2/2018: I’m listening to the audiobooks as a refresher before reading Prairie Fires and some of he other commentaries on the series. Listening with adult ears already makes the series so problematic and I know there’s so much more to come.

11/2009:I had a project, never finished, where I intended to read all of the series and write a blog post about them. Here are the quotes/notes I collected before I abandoned the whole thing:

"Eat your breakfast, Laura," Ma said. "You must mind your manners, even if we are a hundred miles from anywhere."

Pa said, mildly, "It's only forty miles to Independence, Caroline, and no doubt there's a neighbour or so nearer than that."

"Forty miles, then," Ma agreed. "But whether or no, it isn't good manners to sing at the table. Or when you're eating," she added, because there was no table."

"Will the government make these Indians go west?"

'Yes,' Pa said, 'When the white settlers come into a country, the Indians have to move on. The government is going to move these Indians farther west, any time now. That's why we're here, Laura. White people are going to settle all this country, and we get the best land because we get here first and take our pick. Now do you understand?'

'Yes, Pa," Laura said. "But, Pa, I thought this was Indian Territory. Won't it make the Indians mad to have to-"

...

"Then Pa said something to Ma that made Laura sit very still and listen carefully. He said that folks in Independence said that the government was going to put the white settlers out of the Indian territory. He said the Indians had been complaining and they had got that answer from Washington.

On one hand, this has NOT aged well. If you want your books to be politically correct, this is not it. But it's cozy and light, and made me feel good and grateful.

This will forever be one of my favorite childhood stories. It tells of such a realistic and dangerous story, but with such a beautifully innocent touch that I will definitely never forget.

Corresponde al tercer libro de la serie”little house”. Elegí este libro porque aparece como recomendados por la librería pública de Nueva York y me pareció interesante leer algo de esta autora tan leída en los Estados Unidos.

El libro cuenta las vivencias de la autora junto a su familia a finales de los años 1800s. La historia inicia cuando Laura junto a su familia deciden partir hacia un nuevo rumbo y dejar su antiguo hogar. La niña narra todo lo que pasa en el transcurso del viaje, así como cuando llegan a una pradera que se convertirá en su nuevo hogar.

El libro a mi entender es entretenido pero cansa con tantas descripciones, creo que es un poco pesado para los niños. Además de que hay muchas palabras usadas en ese tiempo que son totalmente desconocidas. A pesar de todo, tiene buenas enseñanzas.

যখন পড়া শুরু করেছি তখন ভেবেছিলাম এটা শিশু লরার লেখা ডায়রি, কিন্তু না, ছোট বেলায় বাবা-মায়ের কাছে শোনা গল্প , তার সাথে ইতিহাসের মিল রেখে আর কিছু কল্পনার সাহায্য নিয়ে লেখক যখন লিখছেন, তখন তার বয়স ষাট পেরিয়ে গেছে।
Little House In The Big Woods পড়ে ভালোলাগার পর এই বইটা শুরু করা। Little House On The Prairie উপন্যাসের পটভূমি যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের কানসাস প্রেইরি, সময় ১৮৬৯-'৭০। লেখক লরা ইঙ্গলস ওয়াইল্ডারের বয়স তখন দুই থেকে তিন।

উইসকনসিনের বনভূমি এলাকা ছেড়ে কানসাস প্রেইরিতে এসে ঘর তৈরি করে ইঙ্গলস পরিবার। দুঃখজনকভাবে নেটিভ আমেরিকানদের জায়গা অবৈধ ভাবে দখল করে, কিন্তু পরোক্ষ ভাবে যুক্তি দেওয়া হয়েছে যে জমি চাষ করবে জমি তার হওয়া উচিত, মানে শেতাঙ্গ সেটেলারদের জমি দখলের অধিকার আছে।
"All they(Indians) 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. (Mrs. Scott)”

লেখক নেটিভ আমেরিকান বা ইন্ডিয়ানদের কৌশলে অসভ্য বর্বর জাতি হিসেবে দেখিয়েছেন।
"There were no people. Only Indians lived there." - যদিও এই লাইনটা বর্তমানে প্রচলিত সংস্করণ থেকে বাদ দেওয়া হয়েছে।

বইয়ের বাংলা অনুবাদে নেটিভ আমেরিকানদের প্রতি জাতিঘৃণা কতটুকু প্রকাশ করেছে জানিনা। অরিজিনাল ইংলিশ বইটা পড়ে আমি যারপরনাই অবাক হয়েছি। শেতাঙ্গদের রেসিজমের কুখ্যাতি সর্বজনবিদিত এবং ঐতিহাসিক সত্য। উদাহরণ হিসেবে বলা যায়, আফ্রিকান আমেরিকানদের যুক্তরাষ্ট্র সরকার ভোটের অধিকার দিয়েছে মাত্র তিপ্পান্ন বছর আগে(১৯৬৮)। তারপরও অবাক হওয়ার কারণ এটা শিশুদের বই, আবার বিখ্যাত ক্লাসিক, তাই একটু উদারতা আশা করছিলাম।
বই থেকে ইন্ডিয়ান দের সম্পর্কে লেখা কিছু অংশ উদ্বৃত করা যাক-

★ "She (Mrs. Scott) did not know why the government made treaties with Indians. The only good Indian was a dead Indian."

★ Jack(pet dog) hated Indians, and Ma said she didn’t blame him. She said, “I declare, Indians are getting so thick around here that I can’t look up without seeing one.”

★ "Will the government make these Indians go west?”
“Yes,” Pa said. “When white settlers come into a country, the Indians have to move on. The government is going to move these Indians farther west, any time now. That’s why we’re here, Laura. White people are going to settle all this country, and we get the best land because we get here first and take our pick. Now do you understand?”
“Yes, Pa,” Laura said. “But, Pa, I thought this was Indian Territory. Won’t it make the Indians mad to have to—”
“No more questions, Laura”

শেষ পর্যন্ত অবশ্য ইঙ্গলস পরিবারসহ অন্যান্য শেতাঙ্গ সেটেলারদের সরকারের নির্দেশে কানসাস প্রেইরি ত্যাগ করতে হয়েছিল। কিন্তু লরার বাবা চার্লস ইঙ্গলস সরকারের এমন সিদ্ধান্তে অবাক হয়েছিলেন। কারণ সরকার সবসময় ইন্ডিয়ানদের বিতাড়িত করে শ্বেতাঙ্গদের জমি দখলে সাহায্য করে।

He said that folks in Independence said that the government was going to put the white settlers out of the Indian Territory. He said the Indians had been complaining and they had got that answer from Washington.
“Oh, Charles, no!” Ma said. “Not when we have done so much.”
Pa said he didn’t believe it. He said, “They always have let settlers keep the land. They’ll make the Indians move on again. Didn’t I get word straight from Washington that this country’s going to be opened for settlement any time now?”

কিন্তু একটা অধ্যায় ভীষণ ভীষণ ভালোলেগেছে- Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus. মন ভালো করে দেওয়ার মত ক্রিসমাসের গল্প। ছোটবেলায় চাঁদ রাতে বাবার কিনে দেওয়া ঈদের জামা পাওয়ার আনন্দ মনে করিয়ে দেয়। উৎসব তো শিশুদের জন্যই, আর বড়দের তৃপ্তি হচ্ছে শিশুদের আনন্দ করতে দেখা।

this book is shitty xenophobic propaganda. fuck u laura 0.5 stars

Fried Apples and a Lesson in Racism

I loved this series when I read them around ten years ago. My favorite was The Long Winter.

A few years ago I went to visit her home in Missouri with my sister and niece. She had two houses, but I must say I loved the Sears and Roebuck one best. The other one had a wonderful antique mint green stove in it that I would have loved to have owned, except I think that it would not be easy to bake in, and maybe it used wood for fuel. My ex mother-in-law had a wood burning one once when she was renting a house in the country. It heated the entire house. She didn’t bake much, so she didn’t have to worry about getting the fire just right.

I read this book again because I had heard that it contained racist remarks. I must not have noticed it before. So, Laura Ingalls and her family take off in a covered wagon for parts unknown. Laura asked for a papoose, like another child would ask for a puppy. Her mother exclaims, “I don’t like Indians. No, you cannot have a papoose.” Why would Laura even think of owning a papoose? I suppose it was just a childish whim. And then her father talks about how the government is going to push back or kill the Indians, so they don’t have to worry.

So now, what was once an adorable story about pioneers that all children love; to an adult, can become a political issue, as it was in the book, Killers of the Flower Moon that came out after I read this book. This conversation was mentioned in it in detail.

The fact of racism in this book doesn’t ruin it for me, and I am American Indian, but I had a German father. I had a friend who was Indian, but she didn’t like pioneer stories, which was understandable. Me, I love them. I have another friend who loves them too, and she is married to a Native American and may be part Indian. So I asked members of our book group if they liked pioneer stories, some of us are Indian or part Indian. One wanted nothing to do with them because the white man had murdered the Indians. Three of us liked them because they were survival books and fun reading; They were history. We felt that other countries had to deal with these things as well. Then some of us who were Indian had family who came to America in the early days. Now as to the racist comment, I like what one of the group members said, “They were being honest with their feelings, and they were afraid of the Indians,” and I might add, “They should have been. Not all Indians were friendly.” And Indians had sometimes warred with each other, taking food from another tribe when there was a drought, kidnapping children, etc.

This doesn’t make it right what the Europeans did by coming to here, just as it isn’t right for any nation to colonize or destroy other nations. I just hope that kids who read these books will get a lesson from their parents on racism, as it would be a good way to teach them.

Here is an interesting recipe that could have been used by the Ingalls on the trail:

Fried Apples
Fry 4 slices of bacon. Remove bacon. Slice apples and add to hot bacon grease. Brown on each side. Serve.
Now whenever I fry apples, I used real butter, but if I used bacon grease, I would eat the bacon along with the apples.

I was obsessed with the Little House books as a kid, even dressing as Laura Ingalls Wilder for Halloween one year but this book does not hold up at all. When they weren't going into pages-long descriptions about how a door is made, they were abusing their dog by keeping him chained up constantly and being super racist. Oh, did the "Indians" take your tobacco and corn meal? White settlers took their land and were complicit in a genocide so...sorry about how you now have less to smoke? I understand that the books were a product of their time and reflected the best wisdom of a very young child but I don't see how this book is still popular. I can't imagine reading this to children as a bedtime story without having to pause every 30 seconds to explain the limited, biased portrayal of history.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder series is a classic, but this particular book must be chosen with care if reading aloud to young children. It contains a few pages that are quite derogatory to Native Americans. Even though this may have been acceptable at the time of writing, the reader must be ready to explain this to youngsters, or don't read it aloud to them.

Overall, this was my least favorite book in this series! I almost wished Ma took a cast iron frying pan to Charles's head for all the danger he put his family through! The "Trail of Tears" scene was very heartbreaking! But Ma's racist rants against the Native Americans was the straw that broke the camel's back for me!

I read this book when I was six years old, and then over and over again until I was about ten. I loved it. It inspired my imagination like nothing else until Harry Potter more than thirty years later. For years, I wanted to BE Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved when the grass grew long and I could pretend it was the prairie. When I was stuck in the outfield during elementary school softball I was imagining I was playing with Mary and Carrie. I read all the books and wrote my own biography of Laura when I was nine. I was thrilled to discover an actual biography (Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder)!

What did I love about the Little House books? I loved Laura. I loved that she felt real emotion. She was bored, frustrated, and jealous. I loved the adventure: the idea of moving slowly across the wilderness with all of my family's belongings in one small wagon was deeply appealing. I was fascinated by the wolves, Indians, and the details of the cabin building. I loved the idea of living in the past. It was years before I thought about how difficult life would be without the conveniences of modern plumbing. I must also mention that I was entranced by idea of wearing a calico-print dress and making my own dolls as well!

As I grew older, I grew to love more historical fiction. I loved exploring the past. I fell in love with Caddie Woodlawn, A Little Princess, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and, later, A Lantern in Her Hand. I was able to experience the hardships of girls all over the world in different time periods. Little House on the Prairie introduced me to that world.

I have read a variety of criticisms of The Little House Collection. People are bothered by the treatment of Native Americans or the embedded sexism of the family. My response to this complaint is, yes, Ma was a racist, and girls were treated worse than they are today. But Laura doesn't like it! And she wins, in the end. The Ingalls family could not stay in Indian Territory and Laura is the one who becomes an internationally known author, while the rest of the ladylike girls disappear into obscurity.

I am now a school librarian, and still recommend these books to my students. The writing is clear and straight forward without being too short or short on detail. There is no doubt that the book must be read in context, but in today's school environment, historical fiction is often the way children begin to learn about history.

I enjoyed the little house on the Prairie TV show growing up. This is my first time reading them. I enjoy seeing through the eyes of settlers and what life was like for them.

I had a very hard time with the attitudes of the day towards the Indians on the plains. I am not upset with the book. I think Laura honestly portrays the attitudes of the day and she lays out the racism for all to see. I don't like it, but that is how it was.

The thing I find so damning about the story is that these people called this Indian country. They willingly moved into this territory knowing it wasn't their land. They were so arrogant they thought they had a right to take that land and farm it. They thought they knew better than the people who this was their home for thousands of years. Then when trouble stirs up and Indians come in the house neighbors say things like 'the only good Indian is a dead Indian.' It is mind blowing.

I do like how Charles was portrayed. He gave the Indians respect. He couldn't speak with them, but he welcomed them in his house and honored them in his way even as he was poaching their land. I get why Laura was so curious. I understand why Caroline was so scared of these Indians coming into her house, but she moved to their land and then balks at them. I really don't like the character of Caroline right now.

I never knew this book was so much about Indians, but that is really what it's about. I don't remember that on the TV show. I also don't really understand the attitudes of the settlers wanting to go somewhere all by themselves and build from scratch. That is interesting.

No peoples are perfect, but this book is really about the sins and arrogance of the European race in my opinion. It is also a classic in American literature. It did it's job by showing a part of history from the perspective of settlers and it lets the reader make up their own mind.

The Indians could have slaughtered all the settlers and they had a big pow wow about it and they chose not to do that. They showed restraint and they gave up their land that was theirs by rights. They really did get the short end of the stick. I don't know many people who would leave without a fight. The leaders knew the soldiers would come and kill the people I'm sure. Just think if settlers came into present day Kentucky and we asking the current residents to leave. I don't think they would leave peacefully even if it meant their death. It really is so interesting.

Our country is a country of givers, we give to the rest of the world and we are also a country of takers. We are both contradictory things at once and it causes tension in us which is something we see on the national level now. Part of our nation takes what it wants, consequences be damned. These are the seeds of our nation.

I am very glad I read this book. It really did a lot to make me think.

I read this to my three girls, ages six, seven, and nine. My husband also listened each night, as I always read two chapters before bedtime. And in fact, he got very upset with me one night when I was unable to read!

I remember reading these as a girl and loving them. But I didn't expect to enjoy them so much as an adult. The entire family looked forward to reading time each night. Laura's story is told with the experience of an adult, but at the same time she manages to tell it from the perspective of a child. She is at once in awe of the Indians and scared of their warriors. She describes the animal life with the absolute glee and innocence of a young girl. The wide open spaces are magical, and every day brings new discoveries.

As a parent, I can't imagine moving my kids away from family and civilization the way that Laura's parents did. But she got to experience some amazing things living out on the prairie. We are looking forward to reading Almanzo's story in the next book, Farmer Boy. I'm so very glad that these books are being enjoyed by my girls as much as I enjoyed them when I was a kid! And I love that in the day of technology, they still want to take the time to hear this classic American story! Great family time.