Hello everyone,
Today’s review is on Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I have been wanting to reread the Little House books because I only read the first six books growing up and I decided that it was time reread the series and finally read the last three books in the series. I plan on having reviews for each book, so stay tuned for those.
Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in the beloved series that explores the life of the Ingalls family during their time living in the woods in Wisconsin in the 1870s. It describes a lot of the various chorse and activities they have to do to stay alive, especially in winter.
I enjoyed reading the different stories that Pa tells Laura and Mary and how they appear within a chapter. It is very reminiscent of being a child and listening to the stories that adults tell them, it reminded me a lot of the stories that my parents – and my grandparents – would tell my brother and I. It also shows the timeless tradition of storytelling, which, unfortunately, has started to die out over the years, especially since we live in a society where we have information at our fingertips.
During the chapter about Christmas, I enjoyed this quote that is from Laura’s perspective about gifts and the childlike wonder it has, “Santa Claus did not give grown people presents, but that was not because they had not been good. Pa and Ma were good. It was because they were grown up, and grown people must give each other presents” (78-79). It was jsut so cute and it stuck out as just an interesting explanation.
I loved being reacquainted with the Ingalls family and life in the latter half of the 1800s in Wisconsin. I loved the different thigns we see them go through through the year – from the cold winters ti the busy days of summer. It is very descriptive of the various ways of doing things, but I personally found it fascinating and educational. I also enjoyed reading about the culture and life in the Big Woods, as well as the different customs they held to, especially concerning keeping the Sabbath.
While Laura and Mary are the main characters, they are not the main focus of the book, rather the main focus is their day-to-day lives. Pa is probably my favorite character in this first book because of the different stories he tells his daughters and the songs that he sings to his family.
The themes throughout the book are that family, the benefits of hard work, listening to your parents, and capturing the nostalgia of what seemed to be a simpler time in the author’s life.
Overall, I enjoyed my reread, in fact it made me want to find a cabin in the woods – with my husband – and make a life for myself out there, however I also know I probably wouldn’t last very long. I’m looking forward to continuin with my reread the books. I personally think they are timeless classicss and I can’t wait to pass them onto my kids someday. 4/5 Stars.
Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.
Meanderings of a BookWorm 