Little House Series - Laura Ingalls Wilder

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ajmiller99
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Little House Series - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Post by ajmiller99 »

I read several of these books as a child and am now reading them all again with my 10 year old daughter. I am not one to read books more than once, but these are an exception. It's hard to not keeping reading after my daughter has fallen asleep! :D

How many of them have you read, and who is your favorite character?

-Little House in the Big Woods
-Little House on the Prairie
-Farmer Boy
-On the Banks of Plum Creek
-By the Shores of Silver Lake
-The Long Winter
-Little Town on the Prairie
-These Happy Golden Years
-The First Four Years
Little House
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Post by Little House »

As you might be able to guess from my screen name, I love these books. Strangely enough, my favorite is The Long Winter. I love the ingenuity that they use to get through the winter.

Laura is a great character, and the fact that it is a true story makes it all the better.
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Post by pretzelsnow »

Alright I have probably read all of these books and my favorite one is On the Banks of Plum Creek because there Laura was still a child and played a lot. My favorite character surprisingly is Pa even though I like Laura enough,well Pa is just Pa..... :P (you know what I mean if you read this book :wink:
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Post by literarylover+ »

I love this series! It is such a classic, and I am keeping all of them on my bookshelf forever!
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Post by GKCfan »

I suggest that you look around for some of the books and articles about what Wilder left out of her books. It's very interesting and adds to the story, making the story more complex.
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Post by alyssaemerson »

I have owned these books for years and have a new goal to finally read them!
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Post by Miri Faye »

I have read ALL the Little House books, including the ones about Martha, Charlotte, Caroline, Laura, and Rose. I likes the Caroline and Martha series the best, and they were my favorite characters. Out of the Laura series, I prefer Farmer Boy to the other books.
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Post by csimmons032 »

I remember reading a couple of them when I was little and enjoying them. I haven't read any of them since then though. I guess I should give them another shot some time. I don't remember which one was my favorite though.
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Post by debbiebee »

I adore these books, and my favourite is The Long Winter, even though I KNOW the family survive I still suffer with them and worry for them.

-- 26 Mar 2015, 06:14 --

Sorry to post again, but I'd like to know folks' views on the TV series. I can't deny I enjoyed it, and had a serious childhood crush on Michael Landon, but it annoyed me that it diverged from the books in many ways, though I actually liked some of the added characters like Hester Sue and the appalling Nancy. But a while back I heard someone on the radio talking about Laura's life and they said that in some ways the books diverged from the truth, and that some aspects of the TV show like the family living at one point in a hotel and Laura having a brother were closer to life! I still prefer the books, though.
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Post by nevada_queen »

I first read these book as a seven year old child. I loved them then and still do! I actually went on a special trip just to see the Little House sites and Laura and Almanzo's graves.
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Post by memory »

I got the complete set as a present when I was in elementary school and read all of the books repeatedly. As I got older, I enjoyed These Happy Golden Years the most. I also read the books about Rose and some of the other series as well.
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Post by Ealasaid »

I love these books. I have read the entire series several times throughout my life. Currently I am reading them with my daughters, and we have a trip planned to DeSmet, SD this summer. We have already visited Laura's birthplace in Pepin, WI.

My favorite book is These Happy Golden Years. I love the story of Laura and Almazo's courtship. My favorite character is Laura. She is such a feisty girl, and I appreciate the relationship she and her Pa had.

In regards to the TV series, I do like the series as well even though the show strays very far from the books, particularly in the later seasons. In the earlier seasons, it is much easier to catch references and storylines from the books. As I stated above, I loved L&A's courtship in the books, and that is one thing the TV show screwed up badly. I wish they wouldn't have made Laura such a childish stalker on the show and Almanzo such a gutless dolt.
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Post by crenner07 »

I have read all of these books several times. When I was a child my favorite was "Little House on the Prairie" however as I grew older my favorite became "Little Town on the Prairie". As an adult my favorite is "These Happy Golden Years". So, in a way, my favorite part of the story grew up with Laura.

My favorite character was Mary. While I always felt that I should like Laura the most since she was the main character (and similar in personality to myself) I just always wanted to be like Mary. It may have been that, like Laura, I wanted Mary's blue eyes and blonde hair. It may have been that I felt like Mary was perfect and put together while I, again like Laura, was more likely to end up causing mischief from the best of intentions.
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

I will definitely have to revisit Laura Ingalls Wilder. It's been years since I've read one of her books, and my memories are a little fuzzy, but I remember liking them.
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Post by zeldas_lullaby »

I absolutely hate the TV show. There are too many constant references to "whipping" the children. There's even one episode where Andy says, "Please, would you whip me, Pa? It would make me feel better, since I cheated on the test." <Vomit.> I think Michael Landon's ego became too involved, and he clearly believed that that was how to raise kids.

Other than that, the TV show did make everyone seem stupid. Like, Carrie never grew up. She acted like a childish idiot. <Shudder.>

I can't watch the TV show today, because of all the child-whipping.

-- 02 Jun 2015, 15:57 --

Here're my thoughts on the individual books:

Little House in the Big Woods--kind of boring, but it's her earliest memories.

Little House on the Prairie--same as above, but a tad more exciting.

Farmer Boy--the only one not about her life--she wrote it from the memories of her husband's childhood. I could probably take it or leave it.

On the Banks of Plum Creek--Oh, I just loved this one when I was a kid. It was definitely a favorite.

By the Shores of Silver Lake--I never enjoyed it much when I was younger, but I suspect that I'd enjoy it now, if I could get around to re-reading it!

The Long Winter--kind of long and boring, as you would expect. They were snowed in and hungry. Not much happened that I recall.

Little Town on the Prairie--this was another favorite when I was a kid!

These Happy Golden Years--I didn't love this one as a kid, but as an adult, it's absolutely my number 1 favorite. Very romantic in a loving way that makes me envious of the author!!

The First Four Years--bores me senseless. I never have liked it, and I probably never will.

So to summarize, I love On The Banks of Plum Creek, Little Town on the Prairie, and These Happy Golden Years.
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