It’s interesting what elements of the same book resonate with you at different times in your life. If you’d have asked me a few weeks ago why I loved the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder as a child, I’d have said oh, all Laura’s descriptions about the way pioneers did things back then are fascinating to kids. And don’t get me wrong – they were and still are fascinating. But there are tons of books about pioneers out there, and I didn’t love any of them like I loved the Little House books. Was Laura’s knack for detail the only reason, or was there more to it?
I recently reread Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was probably the first time I’ve read it in over two decades, although I read all the Little House books multiple times as a kid. And in reading it with a more critical, adult eye, I gained an enormous appreciation for what a fantastic job Laura Ingalls Wilder does in writing from the perspective of “Laura-at-age-x” throughout the book. I think that was why Laura’s story became very personal to me as a kid, even if I was growing up in Ontario in the 1980s and she was a pioneer girl from Wisconsin in the 1870s.
For instance, do you remember the chapter in Little House in the Big Woods when Laura and Mary go into town for the very first time in their lives? Coming from their homestead in the woods, where there are no other houses or roads, Laura is struck completely dumb by the concept of a town. So when they go into the store and meet the shopkeeper, Laura is overcome by shyness.
Mary said, “How do you do?” but Laura could not say anything.
The storekeeper said to Pa and Ma, “That’s a pretty little girl you’ve got there,” and he admired Mary’s golden curls. But he did not say anything about Laura, or about her curls. They were ugly and brown.”
When I was younger, I was absolutely infuriated by the storekeeper commenting on Mary’s beautiful blonde hair in front of Laura. I thought that the storekeeper was a despicable man who thought Laura was ugly. But upon rereading as an adult, I realized he likely was just trying to be kind by not talking to Laura directly and making her even more uncomfortable. And I was also startled to realize that it was never the storekeeper who called Laura’s curls brown and ugly… it was Laura herself. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote what she felt from her child’s perspective, and did it extraordinarily well. Because with that short passage, six-year-old, brown-curly-haired me was completely on her side.
Once the Ingalls were finished their shopping, the storekeeper gave Mary and Laura each a piece of candy.
After that they went out of the store. Both pieces of candy were white, and flat and thin and heart-shaped. There was printing on them, in red letters. Ma read it for them. Mary’s said:
“Roses are red
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet,
And so are you.”Laura’s said only:
“Sweets to the sweet.”The pieces of candy were exactly the same size. Laura’s printing was larger than Mary’s.”
Mary’s candy was way better!!! The injustice!!!! At age six, I thought that the shopkeeper was completely out of line. But as an adult, I realize the poor guy probably just pulled a couple pieces of candy from the barrel and handed them to the girls. How could he possibly have known that over a century later, kids would still be fuming that Laura got a one-lined candy versus Mary’s verse? But things like verses on candies are details that would be important to a child, not to an adult. Laura Ingalls knew that, and wrote about what she remembered being critical from her perspective at the time of the incident, which was when she was four years old.
A child really internalizes what they read. In writing her books, Laura makes it easy for kids to form a connection by letting them see the world as she did. She doesn’t romanticize the family, either – remember how every now and then a little sibling rivalry with Mary would peep through? No wonder – Mary was a pretty tough act to follow in the manners department. This passage from Little House on the Prairie was a good example:
Laura stirred her beads with her finger and watched them sparkle and shine. ”These are mine,” she said.
Then Mary said, “Carrie can have mine.”
Ma waited to hear what Laura would say. Laura didn’t want to say anything. She wanted to keep those pretty beads. Her chest felt all hot inside, and she wished with all her might that Mary wouldn’t always be such a good little girl. But she couldn’t let Mary be better than she was.
So she said, slowly, “Carrie can have mine, too.”
The entire series is written like that – they’re not just books about pioneers, they’re books about pioneer life from the perspective of a child in the midst of it, not from an adult narrator. And the writing style changes; as Laura’s character ages, the writing becomes more sophisticated and the sentences grow longer. By the time you reach These Happy Golden Years, Laura is a young woman. You are experiencing the changes both in Laura and in the world around her at the same time as Laura as she grows up. And that’s why I think the Little House books, which have already been popular with generations of children, will remain beloved for years to come.
If you would like to share some of the Laura Ingalls Wilder magic with your little ones, or if you would like to reread the series yourself, we have a number of gift sets related to the Little House books.
Happy reading!
PS: Vacation tips! If you love the Little House books and you are planning a vacation any time soon, here are a couple wonderful family destinations:
Canada: If you’re vacationing in eastern Ontario, we strongly recommend you take time to swing by Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario. Touring Upper Canada Village will transport your family back in time and allow you to experience daily life in a small village in the 1860s. While Laura grew up in the U.S., this Canadian pioneer experience is very similar to the village life Laura describes in the books, and it will make a happy vacation for any Little House fan.
U.S.: It goes without saying – if you happen to be planning a vacation in South Dakota, then you must plan a stop in De Smet. How cool would it be to check the original Ingalls Homestead, the house that Pa built, the original Surveyors’ House from By the Shores of Silver Lake, Big Slough and Silver Lake?
Both sites offer camping experiences and tours that will make your family vacation truly fun, memorable, and educational all at once!
As published by By Heart Books - children's books, children's gifts and loot bags