<p>So far, very good. There are some pretty technical sections regarding weather, how these types of storms form, how one would go about being able to predict them, the technology of the day, etc. Some of it was a little too technical for me. But I’m liking how the author sets the scene by giving history of the prairies, and of particular people who moved there-where specifically they came from, what their lives were like once they arrived in America, etc. However, I sense that I’m going to get attached to these people, only to read about how they or precious loved ones perished in this particular horrific storm. Which is good writing; putting a face on a “number” puts the human element back into the event, which has long since threatened to be all about statistics.</p>
<p>Alan Garner just recently tied up the loose ends in the Weirdstone books. I haven’t read the final book yet though. His latest books are very weird, very poetic, but intriguing.</p>
<p>I loved the Alexander’s Prydain books, which got more interesting as the series went along. I particularly enjoyed Taran Wanderer as he tries out different professions trying to figure out what he should be when he grows up.</p>
<p>I liked John Christopher a lot. His Sword of the Spirits trilogy is amazing - really better and more complex than the Tripod books. I remember my brother crying because the hero/antihero was going down the wrong path. Heartbreaking.</p>
<p>^^^ And I just read Movie Shoes. mathmom recommended it on the book club thread last month. It is one of the books in the Noel Streatfeild series, starting with Ballet Shoes. Watched the Ballet Shoes movie (with Emma Watson in it) afterwards. Enjoyed the trip down memory lane.</p>
<p>Oh, I loved those “Shoes” books, although Ballet Shoes was the best, I think.
Coming late to this thread - I loved the LIW books and looked forward to sharing them with my kids. Unfortunately the Little House on th Prairie book was so full of racial stereotypes that we just skipped to the Banks of Plum Creek. (my H liked the TV series and somehow thought I was like the Laura character…must have been in her personality since I’m tall and blond and nobody would ever have called me half-pint…lol)
I had all the Trixie Beldon books, loved Pippi Longstocking. If you liked the Beverly Cleary books check out her autobiography called A Girl From Yamhill.
Did anybody else read the Bobsey Twins? I started to read them to my kids (Mom kept all our books). Yeah, no. In the first scene Nan challenges another girl to a jump-rope contest. Other girl collapses. Nan is wracked with guilt for being competitive and physically active. Kids go home and the kerchief-wrapped housekeeper talks in dialect. Ok, next author!</p>
<p>YA literature is still very good. If you want a great quick read (or a book idea for 11-14 year olds) try Wonder, by RJPalacio. About a child with a serious facial deformity and his eventual acceptance at school.</p>
<p>As a child I lived in Holland, with rather internationally and literary parents. I had a lot of ear infections and my father would peruse all new children’s literature available to divert me while ill. He gave me the dutch translation of Little House in the Woods (Het kleine huis in the grote bos) I was totally lost in it. Each new volume translated he either bough for me, or I could get it myself - in those days we had an account! in the bookstore.
I read them over and over, little Holland was so far away from the grandiose landscapes of America! I fought with my sister over who had the rights over the original hardbacks. I won and brought them over when I moved to the US at age 23.
I reread some of them when life seems to be in turmoil - it helps, it’s kind of like valium.
I tried to read the books to my daughter in english, but it never grabbed her.</p>
<p>I read a lot to my children when they were young. The toppers were the Pooh, of course, C.S.Lewis, a variety of dutch and french children’s books that I would read to them - first translating in english and then repeating it in the original language. A big topper was all Astrid Lindgren books, from Pippi to Mio my Mio.</p>
<p>I read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy over and over when I was a teenager. It was a kind of standard for my siblings and me. When I saw it was going to be filmed, I did not want my children to just have the movie version. So I read it all to them, chapter by chapter, so they could make up their own images as I did. I did see the movies, they are ok, but my sibling have always refused to watch them. Kind of a sacrilegious too them I think.</p>
<p>I have a good reading voice, accent and all. And I loved reading to my children and they loved being read to. My sister did exactly the same with her children. I am lucky that both mine turned out to be readers. Even though mine did not love Laura, I’ll keep on loving her. I had no idea that she divorced Almanzo and all this news of not visiting her mother after Pa’s death amazes me. Where did all of you get this information? I must have missed something.</p>
<p>Pippi Longstocking was always my least favorite of the Astrid Lindgen books – my favorites were Mischievous Meg and The Bill Bergson Master Detective Series. There are many references in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series to the Bill Bergson series-- Lisbeth Salander’s name is taken from a character in the series and Michael Blomkvist name is taken from the original Swedish name for Bill Bergson, Kalle Blomkvist. In fact in the first book, other jounalists call Michael Blomkvist “Kalle” to mock his investigative streak.</p>
<p>Another series I liked for the combination of fantasy and compassion were Books by Anne Lindbergh. The prisoner of Pineapple Place & the Hunky Dory Dairy, I remember.</p>
Before Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the Little House Books, she wrote Pioneer Girl, an autobiography of her life vs. the children’s fiction books that were eventually published. I have read about this book, that publishers deemed it “too dark,” as it contains some of the more unpleasant facts of life that were omitted from the later books. It also allegedly did not have the lyrical quality her fiction novels were known for. It was her first attempt at writing more than her little newspaper columns. Even though it’s been alleged that Laura’s daughter Rose Wilder Lane actually wrote much of the prose contained in the Little House books, it’s also been asserted that Rose lifted many of her mother’s anecdotes from this manuscript and injected them into her own two novels, without Laura’s permission.
Anyway, last fall I read that at last this unpublished work had been released in an annotated version, so I immediately ordered it. It was on back order forever, but it has just arrived, and to my surprise, looks to be an amazing treasure. It is a huge hardback book, with small print and copious notes, photographs, drawings, maps, etc., which I presume will either add to Laura’s narrative, or correct any errors of memory or purposeful editing Laura did in writing her story. It’s going to take a long time to make my way through this book, but as a lifelong fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder, I’m very pleased that there is still more to learn about her and her “real” life.
It’s a wonderful book. I read it a few months ago (maybe it was out of stock because the libraries got first crack at it?) and yes, it will take a while to read through it, esp if you stop to read the side notes on every page. Tons of details.
Thanks for posting about this book! A couple of years ago, when we had a never ending repair project going on here, I reread all of my kids’ Little House books. It was a great help in managing stress.
I just got my book today and it looks great. I also just found out that a man I know grew up in DeSmet and lived next to the Ingalls house. His parents knew the family. He didn’t understand why I thought it was so cool.
I actually really like the Little House books. I grew up watching the TV series, which I did enjoy despite the fact that they were a bit sissy. And totally unlike the books (like, they get stuck in Minnesota FOREVER until the later seasons - then they move to a city…) The last couple seasons were painful to watch because they got so ridiculous, but the earlier seasons were pretty good.
I couldn’t stand the TV show but I loved the books, and still reread them from time to time. I gave Little House on the Prairie to my S before he was old enough to have developed any prejudices about girl’s books vs boy’s books–luckily, he was an early reader–and I still remember him saying to me solemnly, “I’ve never read a better book.” I think he was six.
Thank you so much for posting a link to this book. I’m going to try to get it.
BTW, from the descriptions, it sounds somewhat like The Midwife’s Tale. For those who haven’t read it, I can’t recommend it too highly. Here’s a link:
One part I really liked about the later seasons of the TV show was when they added Albert. That way at least they had a boy in the show. (Besides Michael Landon, of course, who was kind of annoying at times.) Albert and Andy Garvey were good together (funny that they were actually brothers in real life). I mean, sure they weren’t in the books, but the show was so far off from the books that it scarcely mattered at that point, lol.
I liked Farmer Boy. I’ve actually read all the Rose books too, and the ones about Caroline. The Rose books weren’t as good though.
(And yes, in case you’re wondering, the TV show is why my screen name is what is.)
I loved these books as a child, and reread them with my daughter when she was very small. I think I even appreciated them more as an adult. I’m going to try to get Pioneer Girl – it sounds like a must read for a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan.
I think he was six.