These Happy Golden Years (Little House) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Garth Williams (Illustrator) "Sunday afternoon was clear, and the snow-covered prairie sparkled in the sunshine..." (more)
Key Phrases: brown poplin, claim shanty, buggy top, Uncle Tom, Mary Power, Miss Bell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

For the first time in the history of the Little House books, this new edition features Garth Williams’ interior art in vibrant, full color, as well as a beautifully redesigned cover.

Fifteen-year-old Laura lives apart from her family for the first time, teaching school in a claim shanty twelve miles from home. She is very homesick, but keeps at it so that she can help pay for her sister Mary's tuition at the college for the blind. During school vacations Laura has fun with her singing lessons, going on sleigh rides, and best of all, helping Almanzo Wilder drive his new buggy. Friendship soon turns to love for Laura and Almanzo in the romantic conclusion of this Little House book.

From the Back Cover

Laura has started teaching and she is forced to live away from home for the first time. Only one thing gets her through the lonely weeks—every weekend, Almanzo Wilder takes Laura home to visit her family. But Almanzo’s not the only one who’s interested …

Based on the real adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, THESE HAPPY GOLDEN YEARS is the 9th book in the award-winning Little House series. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060581875
• ISBN-13: 978-0060581879
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,770 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #3 in	Books > Children's Books > Educational > Citizenship
  #25 in	Books > Children's Books > Series > Historical > Little House
  #26 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( W ) > Wilder, Laura Ingalls

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The last book in the series published before her death., June 30, 1999

By	R. D. Allison ([e-mail]) (Gainesville, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: These Happy Golden Years (Little House) (Paperback)

This book, which was a 1944 Newbery Honor Book (that is, a runner-up to the Medal winner), continues the autobiography of Mrs. Wilders (1867-1957) through the years 1883 to 1885 when the author was 15 to 18 years old. It begins immediately after the events described in "Little Town on the Prairie"; she immediately begins her career as a school teacher in a very small schoolhouse about twelve miles to the south of De Smet, South Dakota (although South Dakota doesn't become a state until 1889). Through experimentation, practice, and management, she becomes a good school teacher and is able to keep up with her own studies. And, at the same time, earn enough money to help keep her sister Mary in a college for the blind in Iowa. Almanzo Wilder (1857-1949) continues to court her and drives her home each weekend in a horse-drawn sleigh. As time goes by their friendship turns to love and they are married and Laura goes off to Almanzo's homestead to have her own little house on the prairie. Throughout the book, the author continues to include details of frontier/homesteader life that brings that part of our history to life and shows how people worked hard to overcome difficulties, never giving up. In my opinion, this is the best written of all of the books in the series. It also shows the love that Laura and Almanzo truly had for each other.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Laura is Growing Up!, September 8, 2001

By	V. VanCamp "lovesbookslovesmusic" (Ithaca, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: These Happy Golden Years (Little House) (Paperback)

'These Happy Golden Years' is an excellent book. One of the best in the Little House series. Laura is growing up and life for her is getting very interesting.

The book starts off rough for Laura. In order to make money for Mary's schooling, Laura is going away from home for the first time to teach school. She is staying with a family that has a very bitter wife who is not exactly friendly!

When Laura finally returns home she is happy to go back to school, but she is eager to earn more money. So, she helps the town dressmaker on Saturdays.

Mary is coming home for summer and Laura is so excited! The only problem is that she is staying with the dressmaker and her daughter out on their claim. Will Laura be able to go home and see Mary!?

As the book progresses Almonzo Wilder becomes even more a part of Laura's life. It is so sweet to read these two getting closer and more interested. Laura even helps Almonzo break some horses!

This book is interesting and sweet and the ending is wonderful! Pick it up today!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring yet sad, January 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: These Happy Golden Years (Little House) (Hardcover)

I read this series in my early teens. I enjoyed the latter books more because as Laura ages the language advances, so I found the earlier books (especially Little House) boring (but appreciated later). However, the latter books are still my favorite. I found Happy Golden Years sad because at the time I thought that was all I would ever know about Laura's life, that the rest would be a mystery, but I later found The First Four Years and then biographies as well as her own writings depicting events in her adult life (I especially like Little House in the Ozarks). But even though I now know that Laura went on to have a long and happy life (not without hardship), the Happy Golden Years is still sad. This series focused on this wonderful tight-knit family that experienced joy as well as heartache, and now the family is breaking up. It started when Mary left for college in Little Town on the Prairie. She is missed but when she returns for a visit there's the beginning of the realization for Laura that this life she's had, this family she loves, will change and she will eventually leave. It's something she is not comfortable with- it is hard for her to imagine doing anything other than remaining single and staying with her family, teaching school, but as the book progresses so does her realization of change, which becomes acceptance and hope. I love the writing style- it is simple and honest like the lives of the characters. I couldn't help but feel the joy that Laura felt to be at home with her family, the dread with which she faced her first teaching assignment. The warmth on the weekends contrasting with the chill away from home at that horrible teaching assignment. And who is it that is responsible for giving her the respite from that awful place- Almanzo, who first comes to take her home but who ends up taking her away for good. She goes from not giving Almanzo much thought to missing him terribly when he goes East to visit family, so much so that her family, who were her greatest joy and comfort, are little consolation. It seems that most coming-of-age stories these days are cynical and family is usually considered a burden to free oneself from, but this story is not like that at all. I found this book inspiring. Laura is able to have an independent mind and spirit and stay devoted to what matters in her life: family, faith, a strong work ethic, perseverence. The book Little House in the Ozarks is a compilation of articles Laura wrote for a newspaper column, and I see that the qualities of independence, perseverence, and devotion endured throughout her life, so I am reassured that Happy Golden Years was not the end, but in a way it was, and that's why this book is sad.