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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I grew up reading the Little House On The Prairie books, featuring Laura Ingalls and her sisters and parents. These books were originally my mum’s and have been well read over the years. I also watched and enjoyed the TV show throughout the years, but I never knew there were more books, until recently.
Of course, the books are written by different authors, while still trying to hold onto the original magical quality of the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories.
I managed to find this book quite easily, although the others in the series were slightly more difficult, and more expensive!
This first book is abridged, so it is slightly shorter than the other books - for example, this is 110 pages, with a preview to the next book, a recipe, song and what was happening of significance elsewhere in the world while Caroline was growing up. In comparison, the second book is 343 pages.
I haven’t read the original stories for some time now, but the Caroline described here (Laura’s mother) is different to how she’s pictured in the TV show. She’s described as having a long brown braid (as you can see from the cover), whereas the TV show, the young Caroline seen in flashbacks was shown with very white-blonde hair, quite close to the older Caroline (played by Karen Grassle).
I enjoyed this book, even though it only took me an hour to read, it’s over before it really has a chance to get going. It sticks pretty closely to the same kind of formula that Laura Ingalls Wilder stuck to, and it was showing a happy family life, but also showing the harder times, such as the first frost, the cold winters, little or no money, hand me down clothes and the first day of school.
While I look back on stories from my childhood, such as the Little House On The Prairie/Anne Of Green Gables/Narnia, they have a certain magical quality that has never quite translated to re-reading as an adult. However, I think if you have loved the books as a child, you can retain some of the old feeling from your childhood. While I don’t think these books will ever capture the original, they come pretty close and it will be quite enjoyable to find out more about Caroline growing up and meeting Charles, hopefully taking us up to the beginning of Little House In The Big Woods.
Of course, the books are written by different authors, while still trying to hold onto the original magical quality of the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories.
I managed to find this book quite easily, although the others in the series were slightly more difficult, and more expensive!
This first book is abridged, so it is slightly shorter than the other books - for example, this is 110 pages, with a preview to the next book, a recipe, song and what was happening of significance elsewhere in the world while Caroline was growing up. In comparison, the second book is 343 pages.
I haven’t read the original stories for some time now, but the Caroline described here (Laura’s mother) is different to how she’s pictured in the TV show. She’s described as having a long brown braid (as you can see from the cover), whereas the TV show, the young Caroline seen in flashbacks was shown with very white-blonde hair, quite close to the older Caroline (played by Karen Grassle).
I enjoyed this book, even though it only took me an hour to read, it’s over before it really has a chance to get going. It sticks pretty closely to the same kind of formula that Laura Ingalls Wilder stuck to, and it was showing a happy family life, but also showing the harder times, such as the first frost, the cold winters, little or no money, hand me down clothes and the first day of school.
While I look back on stories from my childhood, such as the Little House On The Prairie/Anne Of Green Gables/Narnia, they have a certain magical quality that has never quite translated to re-reading as an adult. However, I think if you have loved the books as a child, you can retain some of the old feeling from your childhood. While I don’t think these books will ever capture the original, they come pretty close and it will be quite enjoyable to find out more about Caroline growing up and meeting Charles, hopefully taking us up to the beginning of Little House In The Big Woods.
While not quite as detailed about daily life as the original books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, this book (the first in the series about her mother's childhood) is based on letters Laura wrote to her aunt, asking for more stories about her and her mother's childhood. The story begins about a year after Caroline's father was lost at sea, and her mother is having a tough time making the best of things with 6 children.
It's never to late to indulge one's Laura Ingalls Wilder obsession, right? This is sweet and light, and a nice opener to a Caroline series.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sadly, this was the only Caroline book that I managed to read. I always wanted to buy the others, but by the time I had enough allowance, I had already moved on to greater books.
One of these days I will buy the whole entire series (from Martha all the way down to Rose!)
As I recall the novel, though, Caroline was a bit boring. The most interesting thing was that she lived in Boston (all the other girls I'd read about lived in frontier towns, or something similar), so we got a bit of city life (before it was the huge, traffic ridden mess it is these days).
I think she'd be more interesting once she grew up a little and developed some more personality, but as I remember it, she didn't really stand out in my mind. Large family (like all but Rose had), school life like anyone in that era, and same old problems.
Still, I'm glad that I had the chance to read it! It was most interesting to see what sort of traits Caroline already had as a young girl that would later be exhibited in her as a mother (as we got to know her from the start via Laura.)
One of these days I will buy the whole entire series (from Martha all the way down to Rose!)
As I recall the novel, though, Caroline was a bit boring. The most interesting thing was that she lived in Boston (all the other girls I'd read about lived in frontier towns, or something similar), so we got a bit of city life (before it was the huge, traffic ridden mess it is these days).
I think she'd be more interesting once she grew up a little and developed some more personality, but as I remember it, she didn't really stand out in my mind. Large family (like all but Rose had), school life like anyone in that era, and same old problems.
Still, I'm glad that I had the chance to read it! It was most interesting to see what sort of traits Caroline already had as a young girl that would later be exhibited in her as a mother (as we got to know her from the start via Laura.)
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this thinking (or hoping) that it would be just another series/continuation of the old Little House books I read growing up. While I thought the story was adequate, it didn't give me the good feelings, reminiscences, and homeliness-feel that the original books by Wilder left me with. My advice is have your kids read the original series first, and then if they want to, read these (but NOT as a replacement for the originals!).
This book was not nearly as good as I remembered it. It was still interesting, and a nice story, but the writing was not engaging. The Martha books, the first generation of the Little House books, were by a different author and significantly better when it came to the writing style, although I would recommend both series to a younger child.