I scrolled quickly down the page and noticed that nobody has much to say about this novel. What _is_ there to say about Laura Ingalls Wilder's fiction/memoir accounts of growing up in the period of American expansion and homesteading? A lot - at least 7 volumes' worth, in Ingalls Wilder's own series. It's easy to categorize Ingalls Wilder's series as "children's" literature, but her books are also documents of an indomitable feminine spirit, a woman's relation of the American experience in a time when "high" literature focuses only on the cities of the East, dismissing the westward push as fledgling cities of the plain.

But there is nothing plain about the Little House books. Through Laura's eyes, we see the 19th century experience firsthand. The advent of the railroad, and early communications technology. The raw human communities that form around open space and the need for solidarity in times of hardship. We see petty jealousies and lifetime friendships, suffering and triumph, death and birth. We see the process of taming the wild land to make a working farm, and the struggle to build a functional home for a growing family, out there in the middle of nothing but prairie. Governmental decisions and big-scale events are mediated through the child's point of view - this is not "hard history," but rather history made intimate, a "this is how we lived it" reel, history that grows more perceptive and subtler as the narrator grows up.

Okay, it's a great American classic, I realize that. I read it for the first time in third grade because the pioneer-go-forth-and-push-westward philosophy is a central feature in the proud American mindset and heritage. But it's for that very reason that the value of the book needs to be questioned.

While much of the story focuses on a family's self-reliance on the Kansas prairie, the book preceding it - Little House in the Big Woods - does the same with the exception that the Ingalls family was integrated into a functioning Wisconsin community of relatives and neighbors. That book, however, is NOT the famous one after which a television series was made.

WHY the Ingalls family felt the need to abandon their community and settle in what was in fact disputed Indian Territory other than out of a lust for adventure is insufficiently explained. Unlike immigrants of the time, American pioneers like the Ingallses were not driven to the new land by persecution or famine at home. They drove themselves there and expected the local Indians to like it or stay out of the way. The Indians are portrayed as mysterious savages who are ultimately given what actually belonged to the hard-working white family. (I'm not at all surprised it was written in the 1930's.)

My third grade class was outraged at the injustice of the U.S. government telling the Ingallses to abandon their self-made cabin for the Indians, yet no one was outraged in the beginning when they arrived and no one was asked to question this. Stories like the Ingallses's are history that cannot be changed or forgotten, but like all history should be constantly questioned.

I would read this to children and elementary/middle school classes, but not without a corresponding story from the perspective of the Plains Indians, and not without asking children important follow-up questions to spark dialogue. Did the Ingallses have to leave Wisconsin? Would you have? Why do you think they decided to? Were the Ingallses malicious, naive, or justified in their pursuit? Can the rural dislike of government involvement be traced back to stories like theirs? Why was this story so popular in the 1930's, 40's, and 50's? Why is it still popular today?

Am reading these again with my three sons. It's not their favorite book series ever, but I loved them as a kid and feel like there's a lot to learn about the pioneers and Indians in these books.
Eventually we'll go on a field trip to a place called Hale Farm and Village to see first hand how the pioneeers lived, and I think they'll enjoy that. I'm enjoying sharing these stories with them.



Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder is an exquisite set of books that I cherished growing up. Read until they were dog-eared, this series has to be one of my childhood favorites. A story about a young girl growing up on the frontier, it was so popular they made it into a T.V. series even though the series didn't do it justice. Stories as a young girl I could relate to, the mean girl in town, fights with my sisters, and just the struggles of everyday life of any family. The love Ma and Pa had for each other showed through so much so, that even today I can still see Caroline's eye's sparkling bright blue as Pa whirled her around the dance floor. This series is a perfect example of a story well told. When you're there in Laura's life so much that you can feel her fear when in trouble, or you can taste the penny candy on Christmas, that's a story. I have no doubt this will be a children's classic for years to come. I highly recommend it.

This book just made me feel like the laziest person in the universe. When I have a day where I'm hurt and can't do any "real" work, I don't build a rocking chair.

After the recent controversy over Wilder’s books and the removal of her name from the ALA award originally created to honor her legacy, it was interesting to go back and reread this book with adult eyes. I read it aloud to my kids, which also let me see how they responded to the material.

First off, I should admit frankly that anyone who criticizes Laura Ingalls Wilder in front of me has pretty much done the emotional equivalent of criticizing my mother. Little House in the Big Woods was the first real book I read independently. The series had a hugely formative influence on how I view family, marriage, work ethic, and life in general. It also shaped my fashion sense for years, which might not have been an entirely good thing.

Yet reading Little House on the Prairie to two young children was occasionally uncomfortable. There were moments in which I was forced to decide whether to elide or discuss certain phrases and ideas. I ended up reading the overtly racist remarks out loud. They are made by less admirable characters (for instance, Mr. Scott, whose carelessness nearly costs his own life as well as Pa’s in an earlier chapter) and it was relatively simple to point out that such an attitude is evil. My children recognized this readily.

Any reader willing to look honestly at the author’s intentions will recognize that Wilder did not wish to sow hatred or contempt. Pa Ingalls clearly respects his Osage neighbors, and throughout the series the character of Laura (and through her, the reader) always sides with Pa. Interestingly, Wilder also uses the departure of the Osage from Kansas similarly to the way Tolkien uses the departure of the Elves from Middle Earth: as a way to express an indescribable yearning for something beyond one’s own life.

Liberal scholars may complain that Wilder’s legacy mythologizes the idea of Manifest Destiny, but I don’t think this book is so simplistic as all that. The story creates a genuine sense that the situation is complicated and that the departure of the Indians is, in some way, a haunting loss. It invites readers to ponder the rights and wrongs of the situation. It’s not a politically correct book. It breaks many of the modern “rules” I’ve seen posited for how white people should write about minorities. I think that's why it's so controversial: some of the very aspects that an old-fashioned reader would see as anti-racism (for instance, the part in which an Osage chief saves the white settlers by preventing war) are actually incurably racist according to modern progressive standards.*

But it’s part of history, and it’s also an honest look at how these experiences felt from the perspective of a child. It's a book with wonderful layers: children enjoy the story in one way, while adults are able to recognize additional nuances in the interaction of the characters and in the experiences of Ma and Pa.

I’m glad I read this one to my kids, and I stand by the belief that it’s a valuable piece of literature.

*Progressive guidelines on writing non-white minorities state that minority characters should never appear in the story only to save white characters or to impart information, because doing so robs them of agency and makes them important only through their interaction with whites. Yet Wilder was working with her actual memories, and, as the scholarly volume Pioneer Girl documents, did research about this particular incident.

I have mixed feelings about this book. My mother read the Laura Ingalls books with me when I was a little girl, and I'm rereading them for the first time in 30 years.

"Little House on the Prairie" is the story of the Ingalls family -- Pa and Ma, Laura, her sister Mary and her baby sister Carrie -- taking a covered wagon all the way from Wisconsin to Kansas at about 1870. The author is vague on the timing, such as exactly what year it was or how old she was, but it seems to be written from the perspective of a 6-year-old. I read in a biography that she played a little loose with the timeline.

Once they reach Kansas, which was still Indian Territory back then, the family finds a nice bit of prairie and builds a log cabin and starts growing crops. But after a year there, Pa gets upset at news that Washington has decided to move the white settlers out of Indian Territory, and the family abruptly packs up the wagon and leaves the cabin behind, heading back to Wisconsin.

I'll start with what I liked about the book, which is the story of the wagon trip and the actual homesteading. I have admiration for all the brave pioneers and immigrants and travelers of the world who set out with very few belongings and started a new life somewhere else, surviving on their wits and the kindness of strangers.

"'We're going to do well here, Caroline,' Pa said. 'This is great country. This is a country I'll be contented to stay in the rest of my life.'

'Even when it's settled up?' Ma asked.

'Even when it's settled up. No matter how thick and close the neighbors get, this country'll never feel crowded. Look at that sky!'"

There were some lovely heartwarming moments, such as the Christmas dinner that was saved with the help of a neighbor who met Santa and carried the children's gifts to them. Or their loyal dog Jack, who survived a near-fatal river crossing. The book is filled with charming illustrations, and I had a vivid memory of some of the pictures.

It was fascinating to see the series of steps that Pa and Ma took to frame a house, dig a well, build a barn, make a fireplace, save seeds to grow crops, etc. Each event was a big deal and was an adventure. For example, Pa and a neighbor nearly died while digging the well because some underground gas almost poisoned them. And the whole family got sick with malaria one summer, but luckily a doctor in the territory saved them in time. Then there was the day of a massive prairie fire and only quick thinking by Pa & Ma saved the house. Or the time there was a panther on the prairie who was tracking the family, but luckily an Indian killed it before it attacked anyone.

Which brings me to what I didn't like about the book, which was racism against the Indians. I honestly do not remember all the racist comments from my childhood reading. The line, "The only good Indian is a dead Indian," is mentioned several times. Or how Ma was constantly fretting about them, saying, "Land knows, they'd never do anything with this country themselves. All they do is roam around over it like wild animals. Treaties or no treaties, the land belongs to folks that'll farm it. That's only common sense and justice." Did my mother skip those parts when she read these books with me? Or did it just not register? I understand it was the prevailing attitude of the whites at the time, but it was jarring to read it in a children's book, even one that was first published in 1935. I think this is important because if I were going to read this book with my niece, for example, I would edit out the racist parts, which is probably what my mom did. I don't see the need to plant the seeds of an old prejudice in a young child.

I struggled with whether to give this book a 3 or a 4, but I rounded up out of affection for the series as a whole. The first book in the series, "Little House in the Big Woods," has been my favorite so far. But I will continue to read these books and enjoy the stories of the early settlers.

I'll close with this nice thought from Laura toward the end of the book when the family is leaving the homestead behind: "Laura felt all excited inside. You never know what will happen next, nor where you'll be tomorrow, when you are traveling in a covered wagon."

This is not really a review of the general contents and themes of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie, but more my personal take and attitude towards the fact that this book has been (and like so many others) repeatedly challenged and even at times banned/censored (mostly due to the way Native Americans are depicted and the attitudes shown towards them).

And yes, there are indeed some rather major issues with Little House on the Prairie, and especially the attitudes presented towards Native Americans are certainly problematic to say the least. However, the actual considerations towards Native Americans were in the 19th century often very much akin to those shown in the novel, to those shown in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s text and the claim that the "only good Indian is a dead Indian" was unfortunately common amongst many settlers (like the Scotts, who I think, uttered these words). And well, those who would challenge the Little House on the Prairie novels and attempt to have them banned are thus (in my opinion) not only being censorious, but even worse, they are in fact attempting to erase the unfortunate truth that Native Americans were often historically seen in this way. And indeed and in my opinion, Little House on the Prairie would therefore be a good starting point for discussions, although I do realise the novel could I guess also be used and likely has been used by those against Native Americans to bolster and justify their own prejudices (however, this can be and has been the case with many, if not most controversial books, and will likely remain thus).

And frankly, while I have more than a bit of trouble with the way Native Americans are depicted and the attitudes shown towards them in Little House on the Prairie (I especially find the often totally glowing descriptions of Ma, of Caroline Ingalls more than a bit hard to stomach, as she is really quite the stereotyper, much more so than Charles Ingalls, although also not yet on the same level as the Scotts), I do very much appreciate the fact that Laura Ingalls Wilder has not tried pretend that viewpoints towards Native Americans were different and more positive (since if she had, for example, written stories about the Ingalls family becoming close to and good friends with their Native American neighbours, although this might feel more acceptable to our modern sensibilities, it also would be, for the most part, woefully and perhaps even dangerously anachronistic).

And finally, one must also realise that while Little House on the Prairie is considered historical fiction, it was written at a time when negative impressions of or at the very least patronising and Euro-centric attitudes towards Native Americans were still very much not only acceptable, but common. The novel describes the past, but is also of its time (1930s America) and should be read, appreciated and approached as such.

And I also wonder, whether those individuals who believe that Little House on the Prairie should be banned and/or censored consider themselves to be educated, to be socially active, to be fighting against bigotry and the like (and the answer would probably be a resounding "yes" for most). However, if one strives to ban or censor books, one is behahving (and no matter for what reason one attempts to ban or censor a book) the same or at least in a similar manner as that against which one is fighting. Education, understanding, solidarity will never be reached, nor will the battle against bigotry ever be won by using similarly problematic (and draconian) means, but through thoughtful discussion and debate (in my opinion, banning books, no matter for what purpose, is and always will be an act of bigotry, an act of dictatorial over-reaching, an act that destroys freedom and only creates more strife).

Delightful from beginning to end.

I have so much love for this family and what joy they have brought me as a child and now for my own daughter!

Best of the bunch so far as to show how much of a bumbling idiot Pa is (I saw another reviewer say this book should be called "Pa's Follies" and that's spot on). Worst of the bunch so far for being incredibly racist and insensitive and disgusting as far as treatment and discussion of Native Americans. Yeowch. I would love to read a series of books from this era from their perspective.

What I don't get is why they moved in the first place. Apparently being in the middle of no where Wisconsin was getting too busy and populated, so they moved to the middle of no where Kansas, which then was on an Indian Trail, so they felt at once too rural and also like they were on land that wasn't theirs (duh?).

Also, like, how are they making money? That has to be the reason they keep moving. Maybe Pa keeps running up tabs he can't pay back and instead of working, he just packs up the family and rolls 'em on out (that's a joke).

Onto the next place they're going to live. Because they can't even make it a whole book without leaving town now.

I wished I read the whole series as a kid and not just the first one. Which I loved btw. I've read the this second book a year ago when I though I was lucky to find it in second hand, not knowing I would pick up a whole box set of the series about a year later. I adore this series, its so sweet and wholesome yet has some depth to it and I truly feel like it's wonderful read no matter how old you are. The coziest book of all the cozies! I think most people know what these books are about but incase not. This series follows the Ingalls family move to the prairie and their life in America and what life has it stored for them. Its a children's book but readable for everyone.

Such a cute book