Friday, March 20, 2015

Off to Indian Country

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Published
: 1971 by Harper Trophy
First Published: 1935
It's the most famous one of the series, the one the tv show is named after. Yet, I always found it so interesting that this book isn't the one that the tv show comes from (Instead it's really based on On the Banks of Plum Creek, at least at first).

One aspect I loved about this book specifically growing up was how detailed everything was. When Pa builds a house or a door, it was so clear you could almost see yourself following the directions to build it yourself.

Except what I didn't quite get then was how hard life really was for the Ingalls. As a kid I could have told you it was hard, but really all I could see was how fun it was for Laura. This time I can clearly see how perilous things really were for them. When Ma sprains her ankle while building their house it seems miserable, but now I see all the what ifs. If Ma had broken her leg, then what? There were two small girls and a baby she needed to take care of. Or if something happened to Pa the girls would really be alone in the wilderness. It definitely puts a different perspective to these books.

5/5

Today I'm linking up with Blonde Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday!

4 comments:

  1. Oh wow, I've never read this! I wonder if one of my kids would want to read it :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved this book when I was a kid. I remember sitting on the heat vent in my bedroom and reading it one winter day...but I can barely remember the story now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I read these books with my daughter when she was little and remember being fascinated with all the details. Even cooking supper was an adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is making me want to re-read these books. I really did love this one.

    ReplyDelete