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Reviews
The Little House Collection: The Complete Little House Nine-Book Box Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder
mary00's review
5.0
When I was in second grade I discovered the Little House on the Prairie books and my love of reading was born. I couldn't get enough of these books. I would alternately pretend to be Mary or Laura as I went throughout my daily life. You could say I was obsessed. For Christmas that year, I received the entire series from Santa. I don't ever remember being more happy about a gift. I spent countless hours with this series as a child.
It is too hard to pick a favorite, but it may have been These Happy Golden Years, which I couldn't even put down long enough to take a bath. I accidentally dropped into the bathwater one terrible night and the book was forever warped after that (but still readable, luckily). Farmer Boy was my decided least favorite, because it did not feature the beloved Ingalls family.
This series will always hold a special corner of my heart. I really do owe my love of reading to this series, which sparked my lifelong favorite hobby!
It is too hard to pick a favorite, but it may have been These Happy Golden Years, which I couldn't even put down long enough to take a bath. I accidentally dropped into the bathwater one terrible night and the book was forever warped after that (but still readable, luckily). Farmer Boy was my decided least favorite, because it did not feature the beloved Ingalls family.
This series will always hold a special corner of my heart. I really do owe my love of reading to this series, which sparked my lifelong favorite hobby!
aubtobobtolob's review
5.0
These were read in a week of summer wonderment. My mom was working and I laid in bed, on the lawn, up in a tree and read all of these all in a row. I have loved reading them with my kids as a mother, watching my girls play "little Laura" is so fulfilling. as they say... full circle!
sarieinsea's review
4.0
This was a fascinating re-read. I hadn't read through this series since I was a kid, maybe early teenager? I can't even remember what inspired me to pick them up a few months ago, but it's been so incredibly interesting to revisit this. So, the first thing I'll say is that they're well written. LIW is very good at description, and these books are a LOT of descriptive prose. I appreciate her detailed and thorough recounting of a very specific time and place in history. I think the books have a lot of merit for that reason - if you want to know what life was like for the people who were settling on tribal lands in the later 19th century, this will show you just what it was like.
That said, it was hard to read in a lot of ways. It was hard to realize that Ma was hella, hella racist against the native Americans. Pa often came to their defense, but she never wavered in her steadfast hatred and fear of the people whose land she was helping to steal. Of course, no one in the books sees it that way. But it was hard to love Ma if I looked at her through the lens of everything I know now, so the only way to read it is to really try and put yourself in their shoes and see the situation through their eyes, misguided as they are.
Pa, too, is not quite as I remembered him. Turns out Pa has a major obsession with roaming, and he basically dragged his family all over hell and creation, through one disaster and hardship and on to the next, until Ma was finally like WE ARE NOT MOVING ANYMORE. Pa also was always, always barely just getting by, which I really didn't remember about these books. When Laura marries Almanzo and moves off to his claim, I got the sense that, okay, the rest of these Ingalls are gonna be struggling in perpetuity, but Laura's set.
Also, Almanzo. It now feels SUPER weird to me how he was portrayed in the TV show, all of which is completely ridiculous and idyllic now that I think about it. But Almanzo doesn't have a ton of personality in these books, and Laura is - at least initially - much more interested in his horses than in him, which makes sense because he's way older than she is, which is icky, but whatever, the TIMES, am I right? But yeah, the show. Calling him MANLY? Ugh! just uuuuugh. The last book in the series is basically just a series of Laura going for long drives with Almanzo and his horses, and detailed descriptions of her 3 dresses and hats. She seems happy at the end, though, bless her heart. I enjoyed that she insisted that the "promise to obey" line was taken out of their wedding vows, but was then disheartened when she reassures Almanzo that no, no, she isn't like his sister Eliza. She isn't for women's rights. She doesn't want to VOTE, lord no. She just doesn't want to promise to obey him. Sigh. It's a start, I guess.
I kind of don't want to go look up what happened to all the family members after the books end, because I have a feeling it'll be kind of depressing, and I'm definitely not going to revisit the television show. I feel like you could still give these books to kids for historical reasons, but you would really, really want to read along with them and give them some perspective on the history of what white settlers did to the native population in America, because you really just don't get a great sense of the full picture in these books. But you will come away with zero uncertainty about how Ma feels, I can promise you that.
That said, it was hard to read in a lot of ways. It was hard to realize that Ma was hella, hella racist against the native Americans. Pa often came to their defense, but she never wavered in her steadfast hatred and fear of the people whose land she was helping to steal. Of course, no one in the books sees it that way. But it was hard to love Ma if I looked at her through the lens of everything I know now, so the only way to read it is to really try and put yourself in their shoes and see the situation through their eyes, misguided as they are.
Pa, too, is not quite as I remembered him. Turns out Pa has a major obsession with roaming, and he basically dragged his family all over hell and creation, through one disaster and hardship and on to the next, until Ma was finally like WE ARE NOT MOVING ANYMORE. Pa also was always, always barely just getting by, which I really didn't remember about these books. When Laura marries Almanzo and moves off to his claim, I got the sense that, okay, the rest of these Ingalls are gonna be struggling in perpetuity, but Laura's set.
Also, Almanzo. It now feels SUPER weird to me how he was portrayed in the TV show, all of which is completely ridiculous and idyllic now that I think about it. But Almanzo doesn't have a ton of personality in these books, and Laura is - at least initially - much more interested in his horses than in him, which makes sense because he's way older than she is, which is icky, but whatever, the TIMES, am I right? But yeah, the show. Calling him MANLY? Ugh! just uuuuugh. The last book in the series is basically just a series of Laura going for long drives with Almanzo and his horses, and detailed descriptions of her 3 dresses and hats. She seems happy at the end, though, bless her heart. I enjoyed that she insisted that the "promise to obey" line was taken out of their wedding vows, but was then disheartened when she reassures Almanzo that no, no, she isn't like his sister Eliza. She isn't for women's rights. She doesn't want to VOTE, lord no. She just doesn't want to promise to obey him. Sigh. It's a start, I guess.
I kind of don't want to go look up what happened to all the family members after the books end, because I have a feeling it'll be kind of depressing, and I'm definitely not going to revisit the television show. I feel like you could still give these books to kids for historical reasons, but you would really, really want to read along with them and give them some perspective on the history of what white settlers did to the native population in America, because you really just don't get a great sense of the full picture in these books. But you will come away with zero uncertainty about how Ma feels, I can promise you that.
buaslbutterfly's review
5.0
This book series captured me when I was in elementary school. I read all of the books. When I finished the last book in the series I was so upset because I wanted more. An excellent series that teaches youth about a era that has passed. You really get to know a family out of another time period. You learn of their hardships and connect with their families. I remember putting my hair in braided pigtails when I was younger.
bethfalenski's review
5.0
I read this entire collection about once a year! There isn't one book in the bunch that I don't love!
aria_c1258's review
2.0
I read this I elementary dchool loke pretty much everyone else. I remember them being perfect for like 3rd graders. They were cute but I don't think the were that good. I also don't like historical of realistic fiction. I was pretty boring I think
angelicafarrar's review
5.0
EVERYBODY must read these books. I think I read them when I was 6... then re-read them over and over again after that.
mthorley23's review
5.0
I read all of these as a little girl when I was out of school sick for one week. I loved them!