Laura Ingalls Wilder Books

Book arrived quickly and in shape described. I am very satisfied with the seller. Thanks.

Even if you never cook any of these foods, this is fun reading for Little House fans. The book is crafted so excerpts from the books which mention the foods are included with the recipes. I haven't tried cooking any of these, but most recipes seem doable. Good for LHOTP collections.

We bought this to supplement our unit study and have really enjoyed the recipes. This book also adds lots of extra information, not just on the Ingalls and Wilder families but, on farms of the time and farm house kitchens.

This is a great compliment to reading the Little House books. As a homeschool mom I know that the kids want to experience the same things that Laura and her family did and this si a really fun way of bringing the books to life! You'll learn how to make crackling corn bread, Ma's baked beans and a green pumpkin pie! This is another wonderful addition to our family library and yours as well!

I loved reading this book after reading all Ingalls-Wilder's books this summer. The history behind each recipe and the obvious attention to detail make this an excellent book for any Little House fan. I've made about 8 recipes so far with great results.

I was really looking forward to "Fried Apples and Onions" from Farmer Boy and was expecting something different than what the final outcome was (more of a steamed dish than a fried one). The Light Bread and Light Biscuits were raved about as well as Bird's Nest Pudding (a new favorite for us). The fried salt pork with gravy was an unexpected triumph, even if too salty. The corn dodgers were okay, something my family is not accustomed to. The Rye 'n' Injun bread was very different than anything we've ever had-surprisingly sweet and the rye flavor packs a punch. The doughnuts were excellent-something I'll probably be expected to repeat soon. Really looking forward to trying the molasses on snow candy-just waiting for the snow!

I was looking forward to trying my hand at cheese making but found that the instructions were incomplete. Three entire paragraphs for this recipe ended without finishing sentences-maybe an issue I should bring up with the publisher. Otherwise, this review would be a solid 5 stars. (Update on the Hard Cheese recipe that was incomplete-I have gone back and forth with the publisher on this and it comes down to the fact that the 3rd edition of this cookbook-whether hardback or paperback-was edited poorly. They have sent me 2 'replacements', and both had the same problem as the book I received as a gift. They were very nice about it and told me to donate the books to the local library, but I'm still missing a complete recipe. Very disappointing!)

I would agree with others that this is a book to be enjoyed WITH your children and should not be considered a children's cookbook. I enjoyed reading the included excerpts from the Little House books to my family as we ate each recipe and look forward to trying more recipes in the near future. I have a large collection of cookbooks and even cater to small groups occasionally, but this book will be treasured for those times I can enjoy in the kitchen-just for fun.

This certainly isn't as good as some other Laura Ingalls Wilder biographies, but it's not bad. I think this is focued more toward young teens than adults.

Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography (Little House) by William Anderson

My niece needed some resource material for an elementary school project. This was a wonderful book, informative and easy for a 4th grade student to read and enjoy, as well as enjoyable for adults. Some of the photos are very touching, and this book is a must-have for any Laura fan. I plan on ordering an additional copy for our school library.

This book was very well written. It fills in some of the gaps the stories leave out. This author has an easy to read style of writing. For anyone reading about Laura, this is a great read.

This book was purchased for my 10 year old daughter's book report. It was perfect for her age provided lots of good details for her report.

This paperback was great reading. It answered a lot of questions that I had and also filled in a lot of gaps. It made me wish that I was around when Laura was alive so that I could have written her a 'fan' letter. Remarkable woman as was her whole family. I now watch the DVD series with new eyes and more interest (if that was possible).

Book arrived quickly and in shape described. I am very satisfied with the seller. Thanks.

While I agree with most people that this book may not have the charm of the Laura Ingalls books, I will also point out that this volume is dealing with Caroline and her family after the death of her father.
Its not going to be a typical Laura Ingalls book from the first chapter. The purpose of the book is to show the life of Caroline Quiner after her father's death and her family's struggle to cope without him, so the whole book is going to explain that. It has no real mysterious or tantilizing plot yet. While I was a little bored with it at first , I soon realized that this book was explaining the hardships of Caroline's family, and I begin to sympathize with her and her family. It may not be as fun as the Laura books in some ways, but it makes its own impression. I rather like the Caroline Years, a lot in fact. I hope most people do.

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.

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.

I thought this scrapbook would be like the "Egyptology", "Wizardology" etc. books; with the removable pieces inside the book.

Laura's Album shows readers actual snapshots from the life of writer, Laura Ingalls Wilder. Apparently Mrs. Wilder found it difficult to throw things away. As a result the reader is treated to pictures of some of the people and objects described in the Little House books. There are pictures of her entire family and pictures of the fiddle that Pa plays so merrily in many of the books.

The reader is also given a brief history of the wanderings and lives of Mrs. Wilder and her kinfolk. Much of the focus is on Mrs. Wilder's adult life and what she did as her fame began to spread.

This book is a must for fans of the Little House books and anybody who is interested in what rural life was like in the United States in the late 1800s.

This book is excellent. I bought it because I especially liked the format, layout, & all the photographs & old documents reproduced. For all the many people who have read Laura's books, these illustrations help know the pioneer life of these people.

this book is very interesting with information if interested in the life of Laura E. Wilder. The ending would be more of an ending if pictures of the place of burial of her and her family were included in the book.

I love Laura Ingalls Wilder and her works. This book tells more about the real person and the real family. Very interesting. I feel like I know her,though reading this book.

This is a wonderful series, enjoyed by myself as much as my daughters. After reading all of the Martha books, Martha Morse and her family live in my head, they're well written, delightful characters. Make sure you search out one of the original, unabridged editions. The ones with photographs on the cover are severely abridged. It's amazing what publishers can get away with. If the same were done to beautiful paintings or statues it would be called vandalism.

This book is fabulous! Six year old Martha Morse loves running through fields of heather,visiting her neighbors and playing on the Creag. But,being a laird`s daughter she must learn to be proper. But that is difficult when there is so much to do in Glencariad!

Six year old Martha is a very energetic and very curious little girl who has a very active mind. She wants to have a part in everything and wants to learn about various aspects of the Scottish traditions and what she can do to help out with the adventures. This book mainly is set in the Glencaraid Valley (friendly valley) around the Stone House where the family resided. She is very friendly with the servants, and the neighbors who were surrounding the space in the valley. If you would like to learn the adventures that Martha goes through, then read this book, and you will not be disappointed.

Warning - you will enjoy this book, and the series will not be finished according to the author herself. Why? Here's what she had to say on her website.

"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. You will want to know how MArtha ends up and none of us will ever find out.

If you enjoy any of the Little House "prequels" get them quick in their original editions. HarperCollins will be rereleasing them in abridged editions only, cutting up to 100 pages in each novel, starting Summer 2007.

We are reading the Little House Series as part of our homeschool curriculum. I have 5 children and the older 4, ages 2-7, can't get enough of these stories, We have read 3 in the series already and are quickly moving through the rest. Along with reading from the Bible, we read Little House books, at least once a day, sometimes twice.

My great grandmother bought me this set when I was a little girl. She read me these stories and shared her own experiences from the early 1900's, which of course is after the conclusion of this series. I think it is a great series to share with your children. I have been reading these to my daughter, who is now 6, for several years. I think they offer perspective, the stories describe a time and a life that most of us could not imagine. And, it's so hard to find a book or series of books that you can trust your children to read without worrying about the message they are receiving. This set is great.

These books are great, even in these days of computers and gadgets! They take you back to a time of simplicity, love, making the most out of nothing and morals. Lessens taught and life experiences shared through the eyes of a young girl in a new and unexplored world. Makes you wish that you were Laura Ingalls, experiencing the daily things she called life.

These are great books...don't get me wrong. But I bought the large set and this set thinking that I would get something different.
Every book was a repeat of books from the larger set...and nothing in the description let me in on this little secret.

Fortunately they are good enough to give away for Christmas gifts!

These eight books were written when Laura Ingalls Wilder was in her late 60s. They are reminiscences of her early years when living on the western frontier of America in the post-Civil War era. While a smell can stimulate memory, many pages are written about the cooking and foods that they had. Laura also describes the intricacies of female dress of that time. Hoop skirts were probably killed off by the bicycle craze of the late 1880s, they even hindered getting into a buggy. The outlook also changes as she ages from a child to teenager to woman.

The "Little House ... Big Woods / Prairie" reflect her life as a child and how she remembers it. Since she was very young in Wisconsin, her memory must have been recovered from the stories of Ma and Pa and her older sister Mary. Could later events have affected her memories? "Farmer Boy" is about the youth of Almanzo Wilder, her future husband, and his life in the far north of New York state. These books are child-oriented.

"Plum Creek / Silver Lake" are about her later years, where she is aware of things like economic conditions that wouldn't be noticed by a child. The "Long Winter", about the terrible winter of 1880/1881, is most oriented to an adult in its description of life on the breaking edge of settlement. The story about the railroad camp won't have much meaning to children who have never experienced such hardships. It is a warning against the assumptions of the corporate railroad. If they build a railroad, the trains may not come on time.

"Little Town / Golden Years" are about her schooling, her school teaching, and her drives in the country with Almanzo, her future husband. I hope they had the happy married life that they deserved.

The books tell what is was like in the late 19th century. If you wondered about the roof on a sod house you will find a description here. Laura tells about digging a well, but the conventions of her time prevent any description on the location of their privy. The politics and events of that time are rarely mentioned, but children and teenagers don't care even today. Then it was work from sun up to sun down, except for Sunday. The Ingalls seem more religious than some others.

There is an economic side to these stories. In the first books the Ingalls live as subsistence farmers, growing or building most of what they consume. Pa hunts game for meat. In the middle of the stories Pa can't hunt, he must buy meat from the wages he earns in town. Laura works so her money can help send Mary to college. By the end the settlers are all raising cash crops to sell. They still have gardens to raise household food, and sew clothes from the cloth they buy. No more homespun. Labor saving devices are bought, like a breaking plow. Mechanized reapers and thrashers are now hired as needed. The forces of nature can still wipe out months and years of work in a few minutes. Hail and tornadoes threaten the growing crops. But the Ingalls strive, endure, and succeed, setting a good example for future countless generations.

This is a great book for reminding children of simpler times. Laura and her family celebrate Christmas with the bare minimum available to them, but with such joy, it can make even children wish for that kind of life.

I have to laugh at those reviewers who seem so offended by these books! Have you actually read the originals?! These books simply take small exerpts from the originals and simplify them for a younger audience. I too absolutely loved the original books and still do. But I'm not going to be able to read them to my 3 year old without her losing interest. Therefore, I share these shorter versions with her and she loves them. When she's older (the originals are recommended for 8-12 year olds) I'll give her the originals. In the meantime these are fabulous and I very much doubt Laura Ingalls Wilder would take offense to them. Seriously, calm down!!

My favorite character is Laura. These are all great books. I have read almost all of them. I just need one more. I really REALLY like the books.
--Elora

The whole entire "My First Little House Books" series is a wonderful way to introduce little ones to the Little House series! The pictures are absolute feasts for little and big eyes alike!
This story in particular is a great illustration of how Christmases used to be. It tells and illustrates the simple joys the children would experience at Christmas time - like candy canes, mittens, and for Laura - her own precious rag doll, Charlotte!
Definately a book you will want to add to your little ones collection!

I really love the "official" Little House books. My four year-old likes me to read them a little at a time, but the illustrations are black and white, and she likes seeing the color illustrations. These books are a very good way to introduce little ones to Laura's world, get them interested, and THEN start reading the original Little House books. The people who are fussing over the books need to chill a little - these are meant to be an intro to Laura;s world, not the end-all and be-all. Y'all know that Laura Wilder would be laughing uproariously at all this fussing, btw.

Book arrived quickly and in shape described. I am very satisfied with the seller. Thanks.

Charlotte Tucker, the then future grandmother of author Laura Ingalls Wilder, is featured in this book. Charlotte, then 5 in 1812 faces her nation at war. She lives in the Boston area and resents the British blockade because of its direct impact on her life. Since many Patriots (New Englanders, citizens who have cut ties with England) have boycotted British products and businesses, many families did without certain items. Charlotte chafes at not having molassses, which was a treat brought across the Atlantic from England.

I enjoyed this personal look at a period of history and I was captivated by the Boston history. Boston is the Cradle of United States History.

I enjoyed this book. I hope to complete the collection of all books, and I am almost there.

I was terribly disappointed to find after purchasing this book as well as book 2 in the series that it is an abridged version. I wish that fact had been advertised on Amazon as I would have searched for an older complete version.

I love the series, but I and my children want the original version, not a shortened one.

Warning - you will enjoy this book, and the series will not be finished according to the author herself. Why? Here's what she had to say on her website.

"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. You will want to know how MArtha ends up and none of us will ever find out.

This a wonderful series, I enjoy it so much. Caroline, her mother and siblings struggle to live in their new home in a clearing in the woods is memorable. I also adore this new guy they introduce who graciously helps their family time and time again, Mr. Holbrook. I'm writing a book, and this man reminds me of the main character in my noval in his quiet, yet kind personality.
I'm glad I got this book for only 3.00 dollars. I got a miracle on that, considering the way the prices for this book range. I hope they republish it soon, its ridiculous how these prices go.

There is an impossible situation that uproots the Quiner family from the roots of where they once resided. It was necessary that a new area was found in order to reside in. The new area to settle was near a small town called Concord. They realized that this wasn't built up, and there were very rustic conditions in which there was no running water, no crops, etc. they had to start from scratch in all of this. They were fortunate that they got assistance from a wealthy man who lived in Concord. To find out what type of assistance this wealthy man provided, and the specifics on the comments about the welfare of the family, read this book, and you won't be disappointed.

I just finished this book, it was great! In this book Caroline and her family move from Brookfield to Concord. I love how each chapter starts telling about something new and exciting!

An enchanting depiction of the Quiner family's move after loosing thier home, through the eyes of a little girl. The story brings all the senses to life and has the reader wanting more. It is best if followed in order of the series starting with Little House in Brookville.

In this book, Mother, Caroline, and Caroline's siblings are forced to move to Concord, Wisconsin. Caroline is now a big girl of eight, and eventually nine, years old. She has opinions and ideas of her own, from arguing with a boy who owns a shanty on the Quiners' property, to coming up with solutions to save the family from a hard winter. Caroline has truly grown from that almost one-dimensional character portrayed in Little House in Brookfield to an animated, idealistic girl. I can't wait for On Top of Concord Hill to come out!

These books bring back my childhood. It's always good to be able to do that from time to time.

I found the book interesting but my 8 and 6 year old daughters - huge fans of the Laura years and most of the Rose years -- found it to be boring. Parents should be prepared to discuss some of the historical aspects of this books, such as, women's suffrage, discrimination, turn of the century working conditions, and socialism which are all reoccurring topics in the book. I was a little surprised that the case for socialism was presented without any counter arguments, especially in light of the adult Rose being so opposed to socialism. (I highly recommend Rose's The Discovery of Freedom" if you are interested in learning about her libertarian views.) I can't imagine Roger Lea MacBride (who died while this book was in rough draft) would not have offered up a character to counter the pro-socialist message. If your daughter reads this book, I suggest you also make available Rose's 1936 Saturday Evening Post article "Give Me Liberty" where she makes the case for liberty and individualism. It is an autobiographical account of how she almost became a card-carrying member of the Communist Party, but because of her experiences as an international reporter became convinced that socialism leads down the road to serfdom (See F. A. Hayek's Road to Serfdom.).

This book was rather boring and so is the next one. I think it is because roger lea macbride didn't totally write this himself. He passed away before he finished these two books.

This is definitely one of my fave books(i'm 14). I think I first read this book when I was 9 or 10, but I wasn't mature enough to really get all of it yet. Rose is definitly growing up, separating from her mother, making good and bad friends, falling in love, taking big risks and thinking about her future. Frankly she is dying to ditch her boring, ordinary life in her small Ozarks town, but she also has to decide what she is going to do about Paul, her first love, who is gone most of the time. Basically it is a coming-of-age story set in small-town turn-of-the-century America. I liked it especially for the historical value, and would recommend it to anyone who liked the Laura books, or likes historical fiction for young adults. ...

ON THE BANKS OF THE BAYOU is a delight. It is the best of all the Rose books. Rose goes to a Louisiana academy, taking up her aunt's offer. She stays with her aunt, and slowly realizies that she is for womens' rights. She crusades with her aunt to help boost voting for women, and along the way she learns Latin and learns about Lousiana with a new Cajun friend, Odette, and her huge family. It is fun and inspirational, but Rose also learns the horrible truth of slavery and segregation in full. When she eats at an ice-cream parlor under cooling fans, she watches a black girl pay at a special window and sit on a dingy chair in the blazing sun. Rose learns more than Latin, Algebra, and geography. She learns what it is to live in the world.