This is the book that started me on my lifelong, passionate journey with books.
I've been meaning to re-read the "Little House" series for years -- finally now getting around to it, it brings back many happy reading memories of my younger bookish self. I read this for school 29 years ago (!) and it was the first time that I experienced the immersive, reality-suspending power of a great story.
Although, all these years later, it's more apparent to me that this was intended for a young audience, at the time I didn't feel that way at all. Wilder wrote "Big Woods" as a (somewhat fictionalized) memoir when she was an older woman, but from the point of view as a little girl. Perhaps because my age was similar to that of the young narrator, it felt very relatable at the time.
Today, I still appreciate her stories of pioneer life in the 1870s, and what a life-or-death struggle it must have been for the grownups of the era. The descriptions of sparsely populated, wild wooded Wisconsin, making and storing food, crafting clothing and even music and dancing during the time period are really striking and fascinating to read even as an adult.

You know that feeling when you feel like you should've read something, or maybe you did but cannot remember? Did I... or didn't I?

I picked up this children's classic on audio and the fiddle parts were my favorite. A quick read, and I could quickly see why this adventure tale in the midwest hit so hard for so many young, impressionable readers. It was adorable and the little family making a home in the big woods left a bear cub sized hole in my heart. Looking forward to continuing on in this series.

I didn't usually like girly books when I was a kid, but this one was an exception. Her matter-of-fact descriptions of life in the Big Woods were just so fascinating! The fact that the main character was a girl seemed pretty irrelevant.

Beth Ann and I have several times discussed writing a modern-day sequel entitled Little House in the Valley. Laura gets up early every morning to sort the spam and check the website. Then she squeezes orange juice and makes two big lattes for Daddy and his boyfriend...

Still re-reading some childhood favorites! I don't remember this one so much, but definitely Little House on the Prairie. I'm surprised to see that one doesn't come until the 3rd installment of the series.

5 stars. This is a book that I have known literally forever. It is among my earliest remembered reads, as a five-year-old and younger. I loved this book as a child, reread it scores of times, copied down parts, played being Laura… As a grown up, although I may LOVE it less, I ENJOY it more. I appreciate seeing the pioneer living so much! Frankly, Ma is an unsung heroine. I really admire her and everything she did and went through. Pa is a very inspiring person too, when you consider all he did so matter-of-factly. And Mary & Laura are just as childlike as the children of today are. As a child, I was bothered by their moments of strife; but now, as a young woman, although I still wish it didn’t happen, I can understand Laura’s feelings of less worth because of her looks as compared to Mary’s (and that storekeeper irritates me every time; that dude just reinforced Laura’s ideas of being unvalued!). Of course I don’t agree with everything in this story, but it is a beautiful tale of how human nature was the same in the mid-1800s as it is now in the 21st century. The last paragraph of the book always makes me tear up… Laura wrote these books because she believed her family and their way of life should not be forgotten, and a hundred years later people still read and love them. <3

When the fiddle had stopped singing Laura called out softly, “What are days of auld lang syne, Pa?”
“They are the days of a long time ago, Laura,” Pa said. “Go to sleep, now.”
But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa's fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods. She looked at Pa sitting on the bench by the hearth, the firelight gleaming on his brown hair and beard and glistening on the honey-brown fiddle. She looked at Ma, gently rocking and knitting.
She thought to herself, “This is now.”
She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

Little House in the Big Woods (Little House #1), Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingall’s story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Four-year-old Laura lives in the little house with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack. Pioneer life is sometimes hard, since the family must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her folks celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip to town. And every night they are safe and warm in their little house, with the happy sound of Pa’s fiddle sending Laura and her sisters off to sleep. And so begins Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved story of a pioneer girl and her family. The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America’s frontier past and a heartwarming, unforgettable story.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1994 میلادی
عنوان: ک‍ل‍ب‍ه‌ ی‌ ک‍وچ‍ک‌ در ج‍ن‍گ‍ل‌ ب‍زرگ‌؛ نویسنده: ل‍ورا ای‍ن‍گ‍ال‍ز وای‍ل‍در‏‫؛ مت‍رج‍م: ک‍اظم‌ ف‍ائ‍ق‍ی‌؛ ت‍ب‍ری‍ز: ی‍اران‌‏‫، 1370؛ در 96 ص؛ موضوع: یادمانهای نویسندگان ایلات متحده امریکا - سده 20 م‬

سری کتابهای نه گانه «خانه ی کوچک»، اثر «لورا اینگالز ویلدر»؛ دست نوشته های نویسنده، از دوران کودکی خویش است، که خوانشگران بسیاری را شیفته ی یادمانها و قلم خودش کرده است، این مجموعه داستانهایی از یک خانواده آمریکایی گرم و مهربان است
کتاب نخست، با عنوان: «خانه کوچک در جنگل بزرگ»: با خانواده انگالز ملاقاتی داشته باشید. مامان، بابا، مری و کری کوچولو، که همه ساکن کلبه ای نقلی در جنگل، در دهه 70 سده ی نوزدهم میلادی هستند. با اینکه همسایگان آنها: گرگها، پلنگها و خرسها هستند، جنگل برایشان همانند خانه است، چرا که دستپخت مامان و صدای ویولن پدر را دارند.؛
کتاب دوم با عنوان: «پسر کشاورز»؛ زمان میگذرد و لورا در خانه ی کوچک در کانزاس بزرگ میشود. آلمونزو ویلدر در مزرعه ای بزرگ در نیویورک زندگی میکند. او و برادرانش و خواهرش از سپیده دم تا وقت شام به سختی کار میکنند تا مزرعه خانوادگی را سرپا نگه دارند. آلمانزو آرزو دارد که اسبی برای خود داشته باشد، اما اول باید ثابت کند که لایق این مسئولیت بزرگ است.؛
کتاب سوم، با عنوان: «خانه ای کوچک در چمنزار»، وقتی پدر تصمیم میگیرد کلبه خانواده را در جنگل بفروشد، خانواده به کانزاس نقل مکان میکند، جاییکه پدر خانه ای کوچک در چمنزار برایشان ساخته است. زندگی در چمنزار با جنگل متفاوت است ولی لورا و خانواده اش خود را با زندگی جدیدشان سرگرم و شاد میکنند.؛
کتاب چهارم، با عنوان: «کناره های نهر آلو»؛ خانواده ی اینگالز در کنار نهر آلو در خانه ای کاهی زندگی میکنند تا پدر برایشان خانه ای مقاوم و چوبی بسازد. پول ساخت این خانه از اولین محصول گندمشان بدست خواهد آمد، اما دقیقاً فصل برداشت محصول ابرهای سیاهی آسمان را تیره کردند. میلیونها ملخ به مزرعه حمله کرده و در پایان هفته دیگر گندمی برای برداشت وجود نداشت.؛
کتاب پنجم با عنوان: «کنار برکه ی نقره ای»؛ پدر به بیابانی در غرب داکوتا رفت. وقتی که مادر، مری، لورا، کری و گریس کوچولو به او ملحق شدند، تبدیل به اولین ساکنین شهرک اسمت بودند. پدر مشغول ساخت اولین خانه ی این شهرک که کناره ی برکه ی نقره ای قرار داشت، شد.؛
کتاب ششم، با عنوان: «زمستان بلند»؛ نخستین طوفان در ماه اکتبر به چمنزار بارن آمد. سپس تا ماه آپریل، برف بدون توقف بارید. وقتی ارتفاع برف تا سقف خانه های شهرک رسید، دیگر برای قطارها ممکن نبود که به مردم شهرک محصولات برسانند. لورا، خانواده اش و مردم شهر در حال تلف شدن از گرسنگی بودند اما آلمانزو جوان که در شهر ساکن بود جان خود را برای نجات مردم به خطر میاندازد.؛
کتاب هفتم، با عنوان: «شهری کوچک در چمنزار (سبزه زار)»؛ بهار آمد و شهرک اسمت روحی تازه به خود گرفت. اما در کنار مهمانیها و تعطیلات، کار باید ادامه میداشت. لورا با بافتن پیراهن به پدر و مادر برای کسب درآمد کمک میکرد تا بتوانند مری را به دانشگاه نابینایان بفرستند. ولی در عصرها، لورا زمانی را برای آلمانزو ویلدر کنار میگذاشت.؛
کتاب هشتم، با عنوان: «این سال های طلائی»؛ لورا باید به کسب درآمد ادامه میداد تا بتواند به تحصیل مری در دانشگاه نابینایان یاری کند. به این منظور شغلی به عنوان آموزگار پیدا کرد. ساده نبود چرا که برای نخستین بار او باید دور از خانواده زندگی میکرد. ولی هر جمعه کمی زندگیش ساده تر میشد چرا که آلمانزو او را به خانه میرساند. با اینکه او بسیار جوان بود ولی میدانست که باید منتظر شروعی جدید با آلمانزو باشد.؛
کتاب نهم، با عنوان: «چهار سال ابتدایی»؛ لورا اینگالز و آلمانزو ویلدر به تازگی ازدواج کرده بودند. آنها به چمنزاری کوچک نقل مکان کردند تا با یکدیگر زندگی ��دیدی را آغاز کنند. اما هر سال چالشی جدید در انتظارشان بود. از طوفان، آتشسوزی گرفته تا مریضی و بدهیهای بسیار. این چهار سال ابتدایی شجاعت، قدرت و مصمم بودن را میطلبید. اما با این همه ی مشکل لورا و آلمانزو عشقشان پایدار بود و با ورود رز کوچولو به زندگیشان عشقشان چند برابر هم شد. ا. شربیانی

Oh God I remember when I was little and literally begged my mother to buy me those books. And she did! And boy was I bored.
All I can recall is some unnecessary long descriptions and a boring plot.
Huge disappointment.

5 Stars ✨

What a classic ! Packed full of useful information, especially for such a time as this. I loved reading this aloud to my kids. They loved it and learned a good bit. This was part of our living books curriculum. Books that are so vivid and descriptive with tons of things to learn. Looking forward to reading Farmer Boy next!

This is a book from my favorite series that I reread many times growing up. I love all the characters and adventures in the books.

My annual re-read, this time with the lovely Heidi! :)

Like many others, I grew up on the Little House books and enjoyed the glimpse they gave of American pioneer life. It has been since I was a child that I read the books. When browsing the 'classics' on the library display, this book was there and I had the sudden urge to check it out in audio and listen in to an old cherished tale.

I was not disappointed. As a grown up, I was just as enchanted as when I was a child. Though, lordy, I was amazed at how much work Caroline (ma) and Charles (pa) did from sun up and past sundown throughout the seasons. There was charm, but fascination for a bygone era and I loved the way the family was brought to life.

Cherry Jones was a fabulous narrator who voiced children, adults, songs, and sounds of the story so well that she added a deeper nuance to an already splendid story.

I do believe I'll be giving the series a relisten and invite others to do the same.

Loved this reread! So comforting!