Little House on the Prarie books for a 5 year old?

[ChristusG]

I don't want to begin reading the big novels till she is a little older. I want to do a unit study on it so I want to save them. But I know that there are some smaller chapter books that I can read to her during our read-aloud time. I've searched online but I'm kind of confused. Are there different series? Different volumes? Sets? Does anyone have any recommendations?

[mrs.m]

My DD read some of these when she was younger. Some are by LIW, some aren't. You can find the different series here: http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/series/juv/title.cfm?browse=L

 

This might help too:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_17?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=little+house+chapter+book+series&sprefix=little+house+chap

 

They didn't seem to "spoil" her love for the original set by LIW.

[nmoira]

My 5yo is loving Little House in the Big Woods. I think it's a perfect read aloud for that age, as Laura turns five early in the book.

[Anne]

Reading them now won't prevent you from using them for a unit study later - really!!

 

My dds read them many times during their growing up years, and I have read them many times in my life - even as an adult!

 

Anne

[katilac]

Another vote for not 'saving' them. You will be mighty disappointed if you look forward to this big LHOTP unit study, and your dd has not interest ;).

 

They are great for this age, and definitely more on the line of 'chapter books' rather than 'novels.' Kids who really get into them will read them multiple times; I have one dd like that, and one who is a bit 'meh' about them.

[Melissa in St Louis]

Have you seen these? They really spurred a love of LIW in our home...however, she'd probably enjoy the "originals" also! :001_smile:

[Kidlit]

I just had to jump in and say that my girls have been listening to the unabridged audiobooks since they were 3 and 4, and they're still going strong. They LOVE the whole series. We have also read together Little House on the Prairie, some of Little House in the Big Woods, and we're currently reading Farmer Boy. We have lots of the picture books (not sure of the series title, and I don't have any in front of me), but these books are simply fodder for their fertile imaginations and more fuel for the fire in terms of their adoration of all things Laura and Mary.

 

I say go ahead with the real thing now. Truly, hearing the story OVER and OVER and OVER has not put a damper on my girls' enthusiasm in the least.

[BikeBookBread]

Yep -- my 5 and 3 (well 4 as of a few weeks ago) year olds just finished the whole unabridged book on CD series with Cherry Jones reading in November. They could HARDLY wait for the next set when we were done, so I always reserved them at the library so they'd be ready! Farmer Boy was our favorite, though (surprisingly). The girls loved the colorful and robust detail.

 

They're great.

[mtollie]

Just one more vote for going ahead and reading the originals now. My 5yo dd LOVES these, read aloud and the audiobooks. She can read and understand most of them on her own now, as well. Her favorite Christmas gift this year was a set of all of the books!

[ChristusG]

Okay, you guys have convinced me LOL! We are going to go ahead and read through the series.

 

And another plus, my mom told me she has all 10 of the Little House books and just dropped them off at my house! We'll be starting them very soon!

[GaHadley]

thanks for this thread! I just reserved the books to read to my 5 year old! This will be our first chapter books :)

[Georgiana Daniels]

I'm glad this topic came up--reminded me to pull this out for our spring reading. I have littles too--and I figure that even if they don't absorb the details, it's great snuggle time, plus they increase their attention span and get used to hearing good lit.

[Dobela]

My first experience with the Little House Books began in kindergarten when my teacher read them aloud each day. I absolutely fell in love with them at that time and have been a fan ever since. I read them independently when I was older and had a new appreciation for them with 'age' (all of 10 or so LOL). As an adult I still love to read them. I see no reason to save them and only experience them once. I also believe that sometimes the best way to first experience a book is to just read it without a formal study.

[stripe]

I am planning on reading these to my kids -- I had read one of the short ones (on maple syrup, I think) last spring, and we've read through most of "Farmer Boy."

[kalanamak]

My 5yo is loving Little House in the Big Woods. I think it's a perfect read aloud for that age, as Laura turns five early in the book.

 

I found that the books matured as Laura did. I intend to take up with Shores SL when kiddo is 8, which was the age our school read it aloud to all students. At 5 he really liked LHITBW and at 6 LHOTP, but it faded a bit after that.

[Satori]

Yep, go for it! We started reading Little House in the Big Woods when my daughter was 4.25. I bought the whole series, and this is a reminder to read the next book. :)

[ChristusG]

I'd like to do some crafts and special actvities while reading the books as well. Does anyone have any recommendations for websites that have some neat activities? I'd love to find some sort of pioneer festival around here, but I don't think that we have one.

[RoughCollie]

My DD loved the Little House picture books when she was in K:

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=little+house+on+the+prairie+picture+books&x=0&y=0

[RoughCollie]

I'd like to do some crafts and special actvities while reading the books as well. Does anyone have any recommendations for websites that have some neat activities? I'd love to find some sort of pioneer festival around here, but I don't think that we have one.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=little+house+on+the+prairie+activity+books&x=0&y=0

[stripe]

You may also be interested in : The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Classic Stories by Barbara M. Walker and Garth Williams

 

and

 

A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840 by Barbara Greenwood (I have the original Canadian one, which is OOP I think, Pioneer Story, A: The Daily Life of a Canadian Family in 1840 by Barbara Greenwood and Heather Collins). It shows a fictional but realistic family and describes many aspects of their life. I think it helps explain things well. If you have any old pioneer homes around you, or on the way when you're traveling, stop at one. I did with my kids, and happily we were able to touch a fair amount of the items; to see various real-life in person was interesting. But if you have no such place around, or want more info, I think this book is a great resource.

[OrganicAnn]

I have a spin off question but I don't think it merits an new thread. I bought the first Little House book and the first chapter there were several animals killed including a bear that was put in a tree and cooked. My DD really didn't like it. She doesn't like animals being killed in stories. Was this the same story that everyone is talking about or is there a version for younger kids? She's 5 and I can't imagine reading that chapter to her again until she is older.

[stripe]

I think the stories are somewhat self-contained. I didn't read every chapter of "Farmer Boy" to my kids; I don't even think we read them in order. I think you should just skip whatever you think will bother her for now.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I have a spin off question but I don't think it merits an new thread. I bought the first Little House book and the first chapter there were several animals killed including a bear that was put in a tree and cooked. My DD really didn't like it. She doesn't like animals being killed in stories. Was this the same story that everyone is talking about or is there a version for younger kids? She's 5 and I can't imagine reading that chapter to her again until she is older.

 

Animals were food for the Ingalls family, and 5yo Laura was used to hog butchering, venison smoking, and bear meat on the table. It is treated as a regular part of life in her books, beginning with the first, "Little House in the Big Woods."

 

It is all explained. Laura wrote very descriptively! There are also incidents of kill-or-be-killed ethics (Pa thinks he'll have to kill a bear with a club), a panther killing a horse, a child being terrified by an owl in the dark woods alone, and a child being spanked.

 

(The bear wasn't put in a tree and cooked. Pieces of meat were being hickory-cured in a hollow tree that had a roof over the top and a smoky fire at the bottom.)

 

We're currently on our fourth trip through Little House in the Big Woods with a 5yo. I am amazed how much all of our sons have loved these books!

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I think the stories are somewhat self-contained. I didn't read every chapter of "Farmer Boy" to my kids; I don't even think we read them in order. I think you should just skip whatever you think will bother her for now.

 

:iagree:

[Mommy22alyns]

Sylvia does not usually have a lot of patience for long read-alouds, but she has loved the Little House books so far.

[ChristusG]

I'm so glad to hear that all of your young children loved the books! I was just thinking that I would need to wait until she was older since the Prairie Primer unit study is for older kids. I can't wait to get started now!

 

I wonder if my 2 year old (she's almost 3) will be interested since there are no big colorful photos.

[In the Rain]

I'd like to do some crafts and special actvities while reading the books as well. Does anyone have any recommendations for websites that have some neat activities? I'd love to find some sort of pioneer festival around here, but I don't think that we have one.

 

 

My 5 and 8yo dds are going through the series now. A friend told me that homeschoolshare has free lapbooks for the series. You might look there.

[In the Rain]

I have a spin off question but I don't think it merits an new thread. I bought the first Little House book and the first chapter there were several animals killed including a bear that was put in a tree and cooked. My DD really didn't like it. She doesn't like animals being killed in stories. Was this the same story that everyone is talking about or is there a version for younger kids? She's 5 and I can't imagine reading that chapter to her again until she is older.

 

My dh has been reading the series aloud to our girls (starting at 4.5 yo). They are sensitive listeners, but have been okay with all they've heard. They understand about animals dying for people to eat. When I was reading one night, I abbreviated the scene of the cattle being frozen to the ground. I thought that was a little too vivid.

[Chris in VA]

LH books are near and dear to my heart, and I'm glad to hear so many share that sentiment!

I read the first 4 to dd starting when she was in K. I save the rest, because, as a PP said, the books mature as Laura does. It was just so outside my dd's little world to hear about a teen and a young married woman. Also, By The Shores of Silver Lake, the book after Plum Creek, is quite sad. There is death and family tragedy, and they move. I've never quite liked that one as much as the others. The characters seemed so real to me that I grieved their losses as I would my own, almost.

My Godmom gave me the books a little at a time for about 3 years. My mom would read them, too, and we always looked forward to the next time she'd send one. I would recommend drawing them out a bit, if you can stand it!

 

One other thing--dd and I reread the first 4 several times, and then, in 1st grade, Little House in The Big Woods was the first chapter book (or any book longer than a Dr. Suess Easy Reader) that dd pick up. In three months, she went from reading A Fly Went By to reading LHitBW. She was so motivated! And the text was dear and familiar to her.

 

Don't be surprised when read alouds become favorite Read Alones!

[Scrub Jay]

My dd is loving them so far (she's under 4 1/2 years old). We just finished Little House in the Woods and are one chapter into Little House on the Prairie.

[mcconnellboys]

When my son was younger, I found some simpler picture books based on the Little House series. Here's one:

 

http://catalog.lexpublib.org/TLCScripts/interpac.dll?LabelDisplay&LastResult=Search%26Config=pac%26FormId=-6096%26Branch=,0,%26LimitsId=0%26StartIndex=80%26SearchField=4%26SearchType=1%26SearchData=laura+ingalls+wilder%26NotAddToHistory=1%26ItemsPerPage=10%26SortField=0%26PeriodLimit=-1%26SearchAvailableOnly=0&DataNumber=217904&RecordNumber=217904&SearchAvailableOnly=0&FormId=-6096&ItemField=1&Config=pac&Branch=,0,

 

Here's another, that's a little longer, with the same illustrator, about the girls' school days:

 

http://catalog.lexpublib.org/TLCScripts/interpac.dll?LabelDisplay&LastResult=Search%26Config=pac%26FormId=-6096%26Branch=,0,%26LimitsId=0%26StartIndex=110%26SearchField=4%26SearchType=1%26SearchData=laura+ingalls+wilder%26NotAddToHistory=1%26ItemsPerPage=10%26SortField=0%26PeriodLimit=-1%26SearchAvailableOnly=0&DataNumber=566696&RecordNumber=566696&SearchAvailableOnly=0&FormId=-6096&ItemField=1&Config=pac&Branch=,0,

 

Here's another picture book adaptation:

 

http://catalog.lexpublib.org/TLCScripts/interpac.dll?LabelDisplay&Config=PAC&Branch=,0,&FormId=-6096&RecordNumber=217900

 

Here's one Graef did on their various adventures with animals:

 

http://catalog.lexpublib.org/TLCScripts/interpac.dll?LabelDisplay&LastResult=Search%26Config=pac%26FormId=-6096%26Branch=,0,%26LimitsId=0%26StartIndex=0%26SearchField=2%26SearchType=1%26SearchData=renee+graef%26NotAddToHistory=1%26ItemsPerPage=10%26SortField=0%26PeriodLimit=-1%26SearchAvailableOnly=0&DataNumber=566721&RecordNumber=566721&SearchAvailableOnly=0&FormId=-6096&ItemField=1&Config=pac&Branch=,0,

 

Christmas in the Big Woods:

 

http://catalog.lexpublib.org/TLCScripts/interpac.dll?LabelDisplay&LastResult=Search%26Config=pac%26FormId=-6096%26Branch=,0,%26LimitsId=0%26StartIndex=0%26SearchField=2%26SearchType=1%26SearchData=renee+graef%26NotAddToHistory=1%26ItemsPerPage=10%26SortField=0%26PeriodLimit=-1%26SearchAvailableOnly=0&DataNumber=175908&RecordNumber=175908&SearchAvailableOnly=0&FormId=-6096&ItemField=1&Config=pac&Branch=,0,

 

Dance at Grandpa's:

 

http://catalog.lexpublib.org/TLCScripts/interpac.dll?LabelDisplay&LastResult=Search%26Config=pac%26FormId=-6096%26Branch=,0,%26LimitsId=0%26StartIndex=0%26SearchField=2%26SearchType=1%26SearchData=renee+graef%26NotAddToHistory=1%26ItemsPerPage=10%26SortField=0%26PeriodLimit=-1%26SearchAvailableOnly=0&DataNumber=155957&RecordNumber=155957&SearchAvailableOnly=0&FormId=-6096&ItemField=1&Config=pac&Branch=,0,

 

And there are a bunch of others, too!

[kalanamak]

Just one more vote for going ahead and reading the originals now. My 5yo dd LOVES these,

 

She can see Pa's actual fiddle being played here: