outside onto the frozen lake in winter during a full moon and slid on the ice.
I think my favorite scene in here was when Laura rode the pony that belonged to her cousin. She had never ridden before but was bold enough to go at a crazy gallop with no experience at all and without a saddle! But she clearly loved it and I could see by the end of the book she had clearly caught the horse "bug" as she was eying very special horses that were going by! It makes me curious about other books in the series. Will she continue and maybe indulge her love of horses somehow? I have no idea.
The edition I read has nice black and white drawings at the start of each chapter.
So what is this about? It's about a family in 1880 moving west to an area near Silver Lake (although they don't seem to say what state this is? Oh its the Dakota Territory so its not a state yet) on the wide open prairie. The father gets a job with people building a train track - not the actual track but getting the ground ready for a track. The book describes this process although I didn't fully understand it (except in a more simple way: remove dirt from one area and put it in another area to make it all nice & level)...
The main character is young Laura and she has several sisters: Mary, Grace and Carrie. Basically the story is about their everyday life and the little adventures they had living on the prairie, including staying there through the winter. And the fervor is getting a claim for land.
I did enjoy this story. It's entertaining and interesting to see how they lived: what they ate, how they made Christmas gifts for each other in secret, the strange people that were passing through and how their presence affected the wildlife. Some of the descriptions were really amazing, like how two of the girls went outside onto the frozen lake in winter during a full moon and slid on the ice.
I think my favorite scene in here was when Laura rode the pony that belonged to her cousin. She had never ridden before but was bold enough to go at a crazy gallop with no experience at all and without a saddle! But she clearly loved it and I could see by the end of the book she had clearly caught the horse "bug" as she was eying very special horses that were going by! It makes me curious about other books in the series. Will she continue and maybe indulge her love of horses somehow? I have no idea.
The edition I read has nice black and white drawings at the start of each chapter.
May 22, 2024
This is not my favorite out of the Little House books, but still a really good story! The writing is beautiful, and the more I reread this series, the more I love it!
In this book, Laura and her family are following the railroad where her father has a job keeping the books and distributing the men's pay. But the railroad men are a rough group, and Laura worries for her father's safety. Once the railroad has finished their work, the Ingalls family stays the winter in the surveyors cabin. But as soon as spring begins, there are settlers rushing in to stake a claim on the surrounding land. Mr. Ingalls will have to be quick to get his claim registered before all the land is gone.
It's interesting to see how Laura and her sisters are a little more wild and free in this book. There is no town, no neighbors to see, so their behavior is a little more unreserved. They are influenced by their wild cousins who gallop around on ponies, hooting and playing. Their mother doesn't like it though, and urges them to behave properly and wear their sunbonnets.
In the other books of this series, the greatest enemy of the family is nature itself. They have to survive the grasshoppers who eat all their crops. They have to survive the harsh winters and wild weather. But in this book, we see the threats from other people. Rough railroad men who swear and steal and get drunk. Robbers who sneak up behind you on the trail. Or claim jumpers who would murder just to get the land you live on.
Despite all the dangers, the Ingalls family meet life on the prairie with courage and resilience and a cheerful heart!
In this book, Laura and her family are following the railroad where her father has a job keeping the books and distributing the men's pay. But the railroad men are a rough group, and Laura worries for her father's safety. Once the railroad has finished their work, the Ingalls family stays the winter in the surveyors cabin. But as soon as spring begins, there are settlers rushing in to stake a claim on the surrounding land. Mr. Ingalls will have to be quick to get his claim registered before all the land is gone.
It's interesting to see how Laura and her sisters are a little more wild and free in this book. There is no town, no neighbors to see, so their behavior is a little more unreserved. They are influenced by their wild cousins who gallop around on ponies, hooting and playing. Their mother doesn't like it though, and urges them to behave properly and wear their sunbonnets.
In the other books of this series, the greatest enemy of the family is nature itself. They have to survive the grasshoppers who eat all their crops. They have to survive the harsh winters and wild weather. But in this book, we see the threats from other people. Rough railroad men who swear and steal and get drunk. Robbers who sneak up behind you on the trail. Or claim jumpers who would murder just to get the land you live on.
Despite all the dangers, the Ingalls family meet life on the prairie with courage and resilience and a cheerful heart!
September 5, 2016
I've been enjoying the Little House books so far because the writing is always so beautiful but this one was definitely a miss for me. Let's count all the ways that this series is starting to grate on me:
1- How many times is this family going to move? I mean seriously. Every single book. It gets old. I am tired of reading about them packing up and traveling and unpacking. Every. Single. Book.
2- It seems almost like there is a book missing between book four and this one. It starts with Laura informing everyone that the family recently all contracted scarlet fever and Mary went blind. What?! Where is that book?? Why wasn't that a complete book on it's own?
3- Ma is the biggest self-righteous racist there is.
4- Pa is a loser. Let's just be honest about this. I think if he was alive today he would be the one posting chain mails on your Facebook wall and privately messaging you asking if you wanted to join his pyramid scheme. He is not a good provider for his family. He takes too many risks and drops everything at the drop of a hat to race off into the wilderness to try something new.
5- And Mary is just a smug asshole.
6- What was with all the hokey songs??
1- How many times is this family going to move? I mean seriously. Every single book. It gets old. I am tired of reading about them packing up and traveling and unpacking. Every. Single. Book.
2- It seems almost like there is a book missing between book four and this one. It starts with Laura informing everyone that the family recently all contracted scarlet fever and Mary went blind. What?! Where is that book?? Why wasn't that a complete book on it's own?
3- Ma is the biggest self-righteous racist there is.
4- Pa is a loser. Let's just be honest about this. I think if he was alive today he would be the one posting chain mails on your Facebook wall and privately messaging you asking if you wanted to join his pyramid scheme. He is not a good provider for his family. He takes too many risks and drops everything at the drop of a hat to race off into the wilderness to try something new.
5- And Mary is just a smug asshole.
6- What was with all the hokey songs??
October 19, 2024
This isn't my favorite of the Little House books, but I still enjoyed it. Reading through as an adult, I am so amazed at the things "Ma" went through - wow. I love the view of settling the American West through the eyes of a child - they were in some really dangerous situations. Anyway, it's a great "comfort food" series for me.
May 20, 2024
The Wilder on the Prairie Podcast is getting ready to do this one, so I picked it up to reread. I have read it so often that it really flies by, but it is so interesting to see what stands out on each subsequent reading. While it’s not my favorite, it furthers the story well and the girls are growing up. I did laugh out loud at intentionally planting cottonwoods.
July 1, 2017
So Mary went blind in between books and it was just barely touched on? Weird, but okay. This book was pretty exciting in its events, as has been the trend. I can't imagine how terrifying to be entirely by yourselves on the prairie like that, especially with the men threatening Pa.
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