Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The first in a series of truly charming tales of life on the early American frontier, Little House in the Big Woods introduces us to Laura Ingalls, her Ma and Pa, big sister Mary and Baby Carrie. She lives in an isolated cabin in the Big Woods of Wisconsin and spends her days helping Ma with household chores, learning how to care for a house, farm and family. The descriptions of typical activities on a farm in that era will captivate the imaginations of young and old alike. This series also contains the titles Little House on the Prairie, On The Banks of Plum Creek, By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Farmer Boy, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years. They inspired the popular, 1970s television series Little House on the Prairie.

This series is available now through our library's e-book collection, so I reread this little gem. I always forget how much of the Ingalls's life was focused on subsistence. Ma works all day and then knits socks by the firelight; makes cheese and braids hats; hacks butternut squash with Pa's ax and sews calico dresses. Omnicompetent.

review coming later

Re-reading Little House in the Big Woods this year brought back so many memories from my childhood. I used to read late at night when I was a kid, long after my parents had put us all to bed. It???s one of the reasons why I wear glasses now - I would spend hours reading by the light from the Jack-and-Jill bathroom between my room and my brothers??? room.

I loved reading this story again as an adult and found myself so intrigued by all of the ways the Ingalls family did things differently than we do in western society now. As someone who dreams of farming, enjoys gardening and growing food, and who loves to spend time in the kitchen processing and preserving a harvest, it was so fascinating to read about how Pa would smoke the meat they were putting up for winter or how the family got together to process their maple syrup for the year. It made me grateful for the convenience afforded to me today, but also made me yearn for a simpler way of living that involves a deeper connection to the land, a more grounded sense of place and a more holistic way of fostering community. I do look forward to reading the rest of the series again.

There are a couple of references in the book that are racist (primarily in song lyrics), which is why I did not give the story a full 5 star review. I would recommend having healthy conversations about this with your young ones who might read this book.

I loved these books as a child, and I love them now! Of course, time moves on – there are moments of clear ignorant racism, spanking was the norm, pretty graphic depictions of hunting and preparing meat abound. Hides get tanned – this refers to spanking, not meat prep. I think these books have value in their own right, and as a history lesson. Love the illustrations.

I was watching the show recently, and there was a scene where everyone kept Carrie in the dark about the fate of a piglet. Cutesy. The real Ingalls girls were never in the dark.