Little House on the Prairie

By Laura Ingalls Wilder

Book Overview

Immerse yourself in Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved Little House series, now featuring Garth Williams' classic art in vibrant full-color.

Laura Ingalls and her family are heading to Kansas Leaving behind their home in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, they travel by covered wagon until they find the perfect spot to build a little house on the prairie. Laura and her sister Mary love exploring the rolling hills around their new home, but the family must soon get to work, farming and hunting and gathering food for themselves and for their livestock. Just when the Ingalls family starts to settle into their new home, they find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict. Will they have to move again?

The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura's real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060581816
• ISBN13: 9780060581817
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 335 Pages
• Weight: 1.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Lessons learned from every Little House on The Prairie book.

We should learn from the old ways described in the books

How brave they were!

Fascinating! My 10 year old and I, enjoyed it!

Life on the Frontier

Pa Ingalls is tired of how crowded the big woods are getting. So he decides to sell the house and move west with his family. Just before the ice breaks, the family loads up their wagon and heads out. They cross the Mississippi River and then head south, settling two days away from Independence, Missouri. Now they have to build a new house and survive the wilderness. Meanwhile, Laura is anxious to see a papoose. And with all the Indians in the area, she may get her chance.This is a charming book. It's almost a collection of short stories with many chapters being a self-contained event. Still, through these pages, we get a good picture of life on the American frontier 130 years ago. The book gives plenty of detail about their everyday life without getting bogged down. And it is interesting. Frankly, some of the chapters are so harrowing I felt my pulse quicken. Often I found myself shaking my head in awe at what the Ingalls dealt with on a daily basis. This is a good way to make anyone appreciate just what we have today.These books are still popular 70 years after they were first written for good reason. They are an entertaining and enlightening look at a bygone era.

Laura Ingalls Wilder is an American treasure.

I've recently started reading the Little House books to my seven-year-old daughter and I'm thrilled to discover that I love them just as much now as I did when I was her age. There are a lot of reasons for that. Laura Ingalls Wilder was a wonderful writer. She's simple and always crystal clear, but at the same time, she uses so much detail and has such a great sense of the rhythm of language that her writing is beautifully poetic and always a joy to read aloud. And the characters, of course, are among the most beautifully drawn characters in literature: the feisty Laura who has such a hard time doing what she's supposed to do, her frustratingly perfect sister Mary, her strict but kind parents. Even the animals in the book come across as interesting characters. No matter how tired I am in the evening, I always look forward to getting out Little House and reading a chapter or two.Those were the things I loved about it as a child, and still love now. But as an adult I've also come to appreciate how quintessentially American this book is. It's the kind of book that makes you think about our heritage, and makes you proud to be American. In these books, Laura and her family keep facing hardships and meeting them head on. When necessary, they pick themselves up and move on to a new place, starting from scratch. They don't expect anything from anybody, and yet they care about their community and their neighbors. You often hear the words "pioneer spirit" used to describe America's best values, but after you read Little House that's not an empty phrase. You, and the child you read it to, understand it in your heart.

One of the finest books I've ever read.

In my opinion: This may be a children's book, but it's just as good if not better for adults. The writing is simple but not insulting. The story itself is captivating. The occurences between the settlers and the American Indians were really amazing. All through the eyes of a little girl.Laura Wilder had an amazing gift to tell stories and to make an accurate picture of the time she grew up in and of what she thought and felt as a girl. This is not like the show in many respects though. If you only want to read about the exact characters and stories from the show, this may surprise you. Mr. Edwards is not in here much and you won't see characters like Albert or Mr. Oleson in this book. As they live on the prairie, there is no school or store, only a few neighbors a few miles away. Also Indians which only actually show up now and then.Again it is a story about hard work and family sticking together. Superior to the first book in that you already know alot of the mundane [though very interesting]details of their daily life, and the characters. Now it is full of story. The interactions with wild life alone are astounding as taken for fact. They are not just the amusing tid bits from the first book, but quite dangerous and spellbinding ones.Fantastic book for anybody. The whole series is great.

The Quintessential Story of the American Pioneering Spirit

I can still remember this book after all these years. It was and still is a sweet story, one that must be read by every American. It continues to amaze me how well a simple children's story can capture the lifestyle and the spirit of the late 1800s. It is a tale of nothing less than the human experience: hardship and prosperity alike seen through the innocent eyes of a young girl.Try as you may, you'll never be able to resist the charms of this story. Laura Ingalls Wilder will forever live on in your heart as a bright flame, symbolic of everything good in our country, our world, and our entire existence.It is a must read for all children everywhere. A thousand times more valuable than Star Wars or Pokemon, it is something a kid can love and hold on to for the rest of his or her life.