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Old Town in the Green Groves: Laura Ingalls Wilder's Lost Little House Years

cynthia rylant jim lamarche

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Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote nine Little House books about her childhood growing upon the western frontier. But there were two years she didn't write about, two missing years that take place between On the Banks of Plum Creek and By the Shores of Silver Lake.Now, Newbery Award-winning author Cynthia Rylant has imagined what those lost Little House years were like, based on Laura's unpublished memoirs. The result is the first Little House novel about Laura as a young girl in almost 60 years, and a wonderful addition to the classic series.

When the grasshopper plague returns to Plum Creek, Pa knows all the crops will be destroyed again. He decides to take the family east to Burr Oak, Iowa, where he has found work running a hotel. But Laura longs to return to the tall-grass prairie and the unsettled west, to a place where Pa can play his fiddle in the open air and where she can feel free again.

Old Town in the Green Groves continues the story about Laura Ingalls -- a story whose wonder and adventure have delighted millions of readers.

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,2002
Places
walnut grove minnesota, 

This edition

Format
164 pages, Paperback
Published
June 1, 2004 by Harper Trophy
ISBN
9780064409902
ASIN
0064409902
Language
English

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About the author

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cynthia rylant

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An author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children and young adults as well as an author and author/illustrator of picture books for children, Cynthia Rylant is recognized as a gifted writer who has contributed memorably to several genres of juvenile literature. A prolific author who often bases her works on her own background, especially on her childhood in the West Virginia mountains, she is the creator of contemporary novels and historical fiction for young adults, middle-grade fiction and fantasy, lyrical prose poems, beginning readers, collections of short stories, volumes of poetry and verse, books of prayers and blessings, two autobiographies, and a biography of three well-known children's writers; several volumes of the author's fiction and picture books are published in series, including the popular "Henry and Mudge" easy readers about a small boy and his very large dog.

Rylant is perhaps most well known as a novelist. Characteristically, she portrays introspective, compassionate young people who live in rural settings or in small towns and who tend to be set apart from their peers.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
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34(34%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Feet4lyf
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I really enjoyed this; it included some events in the life of the Ingalls family that I knew about but which never entered the Little House series. Some parts made me cry!

Rylant does a nice job of capturing Wilder's gentle but enthusiastic descriptions of pioneer life and family life. This is much better than other Little House spin-offs I've read!
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CommieBoi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I will admit that I was left disappointed by this book. I found the writing to be a little choppy, slow in places, and hard to get into. At times it felt like I was reading a script. It got a little better in the middle but then went downhill again. I had a very hard time even finishing it, which is saying a lot since it is so short. I however did enjoy getting to read more about Laura. The nostalgia that it brought me was the only thing that made me give it anything more than one star...
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windeen-windy
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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That scene where the doctor's wife requested to buy Laura from her family was incredibly heavy. Poor Laura stood there terrified while waiting politely to hear if her Ma would give her up. I was in suspense and I've read the later books and knew it didn't happen.
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sliceofsel
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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This book is based on a couple of pages written by Laura Ingalls Wilder but never published. The story takes place between 1875-77, in a small town in Iowa called Burr Oak. According to the Foreward, Laura said Burr Oak was a lovely place and she had many nice times there, but I somehow got the idea that this isn't true. They had lost the farm on Plum Creek due to two years of grasshopper infestation. Not able to make a living there, Pa sold the farm, breaking Laura's heart; she had a deep love for the prairie and I think, like Charles, wasn't happy living in a town. Once in Burr Oak, the family lived and worked in a hotel and while one never reads any real negative comments in an Ingalls Wilder book, it seemed Caroline and the girls were overworked there. Plus the owner's sons were brats and caused no small amount of trouble for the girls. Plus there was a saloon in the hotel and Charles saw enough misery there to finally move the family into an apartment over a grocery store. By the end of the book the family is finally on the move again, now to the shores of Silver Lake.
The author, Cynthia Rylant, got into the cadence of Laura's writing pretty well and only a few times did I feel Ms. Rylant's presence. If you are a fan of the books, I would put this one between On the Banks of Plum Creek and By the Shores of Silver Lake. If you've never read it or even heard of it (I just discovered it the other day, 50 years after reading the originals) and I enjoyed it. If you are gifting a child these books for the first time, do include Old Town in the Green Groves. It might not come in the box sets, so seek it out. It's worth it.
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Minna
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Wish I had read this before a visit to Burr Oak a few years ago, but I enjoyed Rylant’s telling of the story, and am glad to have had the gap filled in in this way. Today’s writing for children is not quite as fearful of addressing scary or sad or distressing subjects as it was when Laura wrote. I felt Rylant’s effort was a worthy one on all counts.
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Infernjosh
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Cynthia Rylant has done a fine job of imagining Laura Ingalls' life between her books The Banks of Plum Creek and The Shores of Silver Lake, a 2-year period of time missing from the Little House on the Prairie series. Rylant uses as much primary source material as is available - not much - and wonderfully fills in the rest with her imagination. During this period of time, the Ingalls family endured several moves, another grasshopper invasion, flooding rains, the birth of a baby who only lived for a few months (Charles Frederick), other times of difficult illness, and the birth of another baby who was healthy (Grace). They helped to run a hotel in an older, larger town called Burr Oak, Iowa, before finally moving back west to the claim at Silver Lake.
Cynthia Rylant is an excellent author who is able to put herself into the shoes of an historical figure and recreate not just events, but also character, thoughts, attitudes, and speech patterns of the Ingalls family.
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SSSTenshi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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This is a beautiful book. I love hearing the in-between stories of the Ingalls family, and especially Laura's take on everything. Some parts are sad, others joyful, but they always stick together as a family and enjoy all the blessings God provides. They work hard and have fun. I get a kick out of Pa, because he in so many ways reminds me of my husband. These men are always loving their wives and kids, and thinking, thinking, making plans in their brains that they put together so well and then finally surprise the family with and begin acting upon, making dreams come true!
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Lazar25
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I love all the Little House books, so I finally got around to reading this account of the "lost years". I thought Rylant did a good job keeping with the tone of the original stories and I really enjoyed getting another peek into Laura's life.
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