I said I’d never give a Little House book less than 5 stars. I forgot about this book. This one is very much real life, but it’s depressing to see the joyful girl of Plum Creek and Silver Lake and the Big Woods experience so much heart ache. She seems defeated in a way, and the fact that this was just a manuscript intensifies the bleakness. It lacks her usual whit and charm and creative flair.

Contains spoilers.

I do not consider this really a part of the Little House series. Because it was just a draft found in LIW's notes after her death, it does not read the same as the previous books do. Plus, it seems to be the first chapter of a new series rather than a continuation of the Laura we know from the previous books.

The book's worst offense is that it actually begins before These Happy Golden Years ends, and rewrites history. There's a scene before they're married where Laura tells Almanzo (who is very unfortunately called Manly throughout this entire book) that she doesn't want to marry a farmer because she doesn't want to have to work so hard. Had a scene like this appeared in These Happy Golden Years, I would have balked.

It's short, it's somewhat dull (there is a lot of adding up of how much things will cost depending on what happens with the crops), it's a bit sad (nothing goes right, Laura's baby dies), and it's just plain not as entertaining as any of the other Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I think it was worth publishing because it's an interesting look at LIW's perspective on her early married years, but it's just not in line with what Little House fans might expect.

"I like that a baby was born but not that a fire came." - Conley, age 5

This book gives a small amount of information about what life was like for Laura after she marries Almanzo. There's not really a story here, just bits and pieces of her life, and the births of her children. I consider the previous book These Happy Golden Years to be the end of the series, and this is just supplementary material.

This is probably my least favourite Little House. The concept is lovely, and I really enjoyed seeing Laura & Almonzo’s married life. However, according to the preface, Laura passed away before this book was finished. So it’s essentially a rough draft (albeit a good rough draft!) that lacks some of the warmth & homeyness of her other stories, and I really miss that. However, it’s still a lovely end to a series that has meant so much to so many, myself included.

I hope that more recently-published editions have fixed the error on page 70 of my Harper & Row copy: Laura powers through labor by remembering one of the hymns Pa used to sing, but it's "Angel Band", NOT "Angel Bank"! Thank you, The Monkees' version of "Angel Bank" at YouTube, with Michael Nesmith on lead!
The book itself feels slightly different from the other books (although it recaps the very last part of THESE HAPPY GOLDEN YEARS, as Laura marries Almanzo Wilder and they move into their "Little Gray Home in the West," as THGY's last chapter is titled) and covers four years in 190 pages.

Happy 2019, everyone! Be well, be blessed!

The younger generation seem to have it as hard if not harder as the older one but the book is more like a report than a novel. If it is the case that this is based on Laura's notes, it does seem to suggest that it was Laura herself (rather than the events) that gave the first 6 books their sparkle.

Not as good as the other books in the series for sure, since it wasn't fleshed out fully like the other books. But still an interesting look into the rough and beautiful life on the American frontier.

Be warned! This book is very, very different from all the other books in the Little House on the Prairie series. In fact, this book makes it easy to see how embellished the other books are and the positive spin that was put on them. Because it was published after the death of Laura and her daughter, it is not quite complete as well. It was taken directly from Laura's notebooks that were found in her belongings after her death and barely any editing was done on them. That being said, this book isn't necessarily worse than the others, just entirely different. The rest of the books, for those who have no read them, detailed Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood growing up and being a pioneer girl with her Ma, Pa, and three sisters.

The First Four Years details the first four years of Laura and Almanzo's (who she calls Manlly in this book) marriage. They set up house on his tree claim after agreeing to try farming for three years. The first year passes quickly they seem happy enough and even more so when Laura is expecting. They have a daughter, Rose, and Laura completely loves her and is quite devoted to her. They remain somewhat happy but do manage to have quite the disastourous next few years. It seems that everything bad that can happen, will happen. They have to suffer through crops being destroyed, illness and other hardships in those four years.

The characters in this are much changed from the other books. They are less like characters in this book and more like the real thing and its a little easier to see that Laura wrote from the heart and didn't try to make this an easy children's story. Its more of an outline with all the emotions she felt still showing. Manly is kind of distanced and doesn't seem to be as good with finances as he in in the other books. Laura is more mature but sadly leaves most of the decision to Manly.

The book is short and is more a series of little stories from those four years. It is still mostly appropriate for children although there are a few sections that made even me pause. This could be considered a spoiler for the book so do beware. The first thing that made me pause was the Boasts (friends of Laura's) that offered to give Laura and Manly their best horse for Rose when she was a baby. Being childless they were probably desperate but it was still a shock to read about the situation in the children's book. The next was the death of their son. Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't help but feel that Laura seemed almost relieved when it was back to being just her, Rose, and Almanzo. I'm sure she cared for the boy (who wasn't alive long enough to be named) but I just didn't get that emotion in the book. I also noticed that in the writing of this book, some facts contradicted what the other books had say, like Manly having a milk cow before Laura married him.

This book is still very important to read when it comes to the series. It is depressing and I can see why Laura never published it on her own, but it does explain a lot and continue her story. The entire series is a wonderful read and despite the tone of this book, it is vital to the collection.

The First Four Years
Copyright 1971
134 pages

Dang I had forgotten how ridiculously depressing this book is. Anyway, finished my reread! Any suggestions for childhood favorites I should revisit next?

Laura's story became much less interesting once she was a wife and mother. It's not that her story isn't interesting because Almanzo and Rose are key characters; it's that the author seemed to want to get this book done. The author seemed to think that life wasn't as interesting once Laura was an adult (which, anyone who has reached adulthood, can agree that childhood is much more fun).

Overall, the series was okay. I'm glad I read it, but I will probably not revisit it.

I remember reading this book when I was about eight, sprawled on the couch and not quite sure how to handle the death and destruction that Laura reveals so matter of factly.

Even now, as an adult, it's surprising to get this unsanitized version of Laura's life, and to read a very different version of Almanzo's proposal than was offered in These Happy Golden Years. I kind of liked it, though - it made Laura a fuller character. In THGY, all she says is that she doesn't want to get married and move away - no references to what kind of man she does want to marry or any other goals/dreams - and eventually she and Almanzo get married with little fanfare and Laura seems pretty content with the decision. Now we find out that she hates the hard life of a farmer's wife and wants something different. When I was younger I recall wanting more day-to-day details about Laura's life -- What was it like to use an outhouse? To sleep in the same room as your entire family? What did she and her sisters fight about? What kinds of foods didn't she like? Didn't she overheat working in the summer wearing those dresses? -- and now is Laura's big reveal that the life of a farmer (and his wife) can totally suck.

The First Four Years documents Laura's worries, especially concerning money, in a way that we didn't hear before. (Although in earlier books Laura was very excited and determined to earn money to help Mary go to college, buy her own clothes, etc, money takes a different tone in this book.) This could be because she's now officially an adult (married, kid, house, farm), so finances are very real worries for her, or it could be because this "book" was a draft that still needed editing. I'm still surprised/interested in the stark division of labor (I know I shouldn't be, but...) and how the finances are just left completely up to Almanzo - it's just how it works and Laura is ok with that.

Either way, this book a valuable addition to the series.