This classic by Laura Ingalls Wilder revolves around Laura, her parents and her sisters during their stay in Indian Territory during the early 1870's. While not autobiographical, the story is based on incidences in Laura's life as are all of the books she wrote for the tween age group.
Unlike moving today when one purchases a house, packs up and moves in, Laura's family had to build their home, make some of their furniture and all their belongings were packed in the small wagon they traveled in for hundreds of miles. After being stuck in a wagon for months, with nothing but prairie to look at most of the time, the family moves to a tent of sorts while Pa cuts and trims trees, notches them and starts building a house. There are no friends to play with, no school or extracurriculars nearby for the girls to interact with.
Despite what we might consider hardships, Laura and Mary, her older sister, enjoy a wonderful life full of open prairies, helping with chores, picking wild flowers and playing with each other. With the closest neighbors several miles away, Laura and Mary with their dog, Jack do just about everything together. Not all the times are good, though. The family all falls ill at one point, Ma injures her ankle badly while helping Pa raise the walls of the house, and there are Indian scares from the Natives who travel the land.
Tweens today often can not relate to life without television, MP3 players, iPods, DVRs, and everything on demand. Yet this story and the others in the series continue to draw readers of all ages. Geared specifically to the tween age group- 8 to 11 year old girls, the books help expand an understanding of a historical era through a genre of fiction.
These books are highly recommended for all readers regardless of age. Most adults these days read the books as children and re-reading them will bring back some wonderful memories of a time gone by.
Age range- 8 to 11
Wilder, L.I. Little house on the prairie.
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