Little House books... do they get better???

[Jay3fer]

We are in the middle of The Long Winter and it seems like we have been forever. We've loved the series so far, and have been at it for a couple of years now (we're slow!). But this book is SO dull - it's like, "It was winter. It was cold. The blizzard howled outside." For about 200 pages in the middle.

 

The language is lovely, but it's ever so tedious for the kids. I stopped having dd6 do narrations at the end of the chapters because a) a few chapters were so long we couldn't get through them in one sitting, and b) all the chapters were the same: "Ma thought the train would come through tomorrow... but Pa wasn't sure - then there was a blizzard." :lol:

 

So! If we stick with it, is there some actual excitement in the books to come??? I read them all as a kid, but I don't remember now.

[Stellalarella]

I thought it was pretty exciting when Almanzo came into the picture to court Laura in the later books.

[M&M]

I think the Long Winter is the most challenging, because there is really not much happening in comparison to the other books. I do believe that there is merit to reading it, as it really helps our children to appreciate how hard things really were. To be truely cold and hungry, and really have nothing to do all day is something that is completely beyond the experience of our children.

[Angie in VA]

I thought it was pretty exciting when Almanzo came into the picture to court Laura in the later books.

 

This!

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

The Long Winter is my least favorite, too. They get better after that, though, if you like romance (which I do :D.)

 

But I don't think I would read the First Four Years (did I get the title right?) to kids.

[Dmmetler]

I've decided that Little House is a series I'm going to let DD read and enjoy on her own, as opposed to doing them as a formal literature study for that reason-they're just plain TEDIOUS to read out loud and there's a lot of detail that, when summarized, turns into "nothing much happened today". I remember really loving them when I was her age or a little older, so I'm leaving them around, but I'll let her make friends with Laura.

 

I'm noticing that this is the case for many books-a lot of the ones I remember reading and loving on my own simply aren't great shared reading/read-aloud/narration books. I've found poetry and drama make better shared reading/read-alouds-DD has started going to a group that reads Shakespeare's plays with each child taking a part, and is really enjoying that, even though she's usually assigned something like "Fairy #3", and is MUCH better able to give me a narration coming home in the car.

[TracyP]

I agree with dmmetler. We made it through the first two books in the series, but I could not continue to do these as read alouds. Ds has read the first three on his own and dd has read the entire series many, many times. IMO, they are far better that way.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I do believe that there is merit to reading it, as it really helps our children to appreciate how hard things really were. To be truely cold and hungry, and really have nothing to do all day is something that is completely beyond the experience of our children.

 

:iagree:

 

This was actually my second favorite book in the series (after Farmer Boy) precisely because of the degree and extent of the familys' suffering. My kids have a cushy life and reading this book was a shock to their system. We had different thoughts when reading it though. Instead of "Ma thought the train would come through tomorrow... but Pa wasn't sure - then there was a blizzard" and thinking, "Is this EVER going to end?" (as in, move on, already!), we were thinking, "How much longer can this go on? That poor family." The only way to convey the extent of their suffering was to make it go on and on and on. Every night they looked forward to reading it, hoping that it would be the chapter where they get relief. My kids were truly so happy when the thaw came and they were able to get food from the train. Also, the incredible courage shown by Almonzo could not be properly demonstrated if it weren't for the seemingly endless description of blizzard upon blizzard upon blizzard. Maybe try framing it that way?

 

That said, there was a very similar thread about this very issue a while back, so you're not alone. :tongue_smilie:

Edited December 1, 2011 by Alte Veste Academy

[Aurelia]

Yes, it gets better. The Long Winter was definitely the slowest moving book in the series. For me, it's a tie between The Long Winter and The First Four Years as my least favorite books. I still remember the family getting a kitten in Little Town on the Prairie, and Almanzo courting Laura.

[...................]

The Lonh Winter was definitely the slowest moving, but that's kind of the point. They nearly starved to death and the only thing that got them through was sheer determination. My kids and I had wonderful talks about how just REaDING about their hardship was tedious- imagine living through it!!!

 

But the last few books were fun and lighter, and faster moving.

[Kathryn]

I don't think I'd do narration with the Little House books. They just don't seem all that suited for it. There is so much description and so little action. We spent two years as a family going through the entire original series. "The Long Winter" was actually one of our favorites because of how well we were able to identify with the characters and what they went through from Laura's story-telling. Pages-long descriptions of dresses and curtains and whatnot don't really do much for DH or DS.

 

DS just finished "The First Four Years" on his own and we talked about how different it was from the other books because it was a rough draft and she hadn't fleshed out the details like she had in the books she had published. We also talked about the fact that it discusses her son dying, while we had read that she didn't write about her brother at all in the other books because she didn't want to write about his death for a children's audience. So, we discussed whether or not we thought she would have included the parts about her second pregnancy and her son's death had she lived to edit and publish the book. I thought it prompted some worthwhile discussions, moreso than any of the other books now that I think about it.

[Hedgehogs4]

My absolute favorite (though technically not part of the prairie books) was Farmer Boy about Almanzo's childhood. Loved by every member of our family.

[Miss Tick]

FWIW I felt like this was a transition in the series from fun, childhood adventures to more adult themes - although treated in child appropriate ways.

 

If you liked the early books, try Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink.

[JessicaLady]

I guess it depends on the reader. I find the books wonderful and have re-read them all more than once since adulthood (my absolute favorite is FarmerBoy). I just have my fingers crossed that my enthusiasm will spill over to the kids. That may be unrealistic and I may be changing my tune when my son is a better reader and heaven forbid....despises them (the horror!).

 

Now, I am not typically a fan of what I'm about to suggest, but you could watch a video/episode that relates to what you've read. I know they're replayed on TVLand, but the whole series was recently released on DVD (they're on my wish list this year).

[alpidarkomama]

My absolute favorite (though technically not part of the prairie books) was Farmer Boy about Almanzo's childhood. Loved by every member of our family.

 

:iagree:

 

Love, love, love Farmer Boy. It contains wonderful ethical teachings. Definitely my favorite. I really loved the whole series, but I never did narration with it. Come to think of it, I don't think we've ever done narration with our evening readaloud fiction/historical fiction books... just our non-fiction stuff. Not sure why. :)

 

The thing about The Long Winter is all of my kids *really* remember how awful it was, and how grateful we should be for our homes and food. The fortitude of the people who lived in these circumstances is pretty inspiring!

[3peasinapod]

I have read the whole series, but only 2 so far to the girls. I actually skipped parts of these, as the girls didn't really need to know the minute details of Pa making a door with detailed description of the leather hinge straps and a strange, hard-to-understand explanation of how the string in the door worked. I skipped it and demonstrated it myself and got across that it was a strange door latch!

 

That said, we really love these books! In fact, they begged me to read the next book By The Shores of Silver Lake, but my copy was falling apart, and I want to get a new set of all of the books. Farmer Boy was my absolute favorite too! The girls didn't want to read that one because it was a boy character, but I assured them they would adore it.

 

The series is quaint and lovely, but not a lot of action. The imagery is superb, though.

[LoveBaby]

They get so much better! The Long Winter reads much like a long winter feels - tedious, never-ending and at times hopeless!

 

Farmer Boy is my favorite book in the series, but I can't read it without wanting to eat an entire apple pie and homemade donuts!

[3peasinapod]

They get so much better! The Long Winter reads much like a long winter feels - tedious, never-ending and at times hopeless!

 

Farmer Boy is my favorite book in the series, but I can't read it without wanting to eat an entire apple pie and homemade donuts!

 

I remember that! The description of the foods was mouth watering! I was fascinated on how much they had to eat and the fat in all of it.

[LittleIzumi]

We use the Little House books as our car audiobooks. No narrations, and my throat doesn't get dry--and I have a captive audience. :lol: The girls do like them a lot.

[Angie in VA]

My absolute favorite (though technically not part of the prairie books) was Farmer Boy about Almanzo's childhood. Loved by every member of our family.

 

 

Yep! And his childhood was so different than Laura's. I had the Prairie Primer, but didn't do all the activities in it. One thing we did follow from PP was to read Farmer Boy later than it's slated. That way the reader meets Almanzo when Laura does. Love it!

[Mommy22alyns]

:svengo:

 

I loved The Long Winter! DH is reading Farmer Boy to the girls right now and he actually came and asked me if there was a plot to this book. :001_huh: No, it's a slice of life. But it's fascinating!

[Jay3fer]

Thank you everybody for such a thoughtful thread!!! You're right about the tedium, but yes, I think that could be a valuable springboard for discussion about the tedium and hardship of prairie life.

 

I think (think) you've given me enough hope to get through the rest.

 

I like doing these books as read-alouds, btw. I vary it a LOT - our bedtime reading is about 45 minutes, and includes Little House, Bible stories, Fables, Life of Fred, Fifty Famous Stories, picture / board books and poetry. So I'm okay with long stretches of dry text. Makes kind of a nice change of pace. If the chapter is TOO long, I'll break it into 2-3 readings.

 

I don't think I'd do narration with the Little House books. They just don't seem all that suited for it. There is so much description and so little action.

 

It's true, but usually each chapter has 1-2 events - "Laura and her cousin went horseback riding across the prairie" is sometimes enough of a narration. In The Long Winter, the narrations were all the same. More cold, more dark, less and less food and everything else.

 

Just curious, for the person who said she wouldn't do The First Four Years wtih kids (not sure who it was), but I'm wondering why...

 

As for Almanzo, we have already "met" him - we read Farmer Boy in sequence, I think, and so it's kind of a nice tease to "know" him but observe him from a distance in this book. :001_smile:

[Poke Salad Annie]

We have loved the Little House books so far. Farmer Boy has been a definite favorite, but boy, does that book make you hungry! Almonzo's mother must have been a fantastic cook!

[TracyP]

Just curious, for the person who said she wouldn't do The First Four Years wtih kids (not sure who it was), but I'm wondering why...

 

 

 

It is pretty tragic. Laura and Almonzo endure a lot those years. It also has a very different tone because it was a lost manuscript that did not get edited. It is probably the only one in the series that would not fall under the historical fiction category and is actually one of my favorites because it is *really* Laura. FWIW, I have no problem with my kids reading it, but I could see why some would. You may want to preread if you have sensitive kiddos.

[FO4UR]

We are finishing up The Long Winter now.

 

I find value in understanding what it was/is like to live for survival, to maintain humanity and kindness all the while.

 

We discussed what a great leader Pa was when Mr. Loftus was trying to make a profit off of the wheat. Really, if I can teach my kids to lead like that, I can die a happy woman.

 

 

We discuss what it must have been like to eat only brown bread every day. As we dig into our dinner at night dd will say, "Laura would have LOVED these vegetables!" (and my boys would wish that Laura was still alive so they could SHARE:lol:)

 

 

And, Almanzo and Cap Garland give a picture of real life heroism. They could have taken advantage of the town. They could have let people starve and lived comfortably all winter regardless. They risked their lives and stood up to injustice at the tender age of 19yo, and did the right thing.

 

I doubt my kids are going to be living on a prairie, and I hope they never get down to the last loaf of bread and the last 6 potatoes, but they WILL have struggles in life. The Ingalls family is an excellent example of wits and grace under fire.

 

 

Though....I will admit that mid-way through ds5 sat out for a chapter or two b/c he didn't want to hear "that sad story" today. I just let him go in another room to play. No biggie.

[MerryAtHope]

The Long Winter is long and tedious, but I think that's part of the beauty of the book--which might only be appreciated by an older reader. My kids in middle/upper elementary were able to get it though--the book itself is like a picture of what they lived through--long, dismal, colorless, slow, cold... In a way it's a literary experience of what that kind of winter would be like.

 

The First Four Years is better for older readers as well. This is mainly Laura's notes and in rough draft form, so the "charm" that she added to the other books isn't there--it's more how life really was, without the hope and "life" that is in most of her work. It's kind of a sad note to end on!

 

BTW, there's a group called Pa's Fiddle that is bringing the music from the Little House series back, you can find them on Amazon. My dd has enjoyed hearing some of them.

 

Merry :-)

[FairyMom]

We are in the middle of The Long Winter and it seems like we have been forever. We've loved the series so far, and have been at it for a couple of years now (we're slow!). But this book is SO dull - it's like, "It was winter. It was cold. The blizzard howled outside." For about 200 pages in the middle.

 

The language is lovely, but it's ever so tedious for the kids. I stopped having dd6 do narrations at the end of the chapters because a) a few chapters were so long we couldn't get through them in one sitting, and b) all the chapters were the same: "Ma thought the train would come through tomorrow... but Pa wasn't sure - then there was a blizzard." :lol:

 

So! If we stick with it, is there some actual excitement in the books to come??? I read them all as a kid, but I don't remember now.

:lol::lol: I love it! This is how we felt with Farmer Boy. SO boring. I tried so hard to read this book out loud to my girls.... oh, well. We are going to try Little House on the Prairie in the next few weeks, so I'm hoping it's a lot more interesting than Farmer Boy was... we'll see.

[Tracy]

We just so happened to have finished The Long Winter this week, and we loved it! Dd6 could not get enough of it. But we are definitely ready to move on. I think that is the point. I have such a different view of winter coming this year, after just reading it.

[Bayt ul-Hikmah]

We use the Little House books as our car audiobooks. No narrations, and my throat doesn't get dry--and I have a captive audience. :lol: The girls do like them a lot.

 

:iagree:

 

These are *great* audiobooks! We've gone through the whole series at least twice.

[FairyMom]

:iagree:

 

These are *great* audiobooks! We've gone through the whole series at least twice.

 

Maybe that's the way to *read* them. ;)

[Farrar]

I actually don't really like any of them. I was a voracious reader as a kid and read most of them, but they've never done it for me.

 

:leaving:

[FairyMom]

I actually don't really like any of them. I was a voracious reader as a kid and read most of them, but they've never done it for me.

 

:leaving:

 

 

I'm so glad you said this!!! I'm going to try Little House, but I haven't enjoyed one yet. :lol:

[DianeW88]

:iagree:

 

This was actually my second favorite book in the series (after Farmer Boy) precisely because of the degree and extent of the familys' suffering. My kids have a cushy life and reading this book was a shock to their system. We had different thoughts when reading it though. Instead of "Ma thought the train would come through tomorrow... but Pa wasn't sure - then there was a blizzard" and thinking, "Is this EVER going to end?" (as in, move on, already!), we were thinking, "How much longer can this go on? That poor family." The only way to convey the extent of their suffering was to make it go on and on and on. Every night they looked forward to reading it, hoping that it would be the chapter where they get relief. My kids were truly so happy when the thaw came and they were able to get food from the train. Also, the incredible courage shown by Almonzo could not be properly demonstrated if it weren't for the seemingly endless description of blizzard upon blizzard upon blizzard. Maybe try framing it that way?

 

That said, there was a very similar thread about this very issue a while back, so you're not alone. :tongue_smilie:

 

:iagree: The Long Winter is actually my favorite Little House book. I felt truly happy at the end of the story when the train finally came. I think this book demonstrates perserverance in the face of adversity, cooperation, the love of family, overwhelming courage, and how to have a good attitude when things are not going well. All traits I want my kids to be aware of and see in action. It's one of our favorite read-alouds.

[Sahamamama]

We are in the middle of The Long Winter and it seems like we have been forever. We've loved the series so far, and have been at it for a couple of years now (we're slow!). But this book is SO dull - it's like, "It was winter. It was cold. The blizzard howled outside." For about 200 pages in the middle.

 

The language is lovely, but it's ever so tedious for the kids. I stopped having dd6 do narrations at the end of the chapters because a) a few chapters were so long we couldn't get through them in one sitting, and b) all the chapters were the same: "Ma thought the train would come through tomorrow... but Pa wasn't sure - then there was a blizzard." :lol:

 

So! If we stick with it, is there some actual excitement in the books to come??? I read them all as a kid, but I don't remember now.

 

I read that book a few winters ago and had to stop reading it until summer. Out of all the LH books, that is the most depressing. In fact, we have several (most) of the books on audibook CDs, but I refused to buy Long Winter on CD -- to listen to that over and over again? :tongue_smilie: No, thanks.

 

BUT that book is essential to the storyline, IMO. It really puts the nostalgia in perspective, KWIM? It helps to explain how Carrie was so sickly and small (in the following story) and why Laura was so indignant that the teacher tormented her little sister (who barely survived the long winter). It helps to put Mary's subsequent blindness in perspective, too.

 

Wow, that family went through so much, and they kept surviving. Read it in that light, and see how it goes. Or just get the books on CD from the library and listen to them. ;)

 

For me, I had to read it in July and August. :D

[cindergretta]

My favorite two were Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years. ( I think I got those right...) I read them over and over and over! :tongue_smilie:

[Julie Smith]

I remember that! The description of the foods was mouth watering! I was fascinated on how much they had to eat and the fat in all of it.

 

We are all vegetarian, so my boys were grossed out by the descriptions. But I think they enjoyed it in a grossed out gagging kind of way.

[FairyMom]

We are all vegetarian, so my boys were grossed out by the descriptions. But I think they enjoyed it in a grossed out gagging kind of way.

 

Yep. Making a ball out of a bladder really got to my girls. :ack2:

[Joyoflearning]

I actually don't really like any of them. I was a voracious reader as a kid and read most of them, but they've never done it for me.

 

:leaving:

 

I'm also so glad you said this! I received the set as a gift one year when I was younger. I made myself get through the first one and found it dreadfully boring. I tried to start the next one but just couldn't get into it and get past the first couple chapters. I even tried rereading the first one again when I was a little older thinking there was something wrong with me that everyone else loved the books, but I just couldn't get through it again. We're suppossed to do the Little House study next year with PR2 and I'm a little scared. :001_unsure: I'm hoping that my daughter likes the books more than I did or maybe my tastes have changed.

[serendipitous journey]

But I don't think I would read the First Four Years (did I get the title right?) to kids.

:iagree:

I wouldn't read it to _myself_! Unless I knew what I was in for. It is unfinished -- she died before editing it -- and full of casually dismaying events. Looking for a sweet way to spend an odd hour last week, I read through this at the library: took me a few days to recover. Though it made me even more grateful for my own life ;).

[happypamama]

When you finish The Long Winter, then you get to read my personal favorites, Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years! LTotP had such a joyful, happy feel to it after TLW and was so fun!

[Tracy]

But I don't think I would read the First Four Years (did I get the title right?) to kids.

:iagree:

I wouldn't read it to _myself_! Unless I knew what I was in for. It is unfinished -- she died before editing it -- and full of casually dismaying events. Looking for a sweet way to spend an odd hour last week, I read through this at the library: took me a few days to recover. Though it made me even more grateful for my own life ;).

 

Oh no! I don't know how I am going to tell dd6 that we can't read it! She is so enchanted with this series.

[Chris in VA]

I loved all things Little House as a child, and they are still my favorite books.

The book I did not like as a child was By The Shores of Silver Lake. I mean, her dog dies, her sister goes blind (is, at the beginning), they are dirt poor because the farm failed, they move...YUCK! The only good chapter is The Surveyor's House.

But isn't it funny--my dd likes that one so much! lol

 

One thing about Farmer Boy--it's the one that Rose Wilder Lane, Laura's daughter, has the most input into--she edited it for Laura, which is why it reads slightly differently than the others (she also helped Laura edit the others, but this one the most). Given that she was a journalist, you can see her writing style shining thru. Laura, herself, went on to have a column--"As A Farm Woman Thinks," that is really interesting to read.

 

I loved reading her biography and comparing it with her fictionalized life. :001_smile:

[Julie Smith]

Oh no! I don't know how I am going to tell dd6 that we can't read it! She is so enchanted with this series.

 

I happily knew from the beginning not to 'do' "The First Four Years". So my kids knew all along we weren't going to do that one.

[Tracy]

I loved reading her biography and comparing it with her fictionalized life. :001_smile:

 

Perhaps this is the way to convince dd to bypass The First Four Years. She is very interested in the biography.

[nmoira]

I'm not a huge fan of the series (give me Caddie Woodlawn any day), but both my children enjoyed it. I read much of The Long Winter quietly, fading away as Laura loses strength. It horrific, but then it's supposed to be.

[Homemama2]

We've loved the entire series. We read the Long Winter during the summer, though, when the kids were longing for snow, so that might have helped. I kept thinking after the Long Winter that my boys wouldn't be interested in them any longer as the girls got older and married. But they loved every book including First Four Years. In fact, my 4th grade boy has probably read that book alone 3 times. My personal favorites are the first ones, esp. the Big Woods.

We also loved Caddie Woodlawn.

 

One thing that cracks me up with Farmer Boy, is that it is Almonzo's memories of childhood (naturally), rather than Laura's, and so much of that book is about FOOD. I like the book, but as I'm reading it, I keep thinking, "Another list of what they ate!?!" Right about the time I want to skip to the next page, one of my boys starts in about how YUMMY it all sounds. I'll never forget when my youngest asked, "Why can't we ever have boiled turnips? They sound so GOOD!" :lol: So I had to make turnips for dinner.

[Julie Smith]

Perhaps this is the way to convince dd to bypass The First Four Years. She is very interested in the biography.

 

You could read a biography about her, and then the book written about her daughter.

 

Praire Girl The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by William Anderson

Little House on Rocky Ridge by ?

[Tracy]

You could read a biography about her, and then the book written about her daughter.

 

Praire Girl The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by William Anderson

Little House on Rocky Ridge by ?

 

Thanks! That sounds great!

[scrappyhappymama]

I loved reading her biography and comparing it with her fictionalized life. :001_smile:

 

Which biography did you enjoy? I've been wanting to get one, but there are several different ones out there.

[Chris in VA]

Which biography did you enjoy? I've been wanting to get one, but there are several different ones out there.

 

I liked the Donald Zochert one; I practically forced my brother to buy it for my birthday when I was 13! lol

 

Since then, I've read others--I hear the William Anderson one is good. I can't remember if it's that one or not, but one of them makes the case that Rose edited a LOT of the series. I found the tone rather disrespectful of Laura's writing abilities.