Little House On The Prairie
Author:
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Illustrator:
N/A
Published by:
Farshore
First Published:
1 Jan 1935
Ideal for readers age
9-12y
My Review
Told through the eyes of Laura, the Little House books follow the trials and joys of her pioneer family in their various travels and the homes they make. The first book, 'Little House In The Big Woods', describes their life in a little log cabin on the edge of the woods in Wisconsin. Alongside her Pa and Ma, sisters Mary and Carrie, and their dog Jack, Laura learns that life as a pioneer is not easy, but that the care and love of family - her Pa's music making on his fiddle and her Ma's tireless mending, baking, and home making - can make home feel like home, no matter where it is. Planting, harvesting, trips to town, home education, and keeping ever watchful for threat from predators, keep the family busy through the seasons, and at the end of each day they fall asleep, cosy and warm in their cabin. In 'Little House on The Prairie', the family has moved on, but the themes remain constant. Pa must build a house, Ma must make home, and the children must play their part. Our girls, especially, have loved having these read aloud to them, and my eldest read them on repeat for years - they were her happy place.
Treasured by generations, the 'Little House' books are beloved because they portray a family united against all odds, secure in their love for one another and always determined to succeed despite tribulations and setbacks. They offer a glimpse of a pioneer people and a simpler life, against the backdrop of a beautiful and unspoilt landscape. They feel safe, and they feel warm, and they feel homely.
Heads Up!
Like many classic children's books, these are not free of controversy. As pioneer novels written in the 1930s, they very much espouse a view of Native Americans that would be disputed and condemned today. The family's interactions with Native Americans are few, but when they do happen, the Indigenous characters are represented as threatening and brooding. Laura has no understanding of the fact that her family are taking land that has belonged to others for centuries, and shares the sense of entitlement and the 'pioneering' spirit that saw settlers appropriate what was not theirs without guilt or consequence.
This offers opportunities to talk to children about Laura's experience, and the choices of her parents, who clearly mean no harm - they are kind and good and loving people - but are thoughtless in their actions, and were part of a wrong done to a whole people group. The books are valuable in learning and understanding the history of America, when their context is explained to children.