Little House on the Prairie (Paperback)

by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Author), Garth Williams (Illustrator) "ALONG TIME AGO, when all the grandfathers and grandmothers of today were little boys and little girls or very small babies, or perhaps not even..." (more)
Key Phrases: wagon bows, prairie hens, creek bottoms, Baby Carrie, Santa Claus, High Prairie (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Sequel to Little House in the Big Woods, and true story of the author's own childhood, and of the days when her father, feeling that civilization was coming too fast to the Big Woods, uprooted his little family and took them, via covered wagon, to Kansas. Good Americana - and a first rate tale. Personally, I liked it certainly as well, perhaps better than the other. (Kirkus Reviews) --Kirkus Reviews --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
Going West

The promise of a new life on the Western frontier beckons Laura Ingalls and her family as they make the long journey across unsettled territory. The vast Kansas prairie is beautiful, but holds hidden dangers as well. The Osage Indians want the settlers to leave the land, and the wild wolves and hungry panthers threaten the Ingalls family. Faced with danger and uncertainty, Laura's family must decide if the pioneer life is right for them.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1 edition (April 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060522372
• ISBN-13: 978-0060522377
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,923,878 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life on the Frontier, April 7, 2004

By	Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Little House on the Prairie (Paperback)

Pa Ingalls is tired of how crowded the big woods are getting. So he decides to sell the house and move west with his family. Just before the ice breaks, the family loads up their wagon and heads out. They cross the Mississippi River and then head south, settling two days away from Independence, Missouri. Now they have to build a new house and survive the wilderness. Meanwhile, Laura is anxious to see a papoose. And with all the Indians in the area, she may get her chance.

This is a charming book. It's almost a collection of short stories with many chapters being a self-contained event. Still, through these pages, we get a good picture of life on the American frontier 130 years ago. The book gives plenty of detail about their everyday life without getting bogged down. And it is interesting. Frankly, some of the chapters are so harrowing I felt my pulse quicken. Often I found myself shaking my head in awe at what the Ingalls dealt with on a daily basis. This is a good way to make anyone appreciate just what we have today.

These books are still popular 70 years after they were first written for good reason. They are an entertaining and enlightening look at a bygone era.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest books I've ever read., May 24, 2001

By	ty7777 "I don't give out m'name" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little House on the Prairie (Paperback)

In my opinion: This may be a children's book, but it's just as good if not better for adults. The writing is simple but not insulting. The story itself is captivating. The occurences between the settlers and the American Indians were really amazing. All through the eyes of a little girl.

Laura Wilder had an amazing gift to tell stories and to make an accurate picture of the time she grew up in and of what she thought and felt as a girl. This is not like the show in many respects though. If you only want to read about the exact characters and stories from the show, this may surprise you. Mr. Edwards is not in here much and you won't see characters like Albert or Mr. Oleson in this book. As they live on the prairie, there is no school or store, only a few neighbors a few miles away. Also Indians which only actually show up now and then.

Again it is a story about hard work and family sticking together. Superior to the first book in that you already know alot of the mundane [though very interesting]details of their daily life, and the characters. Now it is full of story. The interactions with wild life alone are astounding as taken for fact. They are not just the amusing tid bits from the first book, but quite dangerous and spellbinding ones.

Fantastic book for anybody. The whole series is great.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laura Ingalls Wilder is an American treasure., May 3, 2002

By	"bluemamma" (San Luis Obispo, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little House on the Prairie (Paperback)

I've recently started reading the Little House books to my seven-year-old daughter and I'm thrilled to discover that I love them just as much now as I did when I was her age. There are a lot of reasons for that. Laura Ingalls Wilder was a wonderful writer. She's simple and always crystal clear, but at the same time, she uses so much detail and has such a great sense of the rhythm of language that her writing is beautifully poetic and always a joy to read aloud. And the characters, of course, are among the most beautifully drawn characters in literature: the feisty Laura who has such a hard time doing what she's supposed to do, her frustratingly perfect sister Mary, her strict but kind parents. Even the animals in the book come across as interesting characters. No matter how tired I am in the evening, I always look forward to getting out Little House and reading a chapter or two.

Those were the things I loved about it as a child, and still love now. But as an adult I've also come to appreciate how quintessentially American this book is. It's the kind of book that makes you think about our heritage, and makes you proud to be American. In these books, Laura and her family keep facing hardships and meeting them head on. When necessary, they pick themselves up and move on to a new place, starting from scratch. They don't expect anything from anybody, and yet they care about their community and their neighbors. You often hear the words "pioneer spirit" used to describe America's best values, but after you read Little House that's not an empty phrase. You, and the child you read it to, understand it in your heart.