Little House in the Big Woods
The reading challenge for April was to revisit a book from your childhood. It was immediately obvious that I needed to read Little House in the Big Woods,
which is one of the first books I really remember reading. It was
definitely my first favorite book. Returning to it makes it even more
obvious how much this book shaped me as a person and a reader.
Looking at my reading habits now, it probably seems strange that my early reading experiences weren't more influenced by an iconic fantasy book. The truth is that I didn't really become interested in fantasy until high school, when I wanted a more drastic escape from reality. My first love was historical fiction, particularly fiction about early America. I gobbled up the American Girl books, along with books like Naya Nuki, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. But it all began with Laura Ingalls and her little house.
This book is less of a cohesive story and more of a series of vignettes that illustrate a year in the life of a family who is mostly self-sufficient. They hunt and grow their own food, only trading for specialties like salt and fancy sugar. They make their own soap and cheese and clothing. The nearest people - nearly all blood relatives - can be visited but it typically requires a full day to travel, visit, and return home. Filtered through the memory of five-year-old Laura, this life seems far more idyllic than it probably was.
But it's that sense that latched on to my soul. Fully half of the book takes place in winter, which was probably a harsh and miserable time. Here it's presented as snug and cozy. Punctuated by celebrations of Christmas and the maple syrup dance made possible by the sugar snow, winter is a time to celebrate, relax, and enjoy the comfort of your family. There's work to do, but it's not nearly as demanding or time-consuming as the work required by warmer weather. My enduring love for winter was very likely inspired by this book.
I was also surprised to discover that this book uses the stories-within-stories format (one of my favorites) to relay information about Laura's relatives. These stories typically come with their own morals, the most frequent one being to respect your parents. But those lessons aren't shoe-horned in the way they are in Little Woman, so the book feels less preachy overall.
Going back to Little House in the Big Woods was a lot of fun. I'm a little sad that I never got as invested in the rest of the series as I did in this book, which I read over and over. From here I basically skipped ahead to The Long Winter and only returned to the stories in the middle once I was older. By that time they weren't able to hold quite the same sway over me as the first book. Knowing what I now do about Laura's father's financial struggles and the reasons for their frequent moves puts a bit of a damper on the series overall. Still, it's nice to know that I can always go back to the big woods and rose-tinted world it presents; even if I can't stay there long.
Looking at my reading habits now, it probably seems strange that my early reading experiences weren't more influenced by an iconic fantasy book. The truth is that I didn't really become interested in fantasy until high school, when I wanted a more drastic escape from reality. My first love was historical fiction, particularly fiction about early America. I gobbled up the American Girl books, along with books like Naya Nuki, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. But it all began with Laura Ingalls and her little house.
This book is less of a cohesive story and more of a series of vignettes that illustrate a year in the life of a family who is mostly self-sufficient. They hunt and grow their own food, only trading for specialties like salt and fancy sugar. They make their own soap and cheese and clothing. The nearest people - nearly all blood relatives - can be visited but it typically requires a full day to travel, visit, and return home. Filtered through the memory of five-year-old Laura, this life seems far more idyllic than it probably was.
But it's that sense that latched on to my soul. Fully half of the book takes place in winter, which was probably a harsh and miserable time. Here it's presented as snug and cozy. Punctuated by celebrations of Christmas and the maple syrup dance made possible by the sugar snow, winter is a time to celebrate, relax, and enjoy the comfort of your family. There's work to do, but it's not nearly as demanding or time-consuming as the work required by warmer weather. My enduring love for winter was very likely inspired by this book.
I was also surprised to discover that this book uses the stories-within-stories format (one of my favorites) to relay information about Laura's relatives. These stories typically come with their own morals, the most frequent one being to respect your parents. But those lessons aren't shoe-horned in the way they are in Little Woman, so the book feels less preachy overall.
Going back to Little House in the Big Woods was a lot of fun. I'm a little sad that I never got as invested in the rest of the series as I did in this book, which I read over and over. From here I basically skipped ahead to The Long Winter and only returned to the stories in the middle once I was older. By that time they weren't able to hold quite the same sway over me as the first book. Knowing what I now do about Laura's father's financial struggles and the reasons for their frequent moves puts a bit of a damper on the series overall. Still, it's nice to know that I can always go back to the big woods and rose-tinted world it presents; even if I can't stay there long.
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