You'll read the covers off of these books...I did

I first picked up a copy of Little House in the Big Woods when I was in 3rd grade...it was my Mom's copy, a part of the boxed set she was given as a little girl. I blew through the series and when I finished it, I started right back at the beginning. My Mom and I like to joke about how I would read several books at a time when I was younger and, without fail, one of them was always a Little House book. I literally read the covers off of all those books....my Mom had to buy contact paper to cover them so they'd hold.

One of my best friends just had a baby girl and I bought this boxed set so when she is old enough, she, too, can read the covers off of her set. These books truly are timeless.

A Series to Grow With

I guess I was around 4 years old when I met Laura and her family for the first time. My mother read Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie to me. I was instantly in love with the Ingalls's adventures. Not long after, Mom bought me the box set.
By the time I was ready to grow out of the first 2 books, I could read reasonably well. This is how I grew up with these books. This is what I learned to read on.

Big Woods and Prairie are the first 2 books in this series. Laura is about age 4 thru 7. Laura shows you her home in the wild Big Woods; and where she and her sister Mary play. She tells you about how they get their food; Pa hunts for meat and Ma can cook just about anything over an open fire.
Now more and more people are settling in the Big Woods. The wild animals won't stay where so many people are, and neither will the Ingalls! They pack up their belongings in a covered wagon and head into the unknown West.
They travel from Wisconsin all the way to Kansas Territory in that wagon, camping out under the stars the whole way. The trip alone is quite an adventure! Pa finally finds the land he's been looking for, and he builds his family a home.
They spend a year of happiness in Kansas until the American Government tells Pa that he has settled there illegally. Kansas was still Indian Territory, and the Ingalls had to leave.

On the Banks of Plum Creek and By the Shores of Silver Lake are the next 2 in the series.
When the Ingalls left Kansas, they backtracked, and then went to Minnesota. The eventually settled near the town of Walnut Grove, which is where the T.V. series takes place in. It's in this town where Mary looses her vision due to an illness, and Laura really begins to grow.
Walnut Grove becomes crowded, and Pa wants to go West again. He leaves his family at home and takes a job with the railroad to the then unsettled Dakota Territory. After securing some work and finding his land, he sends for his family. He and Ma have 4 daughters now, Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Grace. They settle in Dakota right next to Silver Lake, and Pa is content to move no more.

The Long Winter and Little Town on the Prairie are years of complete change for Laura.
The family suffers miserably but heroically through a devastating winter, which reminds us that a loving, trusting family can help us through the darkest hours.In this book we get a little peek into the life of another settler snowbound in the area. His name is Almanzo Wilder.
Spring comes and the hard winter is over. Laura has come out of it grown up. She is more mature and more thoughtful, although she still manages to get herself into some innocent trouble.
Laura takes a job in town sewing shirts, where she catches the eye of Mr. Almanzo Wilder.

These Happy Golden Years and The first Four Years are the last 2 books in the series.
Laura gets a terrifying job teaching kids bigger and older than her. Almanzo is busy getting a little house built so he and Laura can marry. They court for a few years before finally having a simple wedding. The first years of marriage are not what they expected, and there were more tragedies than anything. Laura and Almanzo get through it all with a great understanding of love and friendship.


Highly recommended, you will read these books for a good part of your life.


GDE

Ahhh, now THIS is writing at its best :-)

Previous reviewers have stated it more eloquently than I, but these books are a national treasure. Modern-day writers would do well to go back and reread the Little House series; perhaps they could learn a thing or two about writing with class and timeless style. Thank heaven for you, Laura Ingalls Wilder!