I love this series which just gets better and better. I can hardly fathom what it must have been like to live as a settler on the prairie but Laura Ingalls Wilder does such a wonderful job of bringing the hardships, beauty, and wonder of living in that harsh yet promising land.

While this is not the most compelling Little House book it is a very important part of the story. I cannot imagine a better
character building book. To live with the Ingalls through the long winter puts much of life's little frustrations in perspective.
When Laura says, "For shame, Grace," after months and months of suffering, and little Grace utters the first and last complaint of the whole book, belies our own time and culture. No, it is not compelling to be confronted with one's own weaknesses, but this book is a vividly drawn picture of a life lived with gratefulness.

It’s a true story centred around an extreme weather event caused by climate change. Even back in the winter of 1880 there were too many cows on the prairie raising CO2 emissions leading to a 7 month winter of blizzards. Great story of how they survived.

There’s just something about The Long Winter. It’s so vivid. It has always made me feel so bad for the Ingalls family, and for all pioneers, really. Winter is depressing now, but it’s nothing compared to what people endured 150 years ago.

Laura is 13 in this book, although some liberties have been taken here. Her future husband, Almanzo, is said to be 19. However, in real life there are 10 years between them. I did a little research, and the winter described in the book is supposed to be that of 1880-1881, when Laura would indeed have turned 14 (her birthday is in February). So, Almanzo would really have been 24 at that time.

The book begins with various events that foreshadow the challenges to come. Near their DeSmet, South Dakota home, Laura and Pa find a muskrat house with the thickest walls Pa has ever seen. Animals flee south to a larger extent than usual. Pa says, “I just don’t like it — the feel of the weather.” And most ominous of all is an old Indian who walks into the general store, warning the men there of a harsh winter ahead, one with “heap big snow” that comes around only every 21st year.

Each time I read The Long Winter, I begin to feel like I’m there in the small house downtown with the Ingalls family, always watching for a cloud in the northwest, listening for the blizzard winds to hit the house yet again, waking to nailheads turned white and snow on the blankets. When, late in the book, Laura complains of “everything moving slowly” and nothing seeming real, we can almost feel her cabin fever and hunger-induced deprived state. The winter truly seems unbelievable, with a drift once covering the entire first floor of the house (Laura watches horses go by outside, level with the second floor). Pa digs a tunnel from the house to the barn so he can travel between the two unbothered by the winds. The family survives (barely) by continually grinding wheat for flour in the coffee grinder, when flour has run out. Wood is gone, and so they also twist hay into sticks to burn. And just when you think that the men may get a chance to dig out a train headed into town with supplies, another blizzard hits. It’s hard not to feel the hopelessness and helplessness.

When much of the town nears the point of starvation, Cap Garland and Laura’s future husband Almanzo make a risky 20-mile trip, searching for a man who, according to rumor, has wheat. They make it back just as the next blizzard hits. And of course, by “wheat” don’t think of wheat flour. This is the grain kernels, which still need to be ground in order to bake.

I found it interesting that bits of Laura’s personality start to come out in this book. In the earlier books, she is a child. But in this one, we see sparks from her. There appears to be a bit of rivalry between her and older sister Mary, although Laura seems to feel conflicted about this since Mary has become blind due to scarlet fever. Mary is that person we all know who is just too good to be true — and that can become a little annoying at times. When Ma suggests that the family put away some magazines that have arrived until Christmas, so that there will be something to enjoy then, Laura doesn’t want to. But Mary says that they should: “It will help us learn self-denial.” Can’t you just imagine Laura’s frustration? Also, since the family lives in town during the winter, Ma wants Laura and Carrie to attend school. Laura really doesn’t want to — but feels guilty about this, since Mary would love to go, but can’t because of her blindness. Throughout the book, we see Laura struggling to behave well despite her natural desires. I found it kind of refreshing to see the way people back then seemed to do a better job than we do today at “doing the right thing” despite their initial reactions.

নাহ!! লিটল হাউজ সিরিজ এর বই গুলা পড়ে আসলেই মাঝে মাঝে মনে হয়, তখন যদি জন্মাতাম তাহলে ভালোই হত কিন্তু। মানুষের লাইফ এ কতটা জটিলতা কম ছিল। আবারো লেখিকার লেখার হাতের প্রশংসা করতে বাধ্য হচ্ছি। :)

এইবারের কাহিনী তে লরারা একেবারে পাকাপোক্ত ভাবে হোমস্টেড খুজে পায় ডাকোটায়। ছুটাছুটি আর না ।কিন্তু নতুন জায়গায় এসেই ভয়াবহ শীতে বিপর্যস্ত পুরো পরিবার । পরিবারের মানুষেরা যে একে অপরের প্রতি কতটা দায়িত্বশীল হতে পারে এই বই তার উদাহরণ। আর আলমানযো এর কাহিনীও আছে বইতে, বড় হয়ে গেসে ব্যাটা। রিতীমত হীরো!!! :p

কেউ যদি রিডিং ব্লক এ ভুগতে থাকেন, তার জন্যে পারফেক্ট টনিক হতে পারে এই সিরিজ এর বই গুলা :)

I heard this read as a child, but have rediscovered what an absolutely fantastic story it is. The weaving in of Almanzo's part in the story is especially wonderful. One of those books that truly makes you feel a better person for reading it, and probably the best in the series.

Given the amount of snow we have on the ground right now and in the upcoming forecast, this story felt appropriate.

It’s a tale of a bitter winter. Of making do and doing without. Of pulling together as a family. Of finding joy in the little things when little things were all you had.

This is probably the darkest/most serious Little House book, and I had forgotten just how difficult things were. A small prairie town that faced food and heat shortages during perhaps the worst winter the region has ever seen and yet they were ingenious and resilient. It was literally a fight for survival with every page.

I had also forgotten this was when Laura met her future husband Almonzo Wilder… So much beauty amid the darkness!

Not my favorite Laura book, but I found it interesting and engaging as always!
It's a great example of the determination and perseverance of pioneers on the western frontier who had to stay strong throughout difficult times like this and make the best of what they had.

Listened to this on audio book with my daughter. We both really enjoyed it. It gave plenty of opportunities to talk about being grateful and content.

First, I highly recommend the audio production of this book (and the whole series for that matter) narrated by Cherry Jones. She does an exceptional job, and the fiddle accompaniment is a wonderful addition.

This book is a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit during times of trial. The Ingalls family and the entire town of De Smet survived one of the coldest winters on record, and they did it half-starved. The innovation of the pioneer families amazes me. Twisting hay to burn for fuel, grinding wheat in a coffee mill, and making a button lamp are just a few of the things that Laura’s family came up with to survive. I love how the simplest things brought the family joy. A small tin of oysters on Christmas Day. A letter in the mail. I wish that I had half of their contentment and thankfulness.
I can’t imagine how Ma and Pa felt when they saw the last serving of wheat in the bag. It must have been a horrible feeling to not know what you would do next to feed your children.
Almanzo Wilder and Cap Garland were true heroes. I don’t know many men who would risk their lives to save a town.
It’s a miracle they made it back alive, and with the wheat they sought.
Laura was such a hard worker. From trampling down hay to twisting it, she really wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. She often took on the jobs of a grown man, seemingly without complaint.
I don’t know if it’s the postpartum hormones, or if the book truly moved me to that extent, but I teared up several times listening to this book. It’s one of the best in the whole series. My heart literally aches and tears were running down my cheeks at the scene where Pa learns he can’t play the fiddle.

A heavy winter of blizzards, and the Ingalls have moved to town to weather it until the trains can run again in the spring.

I could hardly put this sixth book in the Little House series down! How on earth are the Ingalls' family going to survive The Long Winter?

Everyone in the story gives of themselves even when it seems like there is nothing left to give. During that long winter they are hit by blizzard after blizzard. The food and fuel run out. The general store is bare. But complaining is forbidden. Each one is expected to do their part to keep the home running. Ma Ingalls invents recipes out of odds and ends that are left over. She creates a "button lamp" when the kerosene is gone. When there is no more coal, Mr. Ingalls comes up with another solution

Sacrificial love is a repeated theme in all of the books and one of the reasons they merit multiple readings. A fun element in this book is that Almonzo Wilder is introduced as a part of the community. (The story of his childhood is told in Book Four, Farmer Boy, but that is before he moves out west and meets the Ingalls' family.) He and his older brother Royal have several interactions with Mr. Ingalls, but not the rest of the family yet.

I was so immersed in the story of multiple blizzards that I was surprised to look up and see the sun shining through my window! And I shed a tear for joy when the "Chinook" finally blew in.

This is probably my favorite Little House book so far.