*Some possible spoilers... of course, if you looked at the cover of the book, you're probably already aware of where this is going.

Eleanor: I know what my favorite part is already: WHEN LAURA GOT MARRIED!!!

I want to give it FIVE STARS!!! You know why it's amazing? Because how can a piece of wedding cake taste like sawdust in your mouth?

Dad: Why do you think Laura thought it tasted like sawdust?

El: Because she's leaving home forever.

Dad: But why would that make it taste like sawdust?

El: Well, in the book... it said, usually mom's cake tastes good, but Laura said the cake tasted like sawdust in her mouth. So she couldn't enjoy the cake, because she had to leave. ...Talking about wedding cake makes me hungry for cake... I guess I'm going to have to wait until after dinner to get some banana bread.

Dad: Do you think the banana bread mom made is going to taste like sawdust?

El: NOOOOOooooo! I'm not going to leave home and not come back for keeps. You're silly daddy. ...Mom said not to make the review really silly. I guess I'll have to explain to her that dad made the review silly.

Dad: I guess you will. Will it taste like sawdust when you're getting married and leaving home for keeps?

El: I don't think so. I guess I'll have to find out when I get married.

Dad: What'd you think about the Brewsters?

El: They're MEEEaaaaaannnnn.

Dad: No kidding. I'm glad I didn't have to live with them.

El: I'm glad I didn't either. I'm glad I live with a mom who's a good cook! I can taste her cake already.

Dad: What did you think about Laura's school?

El: It was cool that she earned $27!

Dad: What's one thing you learned from this book? About life, or about yourself, or about anything?

El: I learned that sometimes in life you meet mean people.

Dad: Anything else?

El: You should love them anyway - like Laura loved Mrs. and Mr. Brewster.

Dad: Ok. Was Laura ever mean?

El: ...Uhhhh... I don't think so...

Dad: I think she was a couple of times.

El: When was she mean, daddy? She wasn't mean to Almanzo, that's for sure. Eh! And you know what my next favorite part was? When Nellie was afraid of horses.

Dad: So, you remember a part about Laura being mean then, huh?

El: Actually, I think it was Nellie that was being mean. Laura held her tongue, and Nellie's tongue was going flippity-flop. And Almanzo was Laura's friend, and Nellie was taking him away from her.

Dad: You make some good points. I'm not saying Nellie wasn't mean. I just think it was a little bit mean (but still kind of funny) for Laura to spook the horses when she knew Nellie was afraid of them.

El: It was kind of funny. ...Laura's a funny girl.

Laura has taken a job teaching a school at the Brewster's claim. Mrs. Brewster is sullen and rude, and some of Laura's students are actually older than her. Laura does her best to teach the school, but she is miserable at the Brewster's house. Laura wishes she could go home at least for the weekends, but the snow and ice would make for too long of a drive across the prairie. But Almanzo Wilder shows up to drive her home in his new cutter with sleigh bells ringing! Laura begins to understand that Almanzo is interested in courting her, and she isn't sure how she feels about that.

This was always my favorite of the Little House books when I was a girl because of the sweet romance. with Almanzo. I was also inspired by the chapters with Laura teaching school. Although it was a very difficult situation, she figured out a way to inspire her students to love learning, and she gained their respect even though they were the same age as her or older.

All through the Little House books, Laura describes her happy family, how they work together, play and sing together, and how they trust and love each other. After seeing the misery in the Brewster house, Laura comes home and truly appreciates for the first time just how lovely her family is. She is filled with gratitude for their kindness and quiet ways, after having to endure the rudeness and shouting at the Brewster's.

I love the scenes with Mary coming home from college. You can feel the joy of the whole family on each page! We get to see how Mary has gained confidence and skills despite her blindness, but she has not forgotten her family during her years away from home, and she blends right back into their home life without any awkwardness. I especially like the scenes when Mary and Laura open up to each other and connect on a deeper level than they did as children. Now they are both young women, and they can relate to each other as adults. They open their hearts to one another as sisters, knowing they will find understanding and love.

There are some very excited scenes as Almanzo is breaking in a pair of colts to pull a buggy, and Laura goes with him on long drives across the prairie. But the colts won't behave, and they gallop and rear and pull against the reins! Laura even takes a turn driving them, and you can tell that Almanzo is impressed with her courage.

I love that Almanzo takes Laura to a singing school, so that they can sing in a youth choir together. He notices that her whole family loves to sing along with Pa's fiddle, and that Laura often sings on their drives together, so he knows that this is something she will enjoy. I love how thoughtful he is!

Overall, there are a lot of scenes in this book that inspire and interest me! These are stories that stay with you in your memory for a long time.

This is so bittersweet. Laura's parents saying goodbye and watching their children leave them might be the defining emotional moments of this series for me. The last few pages have always hit me harder than I expected, and not even Almanzo's painstaking shelves and drawers quite take the sting out of that.

And then there's that earlier moment with Mrs. Brewster and the knife, and really appreciating home just before leaving it. That's always quite something.

I skimmed the next book, and it's just the disaster I remember (though I'd forgotten about the Boasts - ouch) so like Jess, I'll pretend the series ends here. Even though I think it's a darker place to end than the previous books; even if I think "these happy golden years" are more ominous than anything else. I'm glad they're happy - I hope they're happy - and wow, they lived really difficult lives.

I should end on a positive note, I suppose, even if this book doesn't leave me feeling all that positive: Almanzo is so great in these books that they almost read like a love letter to him. It's so, so sweet.

Talitha's Review: 5 stars. I loved all of the buggy rides and that they got married! I love Pa playing the fiddle of these happy golden years, and her new house with Almanzo. I didn't really like Laura teaching school, and I did not like Mrs. Brewster, but Almanzo picked her up every week. Mr. Brewster was good, though. I liked Laura's sunbonnet, especially the hat with the feathers.

I actually really enjoyed the teaching narratives, and I enjoyed Almanzo and Laura's courtship. It is a great line when Ma asks if she likes the horses or Almanzo, and Laura says, "Well I can't have the horses without the master." Some of the parts, similar to the last book, are a bit slow, but overall I found it an enjoyable read through Talitha's eyes.

And finally in the course of my rereading the entire series, I come to my very favorite! *bounces about and giggles* Yes, I'm damn near 30 years old and These Happy Golden Years still makes me bounce and giggle and grin and flail like the wee lass I once was, it just makes me happy inside and I can't help smiling. The story where Laura really grows up and eventually leaves the nest, the story of Almanzo and Laura's courtship that forever ruined me when it comes to real life romantic relationships (no young man has ever taken me out on a buggy ride! Not even a sleigh ride!), and the story that really wraps everything up. (Because depending on who you ask, The First Four Years doesn't "count" as a proper part of the series. I don't have an opinion one way or another, although I don't plan on rereading that one myself.) I just...I just love this so much I could burst. I think I actually like it even better as an adult than I did when I first read These Happy Golden Years as a kid. <3

I think this is my favorite Laura Ingalls Wilder book. I really like Almanzo and his horses and ... it's just an amazing book. :)

This is, without a doubt, my favorite book of the entire Little House series that I have read. The story we all been waiting for is starting when she fell in love and the circle starts again.

5 stars & 5/10 hearts. I’ve read this book many times, as a preteen. I am now 18 and I’ve read it for the first time in several years. I enjoyed it a lot more than I had before. Laura was a strong woman, and I really admire her courage and perseverance. Hers & Almanzo’s courting is very sweet (only three kisses mentioned) and I enjoyed this book very much. 

*review to be updated*

Ah, this book was sweet!

Laura & Almonzo are adorable together. I didn’t appreciate their romance much all the times I read this growing up, but now, I find it sweet. And Laura… she’s become such a strong, persevering young woman.

Returning to the story as an adult gave me a greater appreciation & love for it!



“It was hard to stay where she [Laura] was not wanted. She took care to make no work for Mrs. Brewster, and to help her all she could. Politely she said, ‘Good morning,’ and smiled, but she could not keep on smiling. She had not know before that it takes two to make a smile.”

What?! An entire Little House book without racist comments?

Sarcasm aside, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Almanzo and Laura's relationship blossom, as well as Laura's escapades in the classroom. (Yes, teaching is exhausting. And Laura had only a handful of students, had supportive parents, and had support of the board of education...) It's nice to see the writing progress as Laura grows older. Stories become more interesting and the pace is much quicker. Laura isn't quite a feminist, but her independence is abnormal for her time period. I like that she speaks up for herself and doesn't beg Almanzo to pay attention to her (poor Nelly).

Who this book is for: People who love Laura Ingalls Wilder, prairie stories, historicals, faith-filled books. 0+

Wow-wee. I haven't read this much about dress patterns and sewing styles since that horrible day in my grandmothers bathroom after some bad lunch meat. While reading this aloud to the kids on the car I couldn't help but continually lapse into a Swedish Chef voice for Pa, An antebellum southern mistress for Ma, An earnest lisp-y twit for Laura and Lenny impression for her sisters (Tell us about the rabbits, George) to keep it the least bit interesting.

On a side note, Laura Ingalls Wilder is a first rate braggart. Not a chapter goes by without Laura-as-author putting words into her sisters or friends mouths telling Laura-as-character how wonderful and special she is. Easily the most annoying and useless installment in the series.