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Little House on the Prairie (Little House,…
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Little House on the Prairie (Little House, #3) (original 1935; edition 1994)

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

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15,445227347 (4.11)436
I finished reading this to my children last night. I have somewhat regularly read them a chapter each night. I enjoyed reading this book and series when I was a boy. It is interesting to see it from an adult perspective, and see the historical perspective (I understand that the books were somewhat conglomerations by Laura and her daughter Rose, and that the sequence was actually Prairie THEN Big House in the Woods).

My kids enjoyed the stories about the birth of the pony, the Indian stories, and the story of Mr. Edwards encountering Santa Claus and bringing back things to them. I explained to them the wealth that they live in, compared to the poverty that these children and family experience; nevertheless, they were happy and enjoyed life. One phrase that was interesting to me was after planting gardens, they would "eat like kings". We truly eat like kings today, as we have many of the privileges that Monarch and/or Nobility once held to themselves. ( )
  quinton.baran | Mar 29, 2021 |
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Laura Ingalls and her family are heading to Kansas! Leaving behind their home in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, they travel by covered wagon until they find the perfect spot to build a little house on the prairie. Laura and her sister Mary love exploring the rolling hills around their new home, but the family must soon get to work, farming and hunting and gathering food for themselves and for their livestock. Just when the Ingalls family starts to settle into their new home, they find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict. Will they have to move again?
  PlumfieldCH | Mar 11, 2024 |
One of my favorite childhood books ( )
  Linyarai | Mar 6, 2024 |
Family
  BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
First sentence: A long time ago, when all the grandfathers and grandmothers of today were little boys and little girls or very small babies, or perhaps not even born, Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie left their little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. They drove away and left it lonely and empty in the clearing among the big trees, and they never saw that little house again. They were going to the Indian country.

Premise/plot: Laura Ingalls travels with her family to Indian Territory [aka Kansas], but alas the family must move again by the end of the novel when the government forces them out.

My thoughts: Though Little House on the Prairie is the name of the television show and seems to represent the "brand" of the "Little House" books because of that, this one--Little House on the Prairie--is not my favorite or best. I'm not sure if it's because the plot is ultimately pointless OR if it's because the content is the most problematic of the whole series. Perhaps a bit of both.

First, I don't hate Little House on the Prairie--this specific book, the series as a whole, or the television series. I am NOT part of the cancel culture that has arisen surrounding this author and series.

Second, NEWSFLASH, Laura Ingalls Wilder is recalling and chronicling a mindset from sixty to seventy years prior. It was not her job as an author in 1935 to course-correct the "Manifest Destiny" mindset. The "go west, young man" philosophy that would colonize the entirety of the United States--from "sea to shining sea." NEWSFLASH if you were a pioneer settling in the WEST chances are you felt entitled and 'in the right' to settle and 'claim' your property with the government.

Third, while the book has half-a-dozen (perhaps a few more) scenes that are problematic, the scenes could have been worse. That's not to justify anything. It's not. (The scenes that are there are cringe at best and extremely offensive at worst.) Laura and Pa seem more curious than hateful. That is not justification. Again, that's not my goal. It would be an uphill battle that is ultimately doomed. The fact that Laura is so curious and interested is in part because of her innocence (a small part) and a larger part in that she views the Indians as "other." She is a product of her upbringing. But she would not have been alone. It wasn't that the Ingalls were above and beyond the ultimate propagators of this mindset. They were just one of many. It is a whole culture that contemporary readers are at war with. I think the books and author are often the target. People seem to single her out as if she is solely to blame.

Fourth, Laura usually depicts Pa as practically perfect in every way. She idealizes him in her books. This one is no different. I, as a reader, don't see Pa as perfect. I see his MUST GO WEST AT ALL COSTS and drag my family around and make their lives as difficult as humanly possible philosophy off-putting. Life can be hard no matter where you live. But Pa's "the grass is always greener on the other side" wanderlust is annoying. ( )
  blbooks | Feb 4, 2024 |
The kids and I finished reading this a couple weeks ago---so fun to revisit this old favorite! ( )
  classyhomemaker | Dec 11, 2023 |
Laura Ingalls and her family are heading to Kansas! Leaving behind their home in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, they travel by covered wagon until they find the perfect spot to build a little house on the prairie. Laura and her sister Mary love exploring the rolling hills around their new home, but the family must soon get to work, farming and hunting and gathering food for themselves and for their livestock. Just when the Ingalls family starts to settle into their new home, they find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict. Will they have to move again?
  PlumfieldCH | Nov 4, 2023 |
What a change of scenery from the previous book with the Ingalls family, from the woods of Wisconsin to the wide-open prairie. I don't recall reading the reason for the move, and while I can imagine that Laura never knew the reason as a child, I wonder if she learned it later in life. I suppose it might be due to the woods becoming overcrowded, since, as they're building their house, Pa says that he'd be content to stay there the rest of his life, even as the area gets more settled, because the area is so wide open, it could never feel crowded. Considering what happens here, it seems a shame that he wasn't content where he was, but I suppose that's a mindset most of us these days can't fully understand (though I know some people who would).

The story continues to be charming, and while there are some unfortunate mindsets that I wish would not have been so common in that day, I appreciate that Pa mostly has a different attitude. My daughter has recently started reading the first book in the series, and I don't know if she'll continue to this one, but if she does, I'll be intrigued to hear her thoughts on the matter.

As before, my enjoyment of the book was greatly enhanced by the audiobook narrator, Cherry Jones, who does a fantastic job, and being able to hear Pa's fiddle, thanks to Paul Woodiel. If you've ever considered reading this series, or have already read it and have occasion to listen to the audiobooks, I say do it! ( )
  Kristi_D | Sep 22, 2023 |
Though the Ingalls family lived in town during the long winter of the previous book, this one really brought out the character of the young town. Moving there for the winter again, just in case it were to turn out as harsh as the previous, Laura and Carrie deal with a school teacher who maybe needed a little training to know how to deal with kids (good, bad, any kind, really—she wasn't great with kids), the townspeople come up with a variety of ways to entertain themselves through the winter, and Laura catches the eye of a certain farmer boy. Though there is still some focus on the Ingalls homestead and their work there, the book takes a turn as winter comes on, and it's quite the change of pace after that. Also, thanks to much work and sacrifice by her loved ones, Mary goes off to college partway through this book, which adds to the different dynamic. It's a good reminder that life keeps moving on and things change, sometimes for the worse, but even when it's for the better, it can be bittersweet.

As before, my enjoyment of the book was greatly enhanced by the audiobook narrator, Cherry Jones, who does a fantastic job. If you've ever considered reading this series, or have already read it and have occasion to listen to the audiobooks, I say do it! ( )
  Kristi_D | Sep 22, 2023 |
Laura Ingalls and her family are heading to Kansas! Leaving behind their home in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, they travel by covered wagon until they find the perfect spot to build a little house on the prairie. Laura and her sister Mary love exploring the rolling hills around their new home, but the family must soon get to work, farming and hunting and gathering food for themselves and for their livestock. Just when the Ingalls family starts to settle into their new home, they find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict. Will they have to move again?
  PlumfieldCH | Sep 21, 2023 |
I was raised on the tv show and mostly love it, but I remain traumetized by my third-grade teacher's reading aloud of this book - especially the part about making head sausage. ( )
  Kim.Sasso | Aug 27, 2023 |
Although Laura is 'telling her truth' so to speak, it is difficult to set aside the racism in this book. Also, Pa makes some really stupid and selfish decisions that puts the whole family in jeopardy. This may have been one of my favorite books when I was a kid, but as an older adult, I'm viewing the story from a completely different perspective.

Reread Rating: 3.5 stars
Published: 1935 ( )
  Ann_R | Aug 7, 2023 |
After listening to the first book of the little house series I couldn't resist myself to finish the series as soon as possible so that I know what happened to Laura and his family. I didn't read any book before finishing this series. ( )
  rezaulhayat | Aug 6, 2023 |
I came from people just like the Ingalls, farmers all the way back on both sides, and I loved imagining myself as part of that vanished pioneer world as I read this book, and all the books in the Little House series. ( )
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
Pretty good. This is one of my go-to “upset” books. Very calming. ( )
  EmmyCurie | Apr 2, 2023 |
I was hesitant to reread Little House on the Prairie as an adult, because it was one of only a few books that I read multiple times as a child. It held up well, and I'm glad of it. There some excellent overtones going on here that I entirely missed as a child -- her father and his peers on the prairie as grifters, the selfishness of settling in Indian Territory before it was even legal, how scared her adults must have regularly been and how they still made space for safety and childhood, and little details and turns of phrase, like how Grandma kissed Baby Carrie as they left town for the last time. Clearly this book is a classic for a reason. ( )
  pammab | Mar 24, 2023 |
As I'm re-reading this series, I'm having a hard time reconciling the at-times racist attitudes towards both "Indians and Half- breeds" and blacks with the sweet pioneer family I remember. I'm enjoying the stories of how the family manages to survive and even send Mary to college despite the difficult pioneer life. ( )
  CarolHicksCase | Mar 12, 2023 |
Loved every moment of this! Little House on the Prairie has got to be the sweetest story ever told! Full review to come. ( )
  BooksbyStarlight | Oct 25, 2022 |
After I finshed Little house in the woods I didn't think would take the bother of reading this but i am glad i did! It Is more than a story it is history! The story and life of pioneer girls. And all there friends! ( )
  HVMkay | Jul 25, 2022 |
I had forgotten a lot about this book but it has been 30 years since I read it the first time. The boys enjoyed it very much. The writing style is perfect for reading out loud. There were suspensefull parts where the boys were worried about what was going to happen and lots of opportunities for learning about life 150 years ago. I enjoyed revisting this book. ( )
  Luziadovalongo | Jul 14, 2022 |
Despite this book being an epic tale of wilderness life, I found myself getting a bit bogged down in places - oh look, another chapter where they will all survive a Terrible Thing! Mostly everyone is superhumanly stoic and bold and content with their fiddle music under the stars, and there are only tiny glimpses of people not being happy with their lot (like when Laura feels she has to give all her pretty beads to her baby sister because Mary did.)

There is a prairie fire, malaria, nearly drowing in river crossings, nearly dying in a well.. it makes me very grateful for (and slightly embarrassed of) my own privileged existence!

The complete lack of challenge that Pa is anything other than a good and wise father figure is very kind and christian, but really, viewed with a bit of perspective, he makes some very bold decisions, minister - he takes his family away from all their friends and family, goes into disputed Indian territory, spends a miserable brutal year trying to build a house from scratch, and then loses it all because (turns out!) he was an illegal settler and can't stay there. His wife is a saint.

I feel I ought to warn it is completely of its time in its treatment of, well, everything, but mostly Native Americans. Although the bit where Laura watches them pass and sees the baby as some kind of delightful pet that she just wants to own is an excellent description of how you can other and exoticise things, that could be a good jumping off point for a more nuanced conversation. ( )
  atreic | Jul 12, 2022 |
Little House on the Prairie is the 3rd book of the Laura Ingalls Wilder collection. We follow Laura as Pa sells their log cabin and the travel from Wisconsin to the big skies of Kansas. They travel for many days in their wagon until the arrive and start building their home. Just when they seem to get settled and feel at home, they are faced with a dangerous conflict. ( )
  BeckyP94 | Feb 20, 2022 |
How have I not rated this yet? I must have read it 20 times - it was a staple of my childhood. ( )
  Monj | Jan 7, 2022 |
3.5 stars. It’s taking me a little bit to warm up to the Ingalls family. The writing is very simple, definitely gives the feeling of being aimed at children, but there are moments of beauty; I especially liked at the end when the family looks over the prairie, and the descriptions of harrowing moments were pretty effective.

I can definitely see why these books are beloved and used a LOT in schooling scenarios, Wilder can almost effortlessly move from telling the story to narrating how something works or the purpose of an object. It’s obvious when it happens, but it adds to the reader’s understanding and ability to picture the scene. I enjoy Cherry Jones’s narration and the addition of the fiddle music for the songs enriches the audiobook.

The things that bother me are more products of their time, and the difference between today’s culture and that of Wilder’s time. Laura’s obvious training in not speaking at table, not asking questions, etc, seem to only benefit the adults, tho there were still plenty of questions asked and answered. Obeying right away and without question are obviously important in a time and place where perils abounded, as shown obviously through the book. The designation of being “naughty” given to not wanting to share a pretty new thing or wanting to be a Native American child (just so she can run around naked and free) are troublesome to me, and the treatment of the Native Americans was disconcerting, tho realistic.

I can understand settlers being nervous or afraid of Native peoples, I’m sure they’ve heard innumerable stories of their behavior, most likely focused on the dramatic and negative. It would make sense that Ma would probably resent having people come into her house and take whatever they want, and her feeling that she has to allow it, but this doesn’t completely explain her outright fear and dislike of them. Pa obviously had had more dealings with them and understood them to be individuals, worth giving the benefit of the doubt. The assertion that “the only good Indian is a dead Indian” was thankfully (tho mildly) rebutted, but as the family watched the Osage people walk past their house, they were still described as “fierce savages.” Hopefully any parent letting their kids read these books takes the time to combat that notion in their family.

I never read the books growing up, they just couldn’t compete with Ramona Quimby, Nancy Drew, or the Sweet Valley Twins. I feel that this helps me tho. I can see them without the romanticized eyes of nostalgia, and look at them more objectively. They’re not bad books, I don’t necessarily dislike them, but man, if they weren’t in my house and already being read by my kids, I wouldn’t really feel the need to introduce them. ( )
  Annrosenzweig | Oct 15, 2021 |
I love how terrifyingly brave this book is... and how it reduces humans to their most basic desires. ( )
  OutOfTheBestBooks | Sep 24, 2021 |
Unlike the TV show, the book "Little House on the Prairie" does not take place anywhere near a town (the nearest town is 40 miles away, a two-day journey). The only neighbors live several miles away, and the closest people are the Indians that sometimes come uninvited to the home to take food, and the ones that are congregating down by the creek.

Pa Ingalls builds a house from scratch with some help from the neighbors. They start growing food, Pa goes hunting.

The most interesting part of the story is, in my opinion, how the Indians are presented. The first meeting with some Indians happens while Pa is away. Two men, wearing skunk loin clothes, but little else, come in and take food -- no words spoken. Caroline (Ma) is terrified and lets them take what they want. Mary and Laura are also afraid, they smell bad and leave an unpleasant impression. When Pa comes back, he tells Ma she did right not to protest their actions, but from then on they lock up there supplies in a cabinet with a lock.

Overall, Pa seems to feel that nothing bad will happen, as long as they don't do anything to irritate the Indians -- this means chaining up Jack the dog because he growls and lunges at the Indians when they go by the trail. Laura hears the neighbors say that the only good Indian is a dead Indian, which Pa does not agree with. Later, when Laura starts asking about why the Indians have to move west, her father cuts her off, basically saying the Indians will have to move because the government has given the land to people like themselves, settlers. Without getting into details, political or otherwise, Laura's question plants the idea that something is very unfair, even immoral about what they are doing there.

By the end, the Ingalls watch as a long, long trail of Indians move past their little House to another settlement, away from their homes and what they had always known. This is a telling chapter. Laura watches with excitement at the ponies going by with the men. The descriptions of the Native Americans is somewhat stereotyped, but not necessarily negative. Then come the women, the mothers and children and last, a lone woman with a baby -- and Laura wants that baby. She is hushed by her father, but she cries. She can't explain what she is feeling. She knows they are gone forever.

After all the work of building a house, digging a well, planting crops, dealing with a prairie fire, Ingalls packs up the family to move west when he finds out the government will remove the settlers from Indian Territory. Once again the family is traveling in a covered wagon to new horizons. ( )
  Marse | Aug 29, 2021 |
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