Little House in the Big Woods (Little House #1) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

Summary (from the publisher): Wolves and panthers and bears roamed the deep Wisconsin woods in the 1870's. In those same woods, Laura Ingalls lived with her Pa and Ma and her sisters, Mary and Baby Carrie, in a snug little house built of logs. Pa hunted and trapped. Ma made her own cheese and maple sugar. All night long, the wind howled lonesomely, but Pa played his fiddle and sang to his little girls.

Review: I still vividly remember receiving a box set of the Little House books for Christmas as a girl and was so excited to start reading these aloud with my three children. (And perfect timing too in advance of the new Netflix adaptation that will air in July!). 

This middle grade classic is a fictional portrayal of author Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood. In this first book, we meet a young Laura who lives with her mother, father, older sister Mary, and younger sister Carrie in the woods of Wisconsin in the 1870s. I loved hearing about their everyday life tending the garden, putting away food for winter, making molasses, and all the chores that went into life in a rustic cabin in a time before running water or electricity. There are also a lot of moral lessons in this about the value of hard work, the importance of listening to our elders, respecting the Sabbath, and the value of a good, honest lifestyle. 

My children all really enjoyed this and learned a lot about life in the 1870s. Like generations of children, they were shocked to learn Laura and her sister played with a ball made out of a pig's bladder! And were taken aback to learn they couldn't play or do anything resembling work on Sundays. They marveled at how simple Christmas was for Laura, who is delighted to get a rag doll to finally replace the corn husk doll she had previously played with. This was truly a simpler time, with their modest log cabin and the children entertained by playing "house" on stumps and pretend play with leaves and other items they collected outside. There are also a lot of exciting stories in here about wildlife, especially encounters with bears, and a cousin who has a bad run in with a bee's nest, so attention was high throughout. 

This was very much a nostalgic read for me. This was always one of my favorite books in the series, I think because the family seems so snug and insular and safe in their log cabin but yet with the comfort of extended family nearby. Rereading this as an adult and a mother, I couldn't help but read it more from Ma's perspective. I can't imagine how she kept up with the workload, all while frequently being left home alone with three children most days. Or getting through the harsh winter when they were literally stuck inside most days. No wonder Laura and her sister spent so much time playing in the attic. I was shocked at how infrequently baby Carrie is mentioned in this. She is almost non-existent in the text. 

Of course, this is an idealized version of life, but it was also written as fiction for children's consumption. Despite being the highlights of her time in Wisconsin, I think the author still did a great job of capturing life as it was in her childhood and making the realities of the workload and hardships clear. I've already moved on to book two and am excited to keep rereading the series. 

Stars: 4.5