Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, along with the other 8 books in the series, were some of my very favorites when I was young. This picture looks exactly like my copy did (although mine was not in very good shape, having been read over and over by my much younger self). I was also a great fan of the TV series based on these books starring Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon.
These stories were of a gentler and perhaps, in some ways, better time. There were still unkind people and still things to be afraid of, but Pa and Ma were always there to take care of the family. My set of books were given away or sold at a yard sale decades ago. I'd like to find another set. I believe I'd still be enchanted. Definitely worth reading, even if you don't have children.
Our eight-year-old is currently reading this series and she's enthralled by them. A different era for sure, but clearly there's a timeless quality to the stories too.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read the books but I did saw a few episodes of the series, all I remember is the blind girl which I can't seem to remember her name.
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~ my L post - What I like in a blog ~
The blind girl was Laura's older sister Mary, and she didn't lose her sight till she was like 14 or 15, something like that. First she needed glasses, then her eyesight gradually got worse till it went completely. It was due to some childhood illness she'd had, like scarlet fever or something (I believe that's what made Helen Keller lose her sight too, she got scarlet fever when she was 3 and lost her eyesight soon after). Then she met her future husband, Adam, who was also blind, and who taught her how to adapt to her new life. They eventually ran a school for the blind together, even after he regained his eyesight and became a lawyer for a short time. I don't know how much of that was what actually happened to Laura's family and how much Hollywood made up, I haven't actually read the books since I was little, but that was what happened on the show anyway. I did manage to find a biography of Rose Wilder, Laura and Almanzo's daughter, in my high school library. At some point while she was still a fairly young woman she got married and then divorced after a number of years (I don't remember how many), and her parents were not pleased at this because they didn't believe in divorce, but she didn't care, she did it anyway. I don't remember the circumstances, and that's the only part of the book I *do* remember, since it's been about 30 years since I read it.
ReplyDeleteThere were also a few TV movies after the show ended, the last one of which showed the townsfolk blowing up the town one building at a time as they walked out of the town limits (walked, rode their wagons, whatever) because the railroad was coming through and wanted the land, they had fought them every step of the way but were going to lose, so they decided if the railroad wanted the town so bad they could have it---after they cleaned up all the debris. :P They left singing "Onward Christian Soldier" as a group, making their way toward their new lives elsewhere (I don't remember if they ever said in the movie where they all were planning to go, or if they said at all).
I read these as a child and enjoyed them greatly - definitely books that take you to another time and place. Our trees in Australia are very different, we don't get snow like the Wilders experienced but her descriptions were so vivid I could imagine it all. The snow, lying under a tree and looking up at the leaves and branches ...
ReplyDeleteVisiting from the A to Z challengeL L is for Never Surrender Lodge No. 187 I. O. G. T. Lamplough
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Anne Young
Anne's family history
Were you a fan of the TV series before or after you read the books?
ReplyDeleteThe TV series came on long after I'd read the books, so I loved the books first =)
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