Despite my enjoyment of sophisticated literature, the Little House series has always been one of my favorites. The author, Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) encouraged by her daughter Rose, wrote a series of books depicting life in the mid to late 1800s. Her family was one which homesteaded untouched land and lived a life of almost absolute self subsistence. I love these books because they are a look into an era and life style that has been nearly eradicated in our modern world aside from a few isolated pockets tucked away in remote corners of the US.
The first book, Little House in the Big Woods, details life Wisconsin, where the family combats harsh winters and wild animals. However settled they had become, her father was a restless man that always seemed to want to see more of the wild and resettled untouched land. Moving her family west by covered wagon the second book picks up with the popular title of Little House on the Prairie. But even this only lasted a short time and the series continues with the different locations the family lived in.
These books offer many details about how to survive and become self sufficient through the examples of her father and mother. There are many fan websites dedicated to the series and its author; from these one can find everything from genealogies to recipes for the foods eaten. If you haven’t read these books then I encourage you to track them down; they are very common and my copies have come from second hand stores where they only run you a few dimes. They do not have to be read in order but the two mentioned above as well as On the Banks of Plum Creek, and Farmer Boy, the story of her future husband’s youth; are my 4 favorites.
The literary style is simplistic as they were written for, and are still beloved, by children nationwide.
Jon
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