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Little House in the Big Woods by Laura…
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Little House in the Big Woods (original 1932; edition 2004)

by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Author), Garth Williams (Illustrator)

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16,084286326 (4.13)273
Little House in the Big Woods is the story of Laura Ingalls as a child. The book tells the tales of Laura and her family living in the woods of Wisconsin in the 1860's. With stories about long winter days, churning butter, making molasses candy, pa playing the fiddle, dancing at grandpas and going to town. It was a different time.

I grew up watching the Little House show but have never actually read the books. I enjoyed the book a lot. I think that it is told in a way that would appeal to young children. Children can learn about what it was like to live a long time ago, without tv, stores on every corner and the preparation that goes into making food and storing for months when food is harder to come by. There is a lot about making and storing food in the books, because a lot of work went into feeding a family. Hunting, churning butter, preserving, making vegetables and fruit last for as long as possible without freezer and modern conveniences. I would love to read this and then try to make molasses candy like Laura and Mary, make our own butter and bread and learn about how things were done long ago. ( )
  JPEmmrich5 | Dec 5, 2015 |
English (280)  Swedish (2)  Greek (1)  Spanish (1)  Catalan (1)  Dutch (1)  All languages (286)
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Meet Laura Ingalls...the little girl who would grow up to write the Little House books. 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 syrup. All night long, the wind howled lonesomely, but Pa played his fiddle and sang, keeping the family safe and cozy.
  PlumfieldCH | Mar 21, 2024 |
Meet Laura Ingalls...the little girl who would grow up to write the Little House books. 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 syrup. All night long, the wind howled lonesomely, but Pa played his fiddle and sang, keeping the family safe and cozy.
  PlumfieldCH | Mar 16, 2024 |
Adventure
  BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
First sentence: Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.

Premise/plot: Little House in the Big Woods is the first in an autobiographical FICTION series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura Ingalls Wilder is sharing her vivid memories of childhood starting with her Wisconsin years. She writes of Pa, Ma, Mary, and baby Carrie. She writes of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She writes of chores, chores, and more chores. She writes of story and song. So many chapters of this one feature an extra-bonus story. Laura recalling Pa recalling a story from his own past, a story from his father's past, a story from his grandfather's past. This one really does capture many of the five senses--the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, etc. of her childhood. It is a personal story, though probably not unique. She is writing of "sixty years ago," a way of life then past, a way of life falling out of [collective] memory perhaps, a way of life that can only be memorialized (is that the right word???) in family stories. Every family has stories. Not all families pass along the stories throughout the generations. The book is an act of love.

My thoughts: The series is not without controversy. I know that. You know that. We've lived long enough that Laura Ingalls Wilder--for better or worse--has fallen out of fashion, out of style. At best she's seen as quaint. At worst, well, a racist. I do think Little House in the Big Woods may be the least problematic in the series. The possible offenders being Ma baking a type of bread called "Rye n' Injun bread" and Pa singing a line in a song with the word darky. (The bread is made from rye flour and corn meal.)

I appreciated many things about this one. I love all the snapshots of day-to-day simple life. I love the snapshots of special memories--like the Christmas chapter, or the one where they go to visit family and make candy. I love the focus on family, on storytelling, on tradition. I wouldn't say the book is overly faith-forward or religious, yet, I think in some ways faith provides the skeleton--the structure--beneath.

I do read it differently the older I get. Here is the last paragraph that hit me right in the heart:

She thought to herself, "This is now."
She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

Very true to life, in my opinion. ( )
  blbooks | Jan 15, 2024 |
LHBW is a fictionalized memoir of Laura Ingalls Wilder from when she was 4-5 years old and living near Pepin, Wisconsin. As such, there's a childlike sense of wonder to life on the frontier. Reading as an adult, there's definitely omissions that child!Laura doesn't notice but an adult very much is skipping over: specifically, that these weren't unpopulated lands but rather that people used to live there, and a lot of Pa's fun fiddle songs are minstrel songs that were clipped even for a 1930s audience.

Would probably still be a good read aloud story for kids, but also a good teaching opportunity re: this period. ( )
  Daumari | Dec 28, 2023 |
I just finished reading this with Avalon, Liam, Kynthia, and Brenna. We loved it...me and Avalon cried at the end. Ha! We will start the next in the series tomorrow. We live near Mansfield, MO which is where Laura lived when she wrote these stories and we're looking forward to going to visit that homestead one day soon! ( )
  classyhomemaker | Dec 11, 2023 |
Writing: 4.5; Theme: 5.0; Content: 5.0; Language: 5.0; Overall: 5.0

This is the first in this classic children's series based on the life of the Ingalls' family as told from Laura Ingalls Wilder's perspective. The author shares the many fun adventures of prairie living as a family living in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. We are introduced to the Ingalls' family (Charles, Caroline and their three children- Mary, the oldest, Laura, and their youngest, Carrie). There are many wonderful principles taught throughout with Wilder's homely style of writing. Highly recomend.

***December 5, 2023*** ( )
  jntjesussaves | Dec 7, 2023 |
Meet Laura Ingalls...the little girl who would grow up to write the Little House books. 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 syrup. All night long, the wind howled lonesomely, but Pa played his fiddle and sang, keeping the family safe and cozy.
  PlumfieldCH | Nov 4, 2023 |
This book was read to me by my father to me and my little brother when we where very young. I remember the fantasies of that warm wooden house, and especially the great descriptions of cooking and crafmanship. Other books of the series are great too, but as the first, this book has a special place in my hart. ( )
  Twisk | Oct 2, 2023 |
I have never read this series, though I did watch the show when I was younger. I think I always assumed it would be boring to read, though. I can't say for sure it wouldn't have been when I was younger, but I completely enjoyed it now. This in-depth look at life for an American pioneer family through the eyes of a little girl is full of heart, teaching the reader about how pioneers had to work almost constantly in order to have enough to eat throughout the year, a place to live, and warmth in the winter, forget toys and luxuries. I appreciate how, even when the kids are punished, their parents clearly still love them and make sure they know it. Despite the hardships and all of the work they had to do, it was a simpler time that, in some ways, we're all the worse for losing.

My enjoyment of the book was greatly enhanced by the audiobook narrator. Cherry Jones did a fantastic job, and I am so happy to know that I can stay with her through the whole series. On top of that, whenever Pa played the fiddle in the book, we get to hear it! And Cherry Jones sings along when the lyrics are in the book, making for a beautiful listening experience! If you've ever considered reading this book, or have already read it and have occasion to listen to the audiobook, I say do it! ( )
  Kristi_D | Sep 22, 2023 |
I've read my childhood edition probably dozens of times, but not in many years. I recently moved to Minnesota quite close to Lake Pepin and I plan to do a day trip to visit the re-created cabin there. It was high time to read the book again to get the details in my head--and to get another hint of the winter weather I'll soon experience.

I still love this book--the voice, the day-to-day details, the pioneer how-to, Pa's stories. One negative to note: my boxed set of Little House books dates to about 1990, and still has some of the original racist period language; I was taken aback by a song in this book, because I'd forgotten all about it. I wouldn't be missed in newer editions, that's for sure.

I'll need to reread the whole series over the next while. ( )
  ladycato | Aug 9, 2023 |
I think this is the first English novel I've read. It was awesome. ( )
  rezaulhayat | Aug 6, 2023 |
Independent Reading Level: 4-6
Awards: N/A
  PaigeDavison | Apr 29, 2023 |
Things I remembered with love from reading this as a child: eating cracklings, making a balloon from a pig’s bladder.

Things I did not remember or even notice: there are a lot of guns and spankings. I told my friend this could be retitled “Guns n Spankings”. I used this as a point of discussion with my children to cover how disobedience could lead to extreme consequences in a time and place without easy access to doctors and communication. We also compared it to an Old Testament style vs NT as we were reading the Old Testament concurrently. It was interesting to reread as an adult.

My kids enjoyed this very much and I did too. I personally chose to edit out some language I did not want my children to adopt. It definitely held up vs some other books I’ve reread as an adult.

TLDR if you practice gentle parenting you might want to preread. If you are pro 2A in theory but did not grow up with guns you might also be surprised.

If you grew up never playing with a pig’s bladder balloon, what can I say? Samesies. ( )
  FamiliesUnitedLL | Mar 15, 2023 |
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.
( )
  erindarlyn | Jan 21, 2023 |
Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in Wisconsin in 1870? If yes, then the book Little house in the big woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder would be a good book for you to read. This book is the first book in the nine book series, “Little house on the Prairie”. In the book “Little House in the Big Woods”, Laura talks about what life was like for her and her family during the 1870s. The story takes place in a little log cabin where Laura and her family live in the big woods. Laura lives in the cabin with her mom, Caroline, her father, Charles, her older sister, Mary, and her younger sister, Carrie, and their dog, Jack. The storyline of the book is all about how Laura and her family are gonna survive the long hard winter. Laura talks all about what her family does to survive and all the struggles along the way.
The parts of the book that I really enjoyed was when Laura talked about funny stories that happened to her and her family. I enjoyed the book alot because of the way Laura told the story, for instance she used first person so I could picture exactly what she experienced. I also enjoyed how it showed how people in the 1870 lived and their way of life. I didn’t enjoy it, however, when she put lots of detail into things that were not very important to the story line. Like for example when she talked so much about nature and objects that didn’t really have any meaning to the story.
I however could understand why some people might not like the book as much as I did. Like for example, if you're not big into storytelling then people might find the book not as interesting. Someone also might not like the book as much if you aren’t big into outdoors or don’t care that much about family life. The book is mainly about the outdoors and family so I think you need to have some interest in these topics or you won’t enjoy the book much. But for me I really enjoy those things so I enjoyed the book very much.
I would however, definitely recommend people to read the book “Little House in the Big Woods” because of all the adventure and stories that Laura talks about in the book. Although the book is a very big eye opener on how people survived winter in the 1870s and showed lots of hardships, it has very interesting stories and facts you probably have never heard before so you read this book to give you a better perspective on the life we have. ( )
  a.geiser | Jan 2, 2023 |
Good book about everyday and seasonal activities living in the big woods of Wisconsin. Lots of hard work but enjoying the beauties of Winter, Spring, etc. The father, Charles, has a bushy beard and loves to fiddle. More basic than the TV series. I like the art of Garth Williams. He also did Charlotte's Web. Laura is very young in this one. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
This was AMAZING! Such a classic, and the vibe it gave was just... ( )
  BooksbyStarlight | Oct 25, 2022 |
I didn't read the Little House books as a child but did watch some of the TV series. Read this to get a feel for the series before I start Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser. Not sure whether I'll read more of this series or not.
  Chris.Wolak | Oct 13, 2022 |
Classic literature. American history ( )
  MaryRachelSmith | Oct 8, 2022 |
Little house in the big woods is a great story. I think it is a little boring but still great! a read again for sure! ( )
  HVMkay | Jul 25, 2022 |
The boys liked this one but we read it so long ago they don't really remember it. It's not as good as the later ones but you need to read it to understand the whole saga. ( )
  Luziadovalongo | Jul 14, 2022 |
DNF. Could not stand it. ( )
  pacbox | Jul 9, 2022 |
This is a re-read for me as it's been so long since I've been able to sit down and enjoy the story from another perspective. As an adult, it is easier for me to understand the simplicity behind the telling of the Ingalls' story and the way Laura Ingalls chose to describe the area in which she lived with such loving detail. It was lovely to visit the Big Woods and be able to visualize the area and the events she described. ( )
  Micareads | Jun 21, 2022 |
Another childhood classic. This was a huge part of our homeschool curriculum when we studied America Expansion - post Civil War! ( )
  natmo | Jun 1, 2022 |
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