While very much a part of my childhood, I have to wonder how much of these books were actually accurate. Definitely not good Native American representation.

That said, Laura is a lot like Ramona Quimby: she makes mistakes. She has feelings. That’s why I think we all related to her.

Found this 8 book set at the flea market for $5....So far I've read 3 and I'm loving them so much...these stories remind me of a combination of my sister and I growing up with our father showing us how he and our mother did things on their ranches and also reminds me of my mother's stories of when she and her 5 sisters grew up on their ranch with their father and mother helping their father and mother do all the farm-work and housework...absolutely beautiful stories of how children where told to act and behave and how they where grateful for the few things they had...one particular story that is similar to Laura speaking about her little doll made out of a corn cob...this reminds me of a story I loved that my mother used to tell me about how she would make dolls for herself and her little sisters made out of corn husks....

Childhood favorite.

I started my youngest on reading this series and then thought, "I should really read these again." It's been years but they are still just as magical and wonderful as the first time I read them; although I have way more respect for what it must have been like to do the work I do every day in the home but with no technology or ease. I love the simple writing style that tells the story of growing up on the frontiers of Minnesota, and Dakota territory. The wonderful part about these books is that while you are engrossed in reading about pioneer and settler life, you are also getting the positive messages of work hard, have integrity, be cheerful and grateful, do the right thing and life will just work out. I remember my third grade teacher telling my class how she got to go on a field trip when she was in grade school and meet Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was in awe and I still am. I wish we could have met. And don't think these books are just for girls. If you start with Farmer Boy, they will be hooked and plow right through the series. Everyone should take a little time to read or reread these classics. You won't be sorry. In fact, you'll probably want to call me up and thank me for the suggestion. You're welcome.

The perfect gift for a 10 year old girl. I received the set for Christmas one year. Unfortunately, they were not bound well and the pages yellowed and started to fall out. My nieces borrowed them and I finally just gave them the set.

I love each of these books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I am continuing to read related books by other authors as I am studying what characteristics made up the American Spirit during the great expansion when Americans were Homesteading and during the years following.

I was very impressed with the attitudes and character of each member of the Ingalls family and of Almanzo Wilder. They had a love of family and of God. They believed in being their best no matter what was happening in their lives. They faced challenges with courage. They were very highly skilled in things I come nowhere close to in my life, such as home building, sewing, keeping a clean and comfortable home at all times even in the midst of chaos. They cheerfully disciplined themselves to work together as a family and achieve their goals together, and then if things did not work out as they hoped, they picked up where they left off and cheerfully started all over again. They were thrifty, knowing how to make a small amount of household resources go a long way. The children were in a real sense apprentices of their parents so that when they began their own lives on their own or with their own families they were highly skilled to do so. The Ingalls girls were far better educated with or without a high school diploma than I am with a high school diploma, knowing the history of the US and of the explorations that lead to the founding of the US very well, being able to diagram sentences, having memorized the entire Declaration of Independence, and having memorized the entire book of Psalms among other Bible verses.

I identified with Laura in her love of the outdoors, in her playful spirit, in her love of flowers, in her love of faith and family, and in her determined attitude to achieve goals.

I find myself different than her in my handling of life's difficulties, not being as courageous and thankful as her and wanting to become courageous and thankful. I am also different in being much more of a romantic than her in courtship and marriage, but I am like her in being a close friend and partner with my husband. She was more willing to tackle tasks considered a man's realm than I am, such as cutting down trees, and making fuel for the fire. She was a harder worker and a faster worker than I am and I would like to become as dedicated and skilled at my work as she was with hers.

I have also read A Little House Traveler and enjoyed it very much. I read the biography of her written by William Anderson and was delighted with how she cared so much for children and how well she was loved by children and adults alike.

Fascinating to read as an adult. This isn’t necessarily the wholesome and heartwarming life story as appears on the surface, if you read between the lines with a modern perspective. It’s entertaining, sometimes beautiful, interesting, and at times horrifying. It inspires questions like: was the Homestead Act a great advancement or a terrible debacle? And for whom? Was Pa a responsible father? Is this a happy story or rather a gothic tale of prairie madness?

My grandmother gave me the paperback set as a gift when I was 6 or 7, and I absolutely ADORED those books. Must have read through the entire series at LEAST half a dozen times over the years. Sadly, one of my biggest regrets is that I donated the whole thing to the library during my highly nomadic early 20's, when I just didn't have the storage space for childhood things. I try to remember that it's just "stuff" and that surely the library appreciated them, but I realize how attached I get to treasured items...especially gifts from loved ones with such good childhood memories connected to them.

I have, ever since I was 8 and received a box set of the "Little House" books, adored each and every single one of them. In over 20 years, my feelings towards these books haven't changed one iota. They are easy to read, and chock full of information about life as a young pioneer girl. How many times did I wish I could taste Ma's vanity cakes, or see Mary's college dress in person? These books are so fascinating, for anyone remotely interested in history, that it makes it impossible to put them down.

The writing itself is fine. Let us remember that Laura Ingalls Wilder was a teacher in the late 1800's, and that she always received top marks in grammar and reading. Even looking over her books now, as persnickety as I am about poor spelling/grammar/editing, while her language is simplistic, there is nothing wrong with the way she writes.

These books are meant to be treasured.

These books taught me to fall in love with reading. Not only did these books teach me so much about life in general *such as how to make cheese from scratch* but they really just expanded my worldview as a child. I have a great sense of nostalgia when I think of this series. But more than that, I feel that Laura Ingalls Wilder had such a gift for storytelling. Her literary voice is just beautiful. The stories were humorous, and touching, and you always wanted things to turn out for the best for the family (and it did, in the end). Classics that will be a wholesome, entertaining read for all generations--who doesn't love a realistic glimpse into early Americana? Her phrasing and diction are impeccable. Yup, I'd read this story as a 25 year old, and love as much as I did when I was an 8 yr. old, but perhaps with a deeper understanding.

The Little House series is obviously so well known it seems silly to write a review.

The thing is, my memories of reading these books as a child are pretty tangled up with memories of the tv series, and they are actually pretty different. I reread the series with my daughter when she was little and was mortified. We had to pause constantly to have serious conversations about the racism and colonialism imbedded deeply within.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was a gifted writer and storyteller and the myth of the proud, hardworking, pioneer is not just her narrative, it's pervasive. This is American; Susanna Moodie is a much lesser known Canadian writer of this ethos. Thanks to some Indigenous friends I found Louise Erdrich and her
Birchbark House series. The main characters are in the same era, similar ages, but the story of the genocidal colonialist beginnings of Canada and the US told from the perspective of a young Anishnabe girl and her family is compelling and refreshing.

If you must indoctrinate another generation with the bullshit humble pioneer narrative, at least read The Birchbark House series as a counterpoint.

Although the Little House books are generally thought of as children's books, they are read by people of all ages, and rightly so.

The books are based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's life in the northern midwest during the 1870's and 1880's. The first book takes place in little Pepin, Wisconsin. In this book, Laura includes her little sister Carrie, although, in truth Carrie had not yet been born. Also in the book, Laura indicates she is 5 when in fact she was 3 during that time. For reasons such as these, and the fact that the books were written decades later based on her memories, you may find these books in fiction rather than autobiography sections in the stores.

The third book, the one actually called "Little House on the Prairie" takes place in Kansas, where they moved - it just happened to be in Osage territory. While there, the family falls quite ill with what is now known as malaria - then it was just a fever with chills. The book touches on varying beliefs with regard to the Osage land they have settled on. Ma Ingalls has a dislike of the Natives, Pa doesn't mind them one bit, and Laura seems to befriend them.

The fourth book states that it occurs after the move from Wisconsin to Minnesota, when in reality, it takes place when they relocate from Kansas to Minnesota, a journey which began on Laura's 7th birthday.

Despite the historical discrepancies, the books remain a treasure to be enjoyed by young and old alike.