Little House in the Big Woods: Back to a time where life is different

Title: Little House in the Big Woods
Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Illustrator: Garth Williams
Age Range: 5-12 (content-wise appropriate for young ages, reading level is a bit harder)
Genre: Autobiography

I had to put my foot down one day, when my oldest daughter continued to read only the Rainbow Fairy books.  Fortunately for me, the library was finally out of them (everyone else's child is reading them) so I had a reprieve as my daughter stomped around the house saying, she had nothing to read.  I quickly scanned my bookshelf (the one I use for teaching) and found my old copy of Little House in the Big Woods.  I handed it to her and said, "This was one of mommy's absolute favorite books growing up."

She looked at it, opened it up, studied the words, got stuck on one of the first words "Wisconsin" but looked intrigued.  I explained to her that it was a book about a time before cars, before cities, before email, computer, TV, DVD, telephones, cell phones and libraries.  Her eyes got bigger, and I think I got her attention.  I explained that she would be reading about a time and place more than 100 years ago.  The next comment was something like " older like you" and as she read the book, at one point she came downstairs and asked me if I had had TV growing up.  Hmph.

I have a habit of asking each child after they read a book, "Can you tell me what the book is about?" or "What does the main character of the book have to do?" and have my kids give me their answers.  As my daughter was way into the Rainbow Fairies, she was very used to a cut and dry plot summary.  She could give it to me in five sentences, stating the problem, the attempt at a solution and the resolution.  It was easy for her. With this book, she looked up, and said, "Mommy, I'm not so sure what this book is about."  I asked her, "You don't understand the words?" and she said, "No I understand.  I just can't explain."  I knew immediately that she was struggling with figuring out WHAT the story was...the plot if you will.  Since this book is primarily autobiographical, it really is just a collection of sweet stories and experiences of Laura as a child.  I explained to my daughter, "This book is really about a young girl growing up in a time totally different than ours. That is what this story is about."  Her eyes lit up and she looked happy to know that there was a way to explain the story, just not the way she had been conditioned to after the darn Rainbow Fairies.

I really encourage you, if your child is not yet a strong reader, this is a lovely book to read aloud to your daughter.  The stories of family, spending time together and working together to make a living is one that is wonderful and truly heartwarming.  Exposing children to a life different from the one they are living is also a valuable experience that makes for lots of interesting conversations, like the one where my daughter asked, "Where did Laura go to the bathroom?"

I really prefer this version of the book as the illustrations are so wonderful in color.  Garth Williams did the original illustrations and they add immensely to the stories told in the book.


This is a set of the first five of the books in color, but there are nine books in all.  The remaining 4 also exist in color.  I bought these for my girls, as it is a book worth having on the bookshelf.


#6


#7


#8


#9

All Creatures Great and Small: The Joys and Trials of being a Vet

Title: All Creatures Great and Small
Author: James Herriot
Age Range: 12+
Genre: Autobiography

Growing up, my mom had this book, along with the sequels, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, and The Lord God Made Them All, on a bookshelf in the family room.  It was in a boxed set, and up on a higher shelf.  My brother and I, based on the covers, weren't all that interested and so it stayed up there.  However, both my brother and I were very strong readers as children, and at one point, I think when my brother was about 10 years old, he picked it up and started reading it.

And I have this distinct recollection of him in his tight polo shirt and tight Op shorts, lying on the sofa reading this book and giggling.  He later tried to convince me to like it, but for whatever reason I COULD NOT get past the cover.  He assured me over and over I would like it, and when I asked him what it was about, he told me it was about a veterinarian.

Mind you, i'm not that interested in animals.  Our family had a dog when I was much older in life, and I think I might have wanted a dog at some point but I am not an animal lover in terms of wanting to be around them all the time.  So why in the world would a book such as this, appeal to me?

My brother, smart man that he is, turned out to be right.  On a day when I just couldn't find anything to read, I picked the book up.  Brother was already on the third or fourth of the series, which mean the first one could be read by me.  I picked it up and was immediately engrossed in a world so foreign to me - in Yorkshire, England, countryside, post WWII, reading about a man who was newly out of veterinary school, trying to get a job with a practice.

The stories - things like delivery a cow, fixing a prolapsed uterus, helping a spoiled pampered dog fix his glands, horses that need to have their shoes fixed - the whole set of them are told my a master storyteller.  His words, his humor, his total sense of the shape of a story make for for a great read.  Each chapter is filled with interesting pictures of the people who hire him (like REALLY ornery men who don't to trust "modern" veterinary medicine) juxtaposed against self-deprecating moments of personal humiliation and shame. 

This is a great book for all to read - about a different time and place, a different life, a different lifestyle,but it is absolutely a wonderful read.  It's not just for animal lovers, but it is for people who love a great story.