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crizzle 's review for:
These Happy Golden Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Somewhere between 4 and 5 stars!
Spoiler: LAURA AND ALMANZO GET MARRIED!! We totally didn't see that one coming! ;)
This picks up right where Little Town on the Prairie left off - Pa is taking Laura to her first teaching job. She lives with the Brewsters and Almanzo saves her each Friday by driving out the 12 miles it is from town to take her to her family for the weekend. We don't really get to 'see' too much into Laura's mind - she wrote this after being married for DECADES to him, but we still don't get to see too many instances of her showing that she loves him. (Which is fine for me when I'm reading with two young girls!) She shies away from his touch after months of courting, she rudely tells him she doesn't need him to drive her anymore... Heck, even when he's proposing marriage, she says it depends on the ring!!! What the heck, Laura?! Don't be that girl.
The girls and I were thoroughly horrified at the behavior of Mrs. Brewster... and the night of the butcher knife incident... pretty chilling stuff for Little House books! Half a star docked or something for the discussion Laura had with her friends about getting married and being housewives... Someone (Mary Power?) asked, "You're not for women's rights, are you Laura?!" and Laura said no, she doesn't think women should have the right to vote...! Umm, awkward read-aloud moment. Of course the girls understand that so much has changed since over one hundred years ago. Makes me smile to think of the strong feminist daughter Laura raised! But really, I think Laura would've been for women's rights if she'd have known better... and who knows, maybe later on in life she changed her views, like most of us do from our 18 year old past selves. She did tell Almanzo that she could not abide having the word "obey" in her wedding vows, and Almanzo completely understood. "You're independent, aren't you?" he asked while courting her and I'm sure impressed at how strong and capable she was at anything she tried.
I am ending with this one for read-alouds for the girls (although they keep asking for more). I am going to read The First Four Years on my own, as I've read that it not only deals with more adult issues/hardships, but it's not part of the original 'canon', but taken straight from her notes after Rose died in 1968... no revisions, no editing by Rose... I'm super intrigued!
Spoiler: LAURA AND ALMANZO GET MARRIED!! We totally didn't see that one coming! ;)
This picks up right where Little Town on the Prairie left off - Pa is taking Laura to her first teaching job. She lives with the Brewsters and Almanzo saves her each Friday by driving out the 12 miles it is from town to take her to her family for the weekend. We don't really get to 'see' too much into Laura's mind - she wrote this after being married for DECADES to him, but we still don't get to see too many instances of her showing that she loves him. (Which is fine for me when I'm reading with two young girls!) She shies away from his touch after months of courting, she rudely tells him she doesn't need him to drive her anymore... Heck, even when he's proposing marriage, she says it depends on the ring!!! What the heck, Laura?! Don't be that girl.
The girls and I were thoroughly horrified at the behavior of Mrs. Brewster... and the night of the butcher knife incident... pretty chilling stuff for Little House books! Half a star docked or something for the discussion Laura had with her friends about getting married and being housewives... Someone (Mary Power?) asked, "You're not for women's rights, are you Laura?!" and Laura said no, she doesn't think women should have the right to vote...! Umm, awkward read-aloud moment. Of course the girls understand that so much has changed since over one hundred years ago. Makes me smile to think of the strong feminist daughter Laura raised! But really, I think Laura would've been for women's rights if she'd have known better... and who knows, maybe later on in life she changed her views, like most of us do from our 18 year old past selves. She did tell Almanzo that she could not abide having the word "obey" in her wedding vows, and Almanzo completely understood. "You're independent, aren't you?" he asked while courting her and I'm sure impressed at how strong and capable she was at anything she tried.
I am ending with this one for read-alouds for the girls (although they keep asking for more). I am going to read The First Four Years on my own, as I've read that it not only deals with more adult issues/hardships, but it's not part of the original 'canon', but taken straight from her notes after Rose died in 1968... no revisions, no editing by Rose... I'm super intrigued!