Reading this makes all of todays hardships fade away. Gratitude for the abundance we have both in warmth, protection, food to spare, and just the ability for communication. The suffering was vast but their endurance could not be rivaled by todays society, not even close. A sobering read but well worth it.

I know I’m in the minority but this is my favorite book of the series. The fortitude, resourcefulness and perseverance of the Ingalls family shine through in this one like no other in my opinion. The kids loved it as much as I did.

A lovely read for December

Over the course of a long, hard winter, the Ingallses move into town, where they must endure a barrage of blizzards, dwindling food supplies, and maddeningly dull days.

The sixth book in the Little House series, this book recounts the Ingallses' experiences during the unusually harsh winter 0f 1880-81. A sense of foreboding is established early on and builds in a way that jangles the reader's nerves as much as it does the Ingallses'. Laura begins to take a more adult role in supporting her parents and the household. We also get to properly meet Almanzo here, though he and Laura don't really get acquainted until the next book.

I read this series all the time as a kid, but I will admit I didn't recall much about this story except for the scene where Pa forcibly buys some of Almanzo's seed grain - and apparently with good reason. It was interesting to see all the ways the Ingallses contrived to make do with their dwindling supplies and how they kept their spirits up. But as the days grow slow and dull for Laura, the book slows down too. By the Shores of Silver Lake will keep its crown.

4.5 stars

The Ingalls family has come to the Dakotas and is homesteading there. When there are early signs of a really bad winter, Pa decides they should move into town and live in their store, which is better insulated against the cold to come. This turns out to be a good choice, as this particular winter turns out to have blizzard after blizzard after blizzard hit, with few breaks in between. Due to all the blizzards, trains can’t get through to bring additional supplies – food, coal (for heat), etc.

I love these books! The series is so much fun to reread. This one, I thought, was so good at describing/capturing the cold of the prairie winters. I grew up on the Canadian Prairies and it can be cold. Of course, we are now very lucky to have the heating we do. I can’t imagine that kind of cold inside the house or the isolation they would have felt at the time, as well, with the trains not able to get to them! This really is an amazing series.

This was interesting. I enjoyed it but I didn't yearn to read more. It was very easy reading and I could've read it in three days...but i didn't.

Another excellent read. I'm excited that Laura has finally met the Wilders. :D With all the blizzards and the family being stuck inside for the majority of the book, the story could have easily gotten boring or repetitive, but as always the author kept things interesting even if it isn't as lighthearted as it once was. I also once again appreciated seeing how they dealt with things like blizzards back then. Such a stark contrast to when we get blizzards today and get freaked out if the power even goes off. :P The Ingalls always impress me with how resourceful and strong they are. Three more books in this series to go. :)

Content Advisory:

Violence/Peril: Pa hunts in order to feed his family, but no animal deaths are described. There is some peril through much of the book related to the blizzards and the Ingalls family (and the whole town) worrying that they might not last the winter, but no one dies.

Sexual: Laura is a teenager now and it's briefly hinted that an older boy might like her, but nothing untoward ever happens.

The title of this installment of the Little House series sums up the theme - The Long Winter. When Charles notices that the muskrats have built an exceptionally sturdy home for the winter with very thick walls he points out to Laura that animals know things through the environment that we humans no longer recognize. Other signs are pointing to a cold winter and when a Native American comes into one of the shops and communicates his predictions, it frightens the settlers and rightfully so. "Heap big snow, big wind...Many moons" while holding up seven fingers meaning seven months of blizzards. And, yeah, guess what. He was right. The winter is horrible with blizzard after blizzard. The Ingalls move into their town building rather than live in the shanty on their claim. Food becomes scarce and as it says it's a Long Winter.

There are several reasons this was a 5-star read. First, the description of the winter and the struggles of the settlers kept you on the edge of your seat. It was truly a life or death situation. Second, we get to see more of the grown up Almanzo Wilder and he is quite a young man although Laura still barely knows him and doesn't seem to give him a second thought. Lastly, and most importantly, Caroline finally has enough and tells Charles NO a few times. Go, Caroline!


"A fellow might do it," Pa remarked. "With a couple of days of clear weather and a snowfall to hold up the sled, he ought to be able to make it all ri..."

"No!" said Ma.

Pa looked at her, startled. They all stared at her. They had never seen Ma look like that. She was quiet but she was terrible.

Quietly she told Pa, "I say, No. You don't take such a chance."

"Why...Caroline!" Pa said.

"Your hauling hay is bad enough," Ma told him. "You don't go hunting for that wheat."

Pa said mildly, "Not as long as you feel that way about it, I won't. But..."

"I won't hear any buts," Ma said, still terrible. "This time I put my foot down."

"All right, that settles it," Pa agreed.

Laura and Carrie looked at each other. They felt as if thunder and lightning had come down on them suddenly, and suddenly gone.

Rereading this series is so much fun!! It’s fun to read this with an adult perspective now. As a kid when I read this one the longer winter struggles felt adventurous and simple and as an adult I felt the stress of Ma & Pa!

Updated: Read aloud to my boys October 2021-March 3, 2022. Perfect winter read and it took us all winter to get through it.

I read this as a child. Wow, I am blown away reading it again as an adult and a parent. It is one of my dad’s favorite books and I can see why.

The girls and I all were captivated listening to this in the van. I missed an exit on the interstate one day because I was so caught up in the story. When will that train arrive?? Will they run out of wheat??

I especially enjoyed Almonzo’s role in this story. He first seems like selfish jerk, not wanting to sell his seed wheat no matter what. Then he realizes townspeople are about to starve and he risks his life to find more wheat for them. That expedition was amazing.

In the end it keeps *him* from having to sell *his* seed wheat to the townspeople. But then he didn’t have enough to feed everyone anyway. In the end he takes no pay for the trek and doesn’t use any of the wheat himself.

Almanzo and Cap’s heroism made me think about that testosterone-fueled reckless streak that seems to run in most men in their teens and 20s. (It’s why their car insurance premiums are higher.) that streak so often causes havoc and heartache and just disgusts me.

But this, this! situations like this are why they have that recklessness. This is what it’s for. It has to be channeled. And combined with a lot of responsibility. Food for thought as I raise my fearless, fun-loving little boy.

Also I was shocked by the farmer’s unwillingness to sell his wheat even when he learned others were starving. And by the store keeper’s attempt to make a huge profit from others’ starvation. The American pioneer ideal of freedom, independence and self-sufficiency has a dark side

Any time I start to feel like my life is horribly hard, I need to reread this book. Covid and lockdowns and cancelled plans and no vacations are hard, yeah... but I'm not watching my kids slowly starve. I'm not twisting hay into sticks to keep my house just warm enough so that my family can starve instead of freeze to death. I'm not facing down day after day of numbing misery while trying to keep the spirits of my children from faltering.

I can barely imagine the kind of fortitude. I don't think anyone in this country really can anymore.

I read this aloud to my husband and kids this fall. My husband has never read these books, and he's more engrossed in them than my kids are. That makes it extra fun for me as a reader :-)