Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wil

October 13, 2007 – 5:56 pm

The first in the fictionalised memoirs of Laura Ingalls Wilder, this
book takes place during her early childhood. Four year old Laura lives with
her parents and older sister Mary in the wilds of Wisconsin. It is a place
of huge forests, with no end in sight and no neighbours close by at all.
They all live in small log cabin that her Pa built with his won two hands.

The book chronicles roughly a year in her life and through her childish
eyes we see American frontier life in the 1800’s. From cooking over a fire
to a homespun Christmas, it is all here. We see and feel her wonder the
first time she visits a town, and even get to experience an old time
harvest. The words are simple making this a fantastic read aloud to
children aged five and up or a good read alone for competent readers aged 8 and
up.
We have the edition, now in reprint, with the original Garth Williams
illustrations. These are simply fantastic and a must have, as they add a
sense of heartwarming charm and realism helping to connect young
readers to the story. I myself can recall seeing the pictures and reading this
very book over 30 years ago, and feeling I actually knew Laura. My own
daughter is now reading it, and has also found this to be true. She talks about
Laura and her adventures as if she were a chum up the street. While this is
my own 30 year old book, you can buy the reprint of this edition at most good
high street booksellers, as well as Amazon and Play.com.