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A review by asurges
The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure
3.0
If I could give this book 3-1/2 stars, I would. It's kind of a neat idea: woman who, as a girl, geeked out over the Laura Ingalls Wilder books goes to all the real-life sites and finds out details about the family that are pretty interesting (Rose, Laura's daughter, had depression; Pa skedaddled from one town in the middle of the night to avoid paying his rent; the land where they live in Little House on the Prairie was actually in another state, etc.). Meanwhile, the author churns butter (which, she reports, tastes just like the butter you buy in the store) and makes Vanity Cakes from On the Banks of Plum Creek and apples 'n' onions from Farmer Boy.
But the story turns into more. The author explores what kind of people really get engulfed by the books and/or the TV show. And she finds out that some are crazy, hoping to live only off the land because of the End of Days, and she finds out a lot of parents use them for home schooling. But what I like most is how she talks about how much we think those times were simpler--and of course they weren't, as no past really is.
But the story turns into more. The author explores what kind of people really get engulfed by the books and/or the TV show. And she finds out that some are crazy, hoping to live only off the land because of the End of Days, and she finds out a lot of parents use them for home schooling. But what I like most is how she talks about how much we think those times were simpler--and of course they weren't, as no past really is.