We're reading the Little House books to our 4-year-old son, and this one has been my favorite so far. We did have to do a bit of explaining when the school teacher whipped the older boys with the bull whip, and about why kids might deceive their parents by covering up a black mark on the wall with a wallpaper scrap. We had to explain, too, why it was so important for the family to work together--the daily chores, the big projects such as planting or harvesting, getting up without complaint in the wee hours of the morning to save the tiny corn stalks from a late freeze. In this story of Almanzo's growing independence, I was reminded that chores and adult work can be something kids look forward to, a privilege instead of drudgery. I've seen a glimpse of this in our house lately as our kids eagerly pull up chairs to the counter to make our homemade bread. (And we've even started calling store-bought bread "boughten bread.")
Overall, we loved the glimpse into the incredibly busy and work-filled life of the Wilder family. That Ma Wilder puts me to shame.
4 comments:
Does "Farmer Boy" come after "Big Woods" or "Prairie"? I think my kids liked "Little House on the Prairie" and "On the Banks of Plum Creek" the best. I'll tell you what: When they are moving from Wisconsin to Kansas in the wagon, Ma has them in cleaned, ironed clothes the whole way (if one is to believe the narrative). I'm such a slacker.
The order goes "Big Woods," "Prairie," "Farmer Boy" (but about the Wilders, not the Ingallses), "Plum Creek" --and that's as far as we are. I'm actually really enjoying "Plum Creek," though the grasshoppers are freaking me out.
btw--I think someone should make a Google Map that follows their journeys. We tried to look up some maps, but all the Ingalls Wilder fan sites have crappy ones.
Oh, man, the grasshoppers! That's hard core.
I always believe everything I read about Ma Ingalls. And then I shake my head and go back to being deeply, deeply ordinary. I wish she could just move in, actually, and take over. She could be in charge of all of us. That's an excellent plan.
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