Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Read Aloud Review: Little House in the Big Woods



A few months ago we finished reading Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I don't know why I didn't think to write about it before, but I thought of it today.  Better late than never, right?

This was the second book (after The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh,  you can read my review here) that I read aloud to my three year old son.  I picked it because it is an obvious classic, it was recommended by a few of you, and I had it on my bookshelf so I didn't have to buy or borrow it.  I hate to admit that I had never read this book (or any other in the series!) before.  Am I the only one???  Because of that, I really didn't know what to expect from it.

In case you are one of the (probably) few people who have not read this book, it is essentially tales of daily life in the woods during the late 1800's.  It doesn't really have a traditional plot, but instead tells of all sorts of goings on in and around the Wilder home throughout the year.

When I first started reading it to Trevor,  I was afraid that he would not be interested in it.  It does not have all the silly story lines like those that go on in the Hundred Acre Wood that we had just finished reading about, so it took some getting used to for him.  At first we would just read a page or two, then as we progressed in the book we got to reading a half of a chapter or so per sitting.  By the end, he really had come to enjoy the characters of Laura, Ma, Pa, etc. and was ready to start the next book!  Because of how long it took us to get through the book, I decided we would read a different kind of book before going back to the next in the Little House series (I didn't want to be reading only Little House for years, as it would have taken given our current pace =)

What I enjoyed most is how much we learned from the book.  Like it says on the amazon.com review, "Readers will receive a perfectly painless history lesson, and in fact will clamor for more."  So true!  Laura Ingalls Wilder walks you through their adventures in hunting, preserving meat, making maple syrup and more.  Before reading this book I had no idea what head cheese was, but now I can say that I know =)  Thank you Ms. Wilder!

If you have not read this book aloud to your children, I highly recommend that you do!  It will give you much to talk about, especially if you are studying this time period in history.  If you have read this book, what did you think of it?  Do you have any other favorites to recommend?

Happy Reading!

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12 comments:

  1. It was one of our favorite reads as well. The whole series is fantastic, but dare I say a bit challenging for me to read through...The Long Winter tells of how they suffered. It is simply put and the children probably glossed over the whole thing, but I had such difficulty reading of their poverty and I had to literally shelf the book for a bit since I couldn't finish reading it aloud. Eventually, I did, and it was definitely worth it.

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  2. Ah, all things LIW are hugely, HUGELY popular around here. After four years, my children STILL haven't tired of them! They have learned so much, too. Thanks for reading this--it was like a little walk down memory lane for me. :-)

    I'm glad you joined in RAT this week!

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    1. I'm glad I had something to contribute =) I'm looking forward to discovering the other books in the series!

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  3. Just wanted to let you know I have you a vote over at Circle of Moms Top 25!! Good luck =-)

    Beth
    www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you so much, Beth! I was a little slow to get on the bandwagon this year, so I've only got a few votes so far...oh well =)

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  4. I am reading this book with my 4-year-old daughter right now. She loves it because she can relate to Laura. I hadn't read the book before either. We have the whole series so when we finish we will start on the next because Audrey likes it so much. It makes me want to try and make some of my own butter or cheese. Maybe your son would like the adventures of Tom Sawyer? Stopping by from TGIF Party. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Glad I'm not the only one who hadn't read it =) Tom Sawyer is a great idea! I think I have that packed in a box somewhere. Once we get moved into our new home (hopefully this month!) I'll have to try to find it.

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  5. Found your blog from True Aim. I love all the resources you share. Newest follower. Love for you to stop by and follow back when you get a chance.

    www.thenaptimereview.com

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    1. Thank you so much! I'll check out your blog right now =)

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  6. Great review! This was the first one I read with my 5 year old and I didn't think she would like it since it's not a fairytale type book, but she loved it! That's what I get for pigeon holeing what I think she will like. I had never read any of the series either so it's fun to read it with her. I had all the books but just hadn't read them. I'm dying to do Prairie Primer with her, but she's not quite there yet!

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Nicole =) I've never heard of the Prairie Prime...I'll have to look it up!

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