Friday, April 15, 2016

Book Review- Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Series

For the Hard Core Re-Reading Challenge I re-rad Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series.
It's very hard to review a series I've read and re-read so many times but here are a few thoughts on my love for this adorable series.

Little House in the Big Woods

The nostalgia that came with re-reading this was incredible! I love their little house, Charlotte, pa's stories, butchering the pig, making syrup, pa's fiddle playing, just everything! It's such a cozy book that makes me feel good inside. My favorite scene, for reasons I just don't know why, is Mary and Laura sitting in the attic surrounded by the vegetables, sitting on pumpkin, playing with their dolls.


Little House on the Prairie

This one takes place in Kansas so bonus there. ;) It's cool to see pa building the house. How him and ma work together is so beautiful. I love their marriage. They're different but they learn to work together and compromise. It makes me so sad that they have to leave the house because they were just slightly off with the boundaries.

Farmer Boy 

This was never one of my favorites and I actually almost considered skipping it with this re-read. However, I didn't and I'm glad of that. It was really enjoyable and it reminded me a lot of Ralph Moody's Little Britches series that I re-read last year except those are grittier and more realistic. I feel like the Wilders have it pretty well but they do work hard for it. It's amazing how diligently the whole family works. There's no excuse making. They work because they know they have to. And the food in this one! Yum! Don't read it when you're already hungry. Just saying.

On the Banks of Plum Creek

This always made me want to live in a dugout... that and there was a dugout down the road from our house. It sounds so cool! This is maybe my least favorite of the series but I still like it a lot. It's just rather depressing how hard they work and still fail. I'm surprised they stayed there so long. This one also spans a lot of years, which I never quite realized before.

By the Shores of Silver Lake

I feel in this one that Laura is really starting to grow up. They finally settle down for good. I love the people that they are surrounded by. The Boasts are the best! Also we get our first mention of Almanzo! 

The Long Winter

In this one I feel like we get to know Carrie a lot more. You really see Laura and Carrie's friendship blossom. It makes me think of my little sister and I. I told her that and she said she didn't mind as she liked Carrie. So I get to be Laura. ;) Anyways.... focus! You really get to see Almanzo shine in this one and start to fall in love with him already. Cap is awesome too though and their willingness to go out and get the wheat is just so perfect! Real men get wheat! That should be a T-shirt! ;)

Little Town on the Prairie

So yeah... Almanzo and Laura start courting in this one. :) Not that Laura really realizes it! Get with it Laura! ;) You see a lot of how hard Laura is working in her school too and her dedication to her studies and to her sister Mary. It's really inspiring how hard she works because she wants to teach so she can earn money to send her sister to school. I also love all of the things the town gets together. It's so much fun and the relationships built there are great. I feel like you get to know the people in DeSmet better than any most of the other people Laura writes about. Maybe because she was older than and she remembered them better and she lived with them longer as well. I've always loved Mary Powers, Ida and all of the others. Nellie aggravates me and sorry Eliza Jane, you were okay as a kid but you're really annoying as an adult! 

These Happy Golden Years

This is my favorite of the series and always has been. Almanzo and Laura are so stinking cute! I forgot how resistant Laura was to the whole idea of courting Almanzo at first. Thank goodness she comes around! When I read it this time though I realized how much the horses were a factor in their relationship. ;) Reading it, I feel like Laura just kind of drifted into falling in love with him. She was in the middle of it before she knew she had began. And Almanzo! He's adorable how persistent he is and how sweet and kind he is. Even when Laura tells him he's not interested he still drives to get her every week! Ah! I just love those two and I love this book! :)

Overall I just couldn't recommend this series more. It's beautifully cozy and lovely. They're perfect to read aloud as well. They're the kind of books that will endure for many more years to come. 


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9 comments:

  1. I basically grew up on this series. They're so beautiful, and like you said, cosy and nostalgic. I also appreciate how hard all of the characters work; and yet they still know how to have fun. :)

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  2. I'm in the process of re-reading the series too and I also had forgotten how much I enjoyed the series. It's been a lot of fun getting to know the characters again

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    1. It's amazing how you can fall in love with a book all over again! :)

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  3. English not being my mother tongue, I only started reading this series as an adult. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I always wished to pass it on to my children but I have two boys and couldn't really convince them that this was one of the greatest series ever. ;)

    If you are interested, you can read my blog post about it here.

    Happy Reading,
    Marianne from
    Let's Read

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    1. I'm going to have a hard time if I have boys because I'll want them to read Anne of Green Gables and the Littld House books and they won't be too keen on it I'm sure.

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    2. Oh, don't worry, there are a lot of books you can read with boys, too. And then there's always hope for a granddaughter. ;)

      Have a great weekend,
      Marianne from
      Let's Read

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  4. My mom used to read these aloud to us on long car rides, and now I'm reading them aloud to my kids on long car rides and really loving revisiting them. My son likes them equally as much as my daughters, and my husband likes them best of all because he never read/heard them as a child, and he's finding them completely fascinating!

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    1. That's great your son can enjoy them as well. My brothers were not so complaint. ;)

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