Laura Ingalls Wilder Books

This book the first four years is about a young couple who doesn't agree on being framers for a living. So they make a deal. The deal was that they would try out being farmers for 3 years then after the 3 years they would deside if they liked being a framer family. If they didn't like being framers then they would start a new life with a new job. If they did like being framers they would stick to it and be a happy family. The family goes through alot of trouble and they get a new member to the family. I would recomend the book to children AND adults.

Hesitant at tying her future to a farmer, Wilder agrees to allow her new husband three years to try. If he proves he can make them a decent living, she will consider their staying in that lifestyle.

Thus this story of Wilder's early married years is born. In the first four years (for she allows Manly an extra to the original three) the couple sees weather disasters, serious illness, the birth of their daughter Rose, and a staggering amount of physical labor.

Despite the difficulties, the Wilders persevere, bound by their love for one another and their determination to succeed.

While an overall enjoyable book, and a nice conclusion to the stories of Laura's childhood and coming-of-age presented in the previous books, "The First Four Years" almost felt as if it were written by another person, about other people than those with whom the reader became familiar prior. Perhaps it's only because the protagonist was considerably younger in the initial stories, but here it felt like more of a chronology, a documentation of facts with a few hastily scrawled characterizations to turn it into a novel, than anything else.

This was the only book in the Little House series I hadn't read yet (shut up, I AM from Kansas), mostly because I'd always heard it wasn't really a Little House book at all, just Laura Ingalls Wilder's journal of her first four years of marriage on the prairie. It is quite different in tone from the other books in the Little House series, even with an alternate wedding that's not nearly as romanticized as the one in These Happy Golden Years. Also, the chapters aren't divided by a quaint episode or schoolhouse observance like the previous eight books but simply by each of the first four years, reinforcing the journal-like tone. But the biggest surprise of the book is how obnoxious Laura has become. She initially denies Almanzo marriage because she doesn't want to marry a farmer and wants to live in the town with a merchant because they make all the money; then, after she gives in to his persistent promises that he'll make good, she continually nags her husband about the money they're not making. Plenty bad happens to them just like it did to her family when she was growing up, but now instead of a wide-eyed optimistic child, she's become a world-weary child-bride. Perhaps this is a more realistic view of Laura Ingalls Wilder than the previous books; if so, I'll take the romance.

"The First Four Years," is a story about the early years of the marriage of Laura Ingalls and Manly Wilder.As the story starts in 1894, Laura agrees to marry Manly and help him try to make a living farming.The young family eventually grows with the birth of baby Rose.

The Wilder family faces many trials thoughout there lives. sickness, the harsh climate, and more. Wilder presents the often deadly dangers of pioneer life quite often.

There are some dark and harsh moments along the way, but I found this book to be joyful and hopeful. Wilder shows courage of the pioneer farm family.

I had read the Little House series a number of times over the years, but never picked up the First Four Years. Finally, as an adult - and even more a fan of Laura than I was young - I picked up this book to see what happened AFTER "happily ever after."

Well, I frankly wish I hadn't. Perhaps it's better to have the truth than to buy into the sugar-coating, but it truly disappointed me in a number of ways. Most other reviewers here have complained about the miserable story line - and it IS pretty depressing - but that's not even what bothered me the most. The Laura I had come to know through the first books was a good-hearted person who loved her family more than anything. It bothered me terribly that they were hardly mentioned (some of them, not at all!) throughout the entire book. The names permeating the book are mainly her own, Rose's and "Manly's."

... and she's not even all that cuddly in regards to her husband. As others have pointed out, she intially refused to marry him because he was "just a farmer." Ouch. Did she hate her childhood that much? The Laura in this book does indeed come off as a cold and somewhat naggy woman, nothing like the sassy, charming, good-hearted Laura of old. And not only does she seem to forsake her family of origin - the main characters in all of her other books! - but she destroys secondary characters that I used to like. I'll never be able to read about Mr. and Mrs. Boast again without thinking that they're a little bit icky. Which really stinks. At least Mr. Edwards didn't show up and molest Rose or anything.

Reading this really made me wonder about the degree to which Rose took a hand in the original Little House books. It's quite clear, reading this, that it is of a much lower quality and in a very different voice than the rest of the books. In defense of Laura, I can only posit that this is because these were actually notes and would have been seriously revised before being published as a "Little House" book. But with MacBride - the author of the Prologue and the one holding the "Little House" rights - having been so close to Rose, it might well be that he allowed the book to be released untouched on purpose, to show the world what the rest of the series would have been like stripped of his mentor's editing and re-writing touch-ups. To do her honor, so to speak, since she has claimed none on the rest of the series. Most telling is the contrast between Laura's version of her wedding in these notes and the version published in "Golden Years:" why did these need to be re-published? The story could have easily been begun where the last book left off. It almost seems as though it were left in as a study in contrast, meant to tip the readers off to something about the difference in writing styles and quality.

All-in-all, if you want to learn more about praries and how much things cost in the late 1800s, by all means - pick this up. If you want to preserve your memories of how much Laura loved her Pa and Ma and her sister Mary, and of what a fiesty but caring young lady she was, I recommend skipping this. Maybe preferring the fictionalized world to reality isn't very mature, but there it is.

I think I'm going to go watch a few episodes of the 70s TV series to cheer myself up, as long as I seem to enjoy fiction so much.

While this isn't a terrible biography, Zochert seems to confuse some of the facts with what he's seen on the television show. Even the cover shows characters drawn to look like the actors rather than the actual people. Check this one out of your local library and spend your money on the better book--Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder.

As most who have read this book I was raised on LHOTP and still watch it today. I will admit it was hard to imagine the real Ingalls' family instead of the TV version in my head. In that vein the pictures were a tremendous help. I did learn alot, but, the author seemed to get stuck on one subject matter and would wring it dry before he finally moved on. Seems things I wanted to know more about only got a few lines, ie; Mary's illness that led to her stroke, the mouse in Pa's hair. Maybe it's me but I just could'nt get excited reading page after page about mud ! Also, it seems to have been written for an under 13 audience, which in my opinion is good, if it will get them reading. All and all a good read for a lazy afternoon or a stint in the hospital after surgery ( where I read it because one doesn't need tons of concentration lol).

I have always been a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books ~~ the books are so entrenched in my childhood memories that I cannot remember my childhood without her books in hand. When I saw this biography in a bookstore not too long ago, I just had to have it. I also just finished re-reading the entire series over the holidays, so everything was still fresh in my mind when I started reading this biography.

First off, this is a very poorly written book ~~ the writing style has made me cringe in several places especially since I had the feeling he was mimicking Laura's writing style which is irritating ~~ not just from a reader's point of view, but from a writer's point of view. It didn't flow together like other biographies do ~~ it just isn't written very well.

Secondly, I could imagine Pa and Ma as children or their families while they were growing up. I love that! I wish there were more on them and their families as well but the pieces that I did get to read were very interesting and made them more human. Thirdly, I just love this biography as it brought to life (and the travels) of Laura's childhood and youth. It makes her seem more human.

So she omitted several pieces of her life? Big deal. She doesn't have to share every single story of her life with everyone ~~ maybe they weren't as relevant to her as some of the other places were. Everyone has their own memories of their life which are not shared by others nor supported by facts, but over time, they are very important to that person. I imagine that is how it was for Laura. When I read her books, I know that it's from her memories. I have read her books since I was six years old and I am not scarred by the fact that her memories may not be as accurate as others wanted it to be. I just love her stories. They are stories of her youth and stories of a time that we cannot even begin to imagine today ~~ they are stories of our ancestors that have carved their way from the East Coast to the West Coast, enduring hardships, starvation, and everything else. It often makes me (and friends) wonder if we'd be able to survive today if we were in their shoes. Laura's stories are a more romantic view of that time period, but they do show how hard it is to live life in those times.

This biography reminded me that I did remember hearing of her little brother who died and I had suspected that she had another baby that died shortly after birth. This biography shared stories that I never knew about and found interesting. I knew that Manly suffered from dipitheria (from the book, "The Golden Years"), but not that he suffered from a stroke. And I just have to comment on a reviewer who says that Laura is a hyprocrite ~~ because she lived on credit, and how that ruined her views of the Little House books. If he/she had read a bit further, she/he would have realized that eventually they got themselves out of debt when they made Rocky Ridge prosperous and thriving. And anyone who wonders about that time ~~ ask yourself just what you would have done if you were young and trying to survive on a harsh and unforgiving land? Pa Ingalls is an unique character because he didn't want to be in debt. That doesn't mean that others weren't like that.

As an adult I have a harder time reconciling Almanzo as a good man who fought his way through the blizzard to get grain for the starving townsfolks, but wouldn't share any of his personal grain with anyone. But he is human and no one is perfect. Same thing with Laura. She is an icon for all readers over the years, but she is human with human frailities. But she is a magician with words ~~ she brought to life a time that would have been forgotten if she hadn't taken the time to write these things down. For that, I am grateful. For Laura has given me a glimpse into my ancestors' pasts and an idea of where I came from.

If you're a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, you'll love this book. If you would like to read more about her and her travels, this book is for you. It is thoroughly researched and the pictures are a great bonus. Enjoy traveling down the path of a time that sings sweetly over the prairie grass.

5-11-07

The best review of this book to date. Seems Laura Ingalls Wilder was a bit of a hypocrite. She valued self-sufficiency, yet her family lived on credit. Maybe she was in denial when she wrote her books, but the real Laura has spoiled the Little House books for me.

The writing is poor as well.

I am giving this one five stars simply because of the information I was able to glean from it. This of course was one of the first attempts at a full biography of Wilder, and lacking though it may be in many areas, it is still packed with wonderful tidbits and the pictures and great. Being a "Laura" fan for years, I found the subject of Wilder's life fascinating. The author could have left out any mention of the T.V. Series, which was certainly good, don't get me wrong, but actually had little to do with the Wilder story or her work. The author's technique and style, of this biography, is not my cup of tea, but he was able to get enough facts in to make it well worth the read. Like other reviewers here, I had to wonder "what were the publishers thinking," when they chose the cover for this book. I do not feel I have ever gazed upon such a hideous piece of work. Overall, recommed.

This is by far the best biography on Laura Ingalls Wilder available. This is a scholarly, indepth look that goes beyond her books and looks into what made her a writer. Written for adults.

This is the real-life Laura and family. Biographer John Miller provides tremendous detail in a smooth, quick and fascinating read. Gives a lot of historic context from the time of Charles and Caroline's childhood through the 1950's, and many new tidbits about Laura's actual childhood. The most thought-provoking and disturbing section of the book is toward the end, covering the period between 1925 and Laura's death in 1957.

Rose, having worked and travelled all over the world as a successful author, came home to Rocky Ridge for some 9 years in the late 20's and early 30's. While there, she suffered frequent depression, writer's block, financial trouble, and a frustrating relationship with her mother, Laura. Yet it was at this time that she helped Laura begin the Little House books, the first of which was published in 1932. The collaboration between the two on the series has been a topic of contention among scholars, critics, and fans from the beginning. Here we learn the truth, book-by-book, on who wrote what, and how each felt about her role in the partnership.

This truth is enlightening and yet Rose's sad mental state and resentment toward Laura is a bit heartbreaking for fans who still believe in Pa's beloved, spunky, hard-working, Plum Creek-swimming, Nellie Oleson-hating, hay-making, bible verse-reciting, school-teaching, buggy-riding, half-pint who wanted nothing more than to send her blind sister to college.

This would be a very interesting book if I had not already read all the little house series plus the book where she went to Mansfield from DeSmet and the one where she went to visit Rose in San Francisco.

This is best read before reading the other books. The books by Laura Ingalls Wilder give more detail than any of the birographys by any other author.

I found this to be a good book, although I wish the author would have personalized Laura a little more. The ongoing battle between mother and daughter might have been overemphasized, but one comes to learn that this probably worked for both of them. I found a lot of good information, but the statistics were a little much. I found myself reading between the lines and wanted to get back to the meat of the story...Laura.

I recommend this book to any Wilder fan, for it does give us a glimpse into the woman she really was. Like anyone else, Laura was only human, faults and all.

Meloni Cassidy
Author of Everlasting Journey

I purchased this book to read about how Laura Ingalls Wilder became the celebrated author of the Little House series of books. I was very disappointed, therefore, that this uninsightful, dry, fragmented, and repetitious tome read more like a bad history book with too many statistics, facts and figures, rather than character analysis, leaving me with no more knowledge of Laura's character than before I read it. For example, after describing ad nauseum all the organizations and activities one could possibly participate in their town, the author states that we do not know if Laura and her family enjoyed any of them. It was frustrating to constantly read the words "probably, maybe, if, we can presume ....." The author makes too many assumptions and repeatedly expresses his inability to accurately understand and relay Laura's personal feelings due to the unfortunate lack of diaries, letters, and journals left behind by Mrs. Wilder. Relying too much on her daughter, Rose's writings, he portrays Laura as an overprotective, condescending, controlling mother and a domineering wife who refused to vow to obey her husband during their wedding. Miller is not quite sure he even believes Rose's unflattering portrayal of her mother, because she was mentally ill and emotionally unstable herself. This book contains so much one-sided information about Laura's daughter that it should instead be titled Becoming Rose Wilder Lane.

I really liked this book when I read it a few weeeks ago. It`s the first in the Caroline series,and really makes you want to read more. After reading this one, I'll definately be buying the second one in the series sometime soon. Highly Reccomended.

This is where Caroline is a small girl, and she is going through activities which will help to develop herself. She is a great help to her mother and grandmother. This family has had a few very bad hardships, and there are sometimes when there are some major problems that are needing to be helped along, and then there are sometimes when there are some perks that are needing ot be offered, some of which are unbelievable.

in this book,Caroline starts out as a young girl of 5 years. her father died, and caroline and her family have to struggle without him. one day, a big storm wipes out nearly all their crops! this was a great book is because Wilkes describes life back then so well, you feel like you're actually there.

After having read all the original Laura's Little House books, and having finished with the Martha and the Charlotte books, I have now turned to the Caroline books. It is wonderful as usual! I loved it! Though I like better to read of the older years of the Little House girls and Caroline here is 5-6 years old, it is still very interesting to see how they live out there in 1845. Caroline's childhood is very different from her grandmother's, mother's and daughter's childhoods because she has no father and her widowed mother tries to run the farm alone. The children all help her as much as they can, and this makes little Caroline seem much older than she really is. I look forward to continue reading about Caroline.

Warning - These books are not the full originals as intended by their authors! Here's what's happening to Little House according to the author of the Martha and Charlotte books, Melissa Wiley.

"The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said...
...to talk about Little House. Many of you have written to ask when my next Martha or Charlotte book will be published. Plans have been in flux for over a year now, but it's time to address your questions.
As I mentioned here recently, HarperCollins has launched new paperback editions of Laura's books which feature photographic covers and no longer contain the Garth Williams illustrations. (The Garth Williams art will remain in the hardcover editions and the colorized paperback editions.)
There are also going to be some changes in the other Little House series. The Martha, Charlotte, Caroline, and Rose books are being reissued in abridged editions. If you wish to read these books in their original, complete forms, you'll want to pick them up now before the unabridged editions go out of print. In at least one case ( On Top of Concord Hill, a Caroline book), the original is already out of print and is hard to find. (A reader recently told me copies are selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.)
The abridged editions of my books and the Caroline and Rose books will be released with new covers this summer. They are significantly shorter; in some cases more than a hundred pages have been cut from the original edition.
In light of these changes, I have decided not to continue writing Martha and Charlotte books. Although it is indeed strange to know that I will not tell the rest of their stories (especially the story of Martha and Lew's romance, for which I have been sowing seeds since the first books), I do not think it is such a bad thing to end my part of the story with Beyond the Heather Hills and Across the Puddingstone Dam. In both of those books, I had the opportunity to say something about what is good and true and enduring in this world. Martha glimpsed it, looking into the eyes of her infant niece. Charlotte glimpsed it in the eyes of her mother, the grown-up Martha, who endured the worst kind of loss but, through faith, managed to keep hold of--and share--her joy.
It will be difficult to say goodbye to these girls who have been to me like my own children. I have loved watching them grow. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to, in the words of Gail Godwin, "respectfully imagine" them and chronicle their stories.
As I said, my decision to leave the series has been in the works for quite some time. Meanwhile, I've been working on new projects and am quite excited about my current novel, which is about neither a Scottish lass nor a New England villager, but something completely different. Stay tuned...

You Guys Are Great
Thank you so much for the outpouring of support and well wishes you have given in the comments from yesterday's post. You all are wonderful, and it's a blessing to have such passionate readers!
Some questions naturally arose in the comments, and I thought I'd tackle a few of them here. One important point is that HarperCollins doesn't think of the abridgements as dumbed-down. I do, and that I am strongly opposed to the dumbing-down of children's literature must be obvious from my decision to walk away from a series of books that has been my heart's work for the past decade. Although I came to the decision many months ago, the shock of it still takes my breath away sometimes. I love Martha and Charlotte, really love them. Like daughters. I have written certain scenes between Martha and Lew in my mind a hundred times. I'm sorry that I will not be sharing them with you, more sorry than I can express.
My decision to quit also had serious ramifications for my family. Had I continued with the series, we would still be living in Virginia; Scott would still be a work-at-home freelancer. So quitting was not a decision I made lightly; it had teeth.
And yet, if you read this blog then you know my stance on giving children the highest caliber of literature--not a slimmed-down version of what had been a carefully crafted novel. And so, when it became clear that my publishers were committed to their decision to abridge, I made what I believe to be the right decision--the only decision I could have made. Doing the right thing, I tell my children, is almost never the easy thing.
Certainly, this was a very hard thing to do.
But as I said, while I see the abridgement as dumbing-down, I must say in all fairness that I don't believe my publishers see it that way at all. They see this as an opportunity to bring the books to a younger audience, a way to keep the series in print. The decision was presented to me with excitement and enthusiasm; I really think they were surprised that I was dismayed by it.
I bear them no ill will; indeed, I shall be sorry not to be working with my wonderful HarperCollins editor anymore. She is a gem. I simply disagree, quite gravely, with this publishing decision. I do think children deserve the very best books we can give them. The books I wrote, the books that were carefully and lovingly edited by not one, but two top-notch editors (the great Alix Reid, who edited all eight of my novels, not to mention Newbery winner Ella Enchanted, has since left the publishing world for other pursuits), are, I truly believe, literature of high quality. And I don't think they are too hard, or too long, for young readers. I have heard from too many enthusiastic young readers to believe otherwise.
HarperCollins has made a business decision, and I disagree with it on principle, as an author, a reader, and a mother. I think chopping up the books is a mistake. But--and this is very important--publishers respond to trends in the marketplace. They make decisions based upon what sells. If you, as consumers (readers, parents, booklovers), want to influence publishing trends, you must do it (I am sorry to say) with your pocketbooks. The big publishing houses don't read our blogs; they don't know how we feel about literature versus twaddle. They only know what sells.
I see both sides of this coin, because I live on both sides. I'm a homeschooling mom with a modest household income, and frugality is a must. I'm also a writer whose livelihood depends on people spending money on books. Years ago, Scott and I made a conscious decision to strike a balance between these two competing identities: we resolved not to buy used if the book is still in print and the author is still alive. We buy new books in hardcover as often as possible, because that too sends a message to a publisher. And if we read a book at the library and truly love it, we try to buy a copy of it too.
(Now you know why I have cheap furniture and don't dress well. All the discretionary income goes to books.)
So. I'm deeply gratified that you are ordering copies of my unabridged novels while you can still get them. Deeply gratified--yesterday was a goosebumpy day as the comments and emails came pouring in. But if you really want to show your support for the principles on which I stand, go out and buy a new copy of The Penderwicks. In hardcover, if possible! "

Pretty sad. Don't say you weren't warned. If you want to read the whole book, Harper Collins doesn't seem to we have to buy the original for more than a hundred dollars on ebay.

The book is a very good one. If you like the Little House series, you will like this too because it stars Rose (Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter). I think this book is okay for anyone. I think it was very good. So I hope you can read it anytime!

Roger Lea MacBride rode the tails of the spoiled and ungrateful Rose Wilder. He fabricated characters and used someone else's material as his own just like Rose. Abe and his brother and sister in law never existed. Laura based her stories on truthful events maybe sometimes embellished or diminished but always truthful. Rose wrote, "Young Pioneers," and "Free Land," from Laura's accounts that were not recommended to young readers. Rose and Roger loudly complain about Laura and her harsh manner and that Rose was the writer behind Laura's books. Laura loved her mother and Rose resented her mother and everything she stood for. Rose was embarassed and only helped out finacially until many years later after she used Laura's material to gain monetary and in the publishing world. She never credits Laura for her material which, would've been non-existent if Laura was her mother. Laura helped at a very young age, and never complained or announced or flaunted her kindess. Rose Wilder was never an accomplished author that she thought she was but she was very manipulative and knew how to punish Laura. In the dual book, The Rose Wilder story both MacBride and Wilder make sure Laura is depicted with a temper and lack of character. The only person who lacked character and was selfish was Rose and MacBride.

The book is a very good one. It is also like a book to go in Rose's years. I think this book is okay for anyone. I think it was very good. So I hope you can read it anytime!

The kids I know seem to enjoy the continuation of this servies. This is good and I certainly would suggest they be encouraged to read this and the rest of the continuation series by MacBride. After all, reading is reading and if they enjoy them I am certainly not one to cast stones. On the other hand, for those that grew up on the originals, i.e. the Wilder books, will be very, very disappointed in this and other works by MacBride. The narrative is forced, the historical data is very, very faulty, and the overall dialogue has a sticky cloying quality about it. The stories simply are not of the same quality. But, as I said, these were written for young folks and if they enjoy them, more power to them. It is difficult enough to get kids to read anything. At least these books are familiar ground for them and certainly won't hurt them. I am giving this one the fours stars for that reason and no other.

I remember being about 8 years old when "The Rose Years" series of books originally debuted with "Little House on Rocky Ridge," an easily pleasing story for readers who enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder's original books. Now, with the entire "Little House" collection (including Laura's stories and the tales written about her mother Caroline, grandmother Charlotte, and great-grandmother Martha) getting a little makeover with these brand-new editions, there are a couple of things to keep in mind before buying.

If you remember when this book first came out in 1993, you may recall that it contained 368 pages. This condensed version--complete with the photographic cover of an adorable little rosy-cheeked child--is comprised of only 176 pages.

I was stunned when I discovered that the new editions of these books (except for the original 9 from Laura's collection) will all be made up of abridged text. The updated covers are one thing. Okay, they wanted to maintain the stories' "contemporary relevance" with these flashy new covers, also eliminating the Garth Williams illustrations that helped make the series so successful in the first place. This is at least understandable, but passing these stories off in condensed versions is both inappropriate and unacceptable for books that are so timeless and important for all generations.

I am not usually the type to get upset about things like this, but because I remember reading these Rose stories as a child, I feel compelled to at least let consumers here know exactly what they are purchasing. I just happened to get a close-up look of the back cover on the Internet, and if I hadn't seen the tiny word "abridged" on the bottom, then I would have been very quick to purchase this. The publishers' motives for doing this are not quite clear, but come on--omitting nearly 200 PAGES OF TEXT is completely ridiculous, and I can't honestly believe that most people would buy this if they were aware of that fact. They must have cut out entire chapters to accommodate this drastic size change, perhaps in an effort to make it easier for young children to read. Well, let me just say that I have read my share of children's literature, and part of the charm of these "Little House" books is the authors' simplistic writing style.

Are the publishers trying to convey the fact that they feel the original versions were too difficult for American children to read? If I remember correctly, this past summer, millions of children camped outside bookstores across America the day before "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was released, and that book was crammed with 784 pages--and that wasn't even the longest one in the 7-book series! (That honor belongs to "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which contained a shocking 870 pages.) Despite this, however, several of the most hard-core Harry fans have pored through those books in less than 24 hours, and we're afraid that these softer, simpler, and far more timeless tales of a prairie girl's childhood require severe condensation for future printings? Please.

The new covers for these books are cute, for sure, but I won't be getting rid of my original versions for these. The interesting thing is that these makeovers have been applied to the first two books of Rose's, Caroline's, Charlotte's, and Martha's story collections. They have all been shortened and spruced up with a whole new look for today's kids. Perhaps the publishers are "testing the waters" to see if these books sell, and if that's the case, I hope they sell poorly so they can recognize what a mistake it was to tamper with the original text. If they want to modernize the outside of it to increase the appeal for the current "flashier is better" society, then that is perfectly fine, but sometimes you have to put a little more thought into it than this.

In the meantime, if you have any of the old editions, hang onto them. If you want to complete your collections before the old versions go out of print, act quickly and purchase them before Ebay starts selling them away for sky-high prices. Laura Ingalls Wilder's original books are obviously the best thing to get, though, for the sake of the Garth Williams illustrations that may very well become virtually extinct within the next few years. With a little luck, the remainder of Rose's, Caroline's, Charlotte's, and Martha's books won't get the condensed treatment, and like they did with Laura's stories, maybe they will just stick with the new covers and keep the content exactly as it always was--that is, the complete, endearing tales that the public has treasured the most.

This Laura Ingalls Wilder diary is somewhat dull in parts, but the introduction by her daugher, Rose Wilder Lane, is worth the price of the book. Lane gives a first-hand account of the days before and after the journey that puts Laura in a new light. There are also several good photographs unavailable in other LHOTP books.

It's often said in tones of this-is-true-but-it's-also-heresy that Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura and Almanzo Wilder, is the real unsung heroine in the Little House books, because while she let her mother have credit for the famous series, it was Rose, via her careful, invisible editing and re-writes, that turned cheery memoirs into beloved classics. I suspect that's true, but in the case of this book, it is beyond all doubt what happened. Rose took her mother's raw diary and prepared it for publication, and the product is the book On The Way Home, which tells of the journey Rose and her parents made in 1894, from DeSmet, South Dakota, setting for the final half of the Little House books, to the Ozark country, where the family would spend the next sixty years. The description is unsentimental, not glamorized (as it tends to be--for the sake of betterment--in the other books) and it paints a portrait of the difficult traveler's life on the by-then crowded prairie overrun with east-central European immigrants, many of whom being exactly the type portrayed in novels such as My Antonia. The Wilder family completes its draining re-location by covered wagon and arrives in Missouri, a state so much a promised land to them that a reader cannot help but share their relief when they safely arrive.

The Book, On The Way Home, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, is basically what it says it is. It is a Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894. This book was not that enjoyable just because it was just diary entries, like "today we ate meat." But other wise it was quite intriguing to discover the ways in which people traveled back in the day. In one part of the book it talks about how their covered wagon is not a covered wagon at all but that, "It had been a two-seated hack though now it only had the front seat." I also found it very enjoyable to read about the worth of money back then and compare it to now. It talks about how Laura had earned a whole one hundred dollars which today is like penny cash but back then was a fortune. In the beginning of the book there is a setting by Rose Wilder Lane, Laura's Daughter, which is a great piece of writing, it is like the rest of Laura's books in that it makes you want to read the rest of the book. I found this book interesting but a drag because of the slow pace in the book. If you would like to take a slow dip into history you should definitely read this book.

This book is written in a much different style than the other Little House books. Laura kept a journal of the trip and these are her day-to-day entries. It can sometimes be dry or confusing. I have been reading the series with my daughter and this one has been a little more difficult. We enjoyed it, but not as much as the others.

I can see why Laura Ingalls was able to write such good books about her early life on the Prairie. Her diaries were packed full of information and detail which she could later draw on. This is one of her diaries, with notes and a setting by her only child, daughter Rose Wilder Lane who was just a girl during this trip.

Laura Ingalls Wilder is, of course, famous for her little House books describing her childhood growing up at the edge of American settling in the mid Nineteenth century. Constantly pushing to new territories and places Ingalls father lead them west into Indian territory and later to Dakota where they settled. Laura met and Married Almanzo Wilder in de Smet, Dakota (Those happy Golden Years, and First Four Years) however those books left a me feeling a bit downhearted. Especially teh First Four Years, in which Almanzo 'Manly' and Laura seemed to be struck with tragedy (the house burning down) etc.

I found this diary to be hugely uplifting. It is not the detailed stories of her childhood, or living in a wagon as an adult settler, but it is a great tale detail of a family moving, of finding something which they could call their own, but far away in the Ozarks.

The most interesting thing to me about it, was that while they were on the road they were constantly being passed by other settlers, some going north and others going south, but the number of people on the move was amazing. At one point Rose adds a note that she looked back while they were about to cross the 'muddy' and there was a stream of covered wagons behind them.

Little details of what life was like really draw this out - tomatoes 10c a bushel and so they bought 2c worth. Huge watermelons for 5 c, Almanzo selling fire mats (ASBESTOS!) and all those little everyday details about life for Laura.

While she did not put her stories down until many decades later, clearly she was a writer in the making right from the beginning. Rose, her daughter has provided much of the detail necessary in here, but it would be really nice to see an illustrated edition of this showing the place as it was and as it is now. It was interesting to use Google Earth to view some of the trail which you can see right now. It gives it a sense of scale which I will not be able to do myself unless I acutally visit.

The only reason this has four stars is it is not as gripping as Ingalls novels - it is still a great read and highly recommended.

This is my favorite book in the Rose Years series. It reflects a simple but happy life on a farm. Rose enjoys a friendship with a neighbor girl named Alva. Rose thinks Alva is lucky because Alva doesn't have near the chores that Rose does.
One point I believe needs some clarification: Almanzo in real life was disabled. Rose wrote somewhere that her father was an invalid following his stroke in De Smet. Other accounts say he shuffled and leaned on a cane the rest of his life and was never as strong as he once was. That would account for so much(actually too much) work falling on Rose at the age of seven or eight. But in the series the author doesn't write the story reflecting Almanzo handicapped. He can run, climb and do anything.
This omission could make it appear that Laura and Almanzo were lazy and unloaded the "dirty jobs" on their little girl.
I know children did lots of chorses in those days, but Rose has so many it is almost unbelievable. It is not something that can be explained away because Rose did not have brothers and sisters to help. And with the absence(in the books) of Almanzo being an invalid there is no justification for a little girl having an ususual number of chores.
There were so many tasks that Almanzo did not do, but that Rose did instead.
Also her work load should have been lightened with Abe and Swiney working on the farm, but it wasn't.

nice to read more about Laura's life after she moved away from the prairy.

This is the second volume in the Rose Years Little House books,and I think it may be better than the first!It continues the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder`s daughter,Rose Wilder!Rose is finally getting adjusted to her new life in their little farm in the ozarks,and in this book,she meets new friends including two brothers named Swiney and Abe,two twins named Dora and Cora,and later befriends a town girl named Blanche.Rose and her Mama and Papa also face many challenges in this book;but later have better adventures!Rose almost burns the house down when leaving the bread baking,but she and her friend Swiney put it out.Some old friends also return in this book including Laura`s friend Alva,M.r and Mrs. Cooley,M.r. and Mrs. Cooley`s sons named Paul and George,and of course Rose and her Mama(Laura) And Papa(Almanzo)!Roger Lea Macbride has the same touch for writing pioneer stories and making them magical as Laura Ingalls Wilder did!Definately reccomended for any Little House or Laura Ingalls Wilder fan!

Look for these other "Little House:The Rose Years" titles avalible now by Roger Lea Macbride!:
Little House On Rocky Ridge
In The Land Of The Big Red Apple
On The Other Side Of The Hill
Little Town In The Ozarks
On The Banks Of The Bayou
New Dawn On Rocky Ridge
Bachelor Girl
Rose Wilder Lane:Her Story

This is a great story telling of the early struggles that Rose had to face with her family to build up the farm.Anyone who says this story is poorly written,or things like that are freaks!It's just a childrens book!!These people need a life!

Just when you thought you had read the entire LITTLE HOUSE series, you discover with delight that there are two more books, although not penned by Laura herself. These two Rocky Ridge sequels continue the saga of a grown up Laura Ingalls Wilder--this time focusing on her only duaghter, Rose. This 8-year-old charms us with gentle, homespun tales of their first year in the wilds of the Missouri Ozarks. We have long loved Laura as a spunky prairie girl, so we naturally continue to love her as a maternal figure, still struggling with the harsh realities of farm life.

Written by Laura's adopted grandson, LITTLE FARM can not quite capture the magic of Laura's style, for a biography can never be as vivid as actual memories. Fortunately the family resemblance remains. True, there is less excitement and action in this book, but then, one can not reinvent someone's real life merely to increase the dramatic content of a book. Perhaps the midwest was more tamed by 1895, when Rose won her special prize. We also wonder whose side MacBride champions, when we recall the bitter, posthumous feud between Rose and Laura (advocated by her literary admirers) over authorship of some of the books.

Still loyal LITTLE HOUSE fans will appreciate this latter-day glimpse into Laura's married life. We understand that this is Laura's last move--she yearns to put down roots somewhere, even far from De Smet, Nebraska. Her home at Rocky Ridge still exists and is open to the public as a museum and literary mecca. The simple story unfolds about a young girl meeting the challenges of life on a new farm and in a new, town school. The book appears thick, but it reads quickly. The family values and pioneer virtues are timeless. Read this book to learn why Rose's parents have two reasons to be proud of her. She herself has two reasons to be proud: our beloved Laura (Bess) and Almanzo (Manly), whose own childhood is preserved in my favorite LH book, FARMER BOY. This story will appeal to preteen girls and all LITTLE HOUSE fans. (Will MacBride continue the saga until Laura's death, thus forever dropping the curtain on the Wilders?)

Do you enjoy reading books filled with a person's life many years ago, wrote in someone else's perception? In the historical fiction book, the Missouri Homestead, T.L. Tedrow captures the life of Laura Ingalls Wilders, but adds some flavor of his own along the way by using visual imagery and flashbacks. This first book in The Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder series, tells of how Laura and her family's luck seems to change as life goes on. They were faced with many hardships in De Smet, South Dakota and decide to move to Mansfield, Missouri to start a new life. The Wilder family will be on an adventure of a lifetime!

When Laura, her husband, Almanzo Wilder, and their daughter, Rose, arrive in Mansfield they are very nervous. They traveled with only one-hundred dollars to start a new life. You will see how Rose grows into a young lady, and how Laura and Almanzo start growing old together on Apple Hill Farm. Laura is a very outspoken person who stands up for what she believes in, and when a mysterious tree fungus starts popping up out of nowhere she becomes suspicious. Because of this, she starts writing for the Mansfield Monitor about it and ends up dividing the town in half for people who agree with her and those who do not. Through the years new technology is being created, and Laura experiences it first hand. You will find a big surprise of how things turn out in the end. As Laura grows older she will discover anything is possible if you believe hard enough.

I really enjoyed reading this book because it grabbed my attention. It took me a few weeks on and off to read it, but I wish I would have cut that time down to a week. I have read most of the Little House books and it reminds me of them. I would recommend this book to anyone of all ages who loves the original pioneer girl, Laura Ingalls Wilder. Remember even in the worst of times, life can get better if you keep trying.

One of the most exciting books of this age! You never know what Laura will want next ! From plumbing to trees , she always has a suprise for readers !

This book is so funny. The Youngun children are so funny in the things they do and try. From their dog "Dangit" to the mule "Crab Apple". Antics that all kids try to get away with. Also how Laura's temper gets the best of her. I laughed so hard, reading this book.

I love books and I think every effort should be made to cherish most of them. Tedrow's "Laura Ingalls Wilder" series should be burned. I mean, if it was possible to give books a minus score, this series would be a minus 5 (or even better, a minus 100). Tedrow's version of Laura's adult story tosses in events that never happened, including the birth of another child to the Wilders, an Almanzo who sounds like a hayseed and calls Laura "Laurey" instead of his real nickname for her, "Bess," and a Laura who does things the real Laura Ingalls Wilder would be horrified by, including shoving an obnoxious woman into a big punchbowl.

Worse, Tedrow uses this supposed story of Laura Ingalls Wilder to introduce his own characters, the three Youngun children, Terry, Larry, and Sherry, who are the offspring of the widowed minister. Half of each of "Laura's" book is actually about these kids, who were later spun off into their own series of books. Apparently Mr. Tedrow envisioned Laura as a TV series to be used as a spin-off vehicle. He couldn't possibly have been interested in writing a decent series about her life, or we wouldn't have ended up with this hideous series of books.

Laura Ingalls wilder
I did my biography on laura Ingals wilder.Iloved learning about what it was like liveing back then.she was born feb.7,1865 in the big woods of wisconson. She had one sister at hat time.
Marey Ingalls.laura moved to kansas wehen she was three.And her baby sister caroline Ingalls was born.one year later the moved
to minasotta in a small town called walnutt grove.She spent the rest of her life there.Whan she was 18 she became a teacher at a local school and met a man named Almonzo Wilder.They had a child
rose wilder.Laura died at the age of 90 three days after her birthday.

I did my book report on Laura Ingalls Wilder. The book is called Growing up in The Little House. Laura was born on Feburary 7, 1865. Laura had a hard life. She had to do chores all day everyday. She always loved being outside. Laura had a sister named Marey. She had gotten really sick and became blind. It was a hard time for the Wilder family.Laura and Marey had a baby sister named Caroline. After one year they all moved to Minnesota. When Laura was 18 years old she became a teacher at a pulic school. That's when she met a man named Almonzo. They spent the rest of their life together. Almonzo and Laura had a baby girl named Rose. Laura always wanted to name one of her children Rose. Two years later they had another baby which was a boy, but he died in her arms unnamed. Laura was very upset that she lost her baby boy. Then the Wilder family had a problem,they were not raising enuough money for there family. Their jobs were not good paying jobs. Laura had to get a second job. She had gotten a sewing job. After her raising one hundred dollors from sewing, Almonzo and Laura decided to buy a farm to grow crops and food for their family. Rose is all grown up now. Almonzo had just died. Laura had just turned 90. She writes to kids all over the world and tells them about her life. Three days after Laura's birthday she past away. That is how Laura Ingalls Wilder's life had been. This book is amazing you should buy this book because it shows you how they lived back then or even how Laura spent her life. This book is good for ages 10 and up.

By Casey DelVecchio

This book is great,with details and paintings of Laura`s life as a pioneer girl and wife.I give it 5 stars.Deffinately reccomended if you want to learn about pioneer girl/wife Laura Ingalls Wilder!

This book is very informative and has a great chronology for those doing reports on Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Written by a professor of children's literature, "Laura Ingalls Wilder" offers a detailed analysis of Wilder's famed "Little House" series. Spaeth chooses to focus on literary techniques, and shows how Laura developed as a writer with the guidance of her daughter, acclaimed journalist Rose Wilder Lane. The author's choice to address the works thematically is significant, as it provides a sense of continuity - the combination of historical information and themes of family, westward migration, women's issues, and human development are sprinkled throughout the eight chapters. "Laura Ingalls Wilder" is suitable for students of children's literature, as well as Wilder fans, though it may seem a bit dry at times for general reading.