GKCfan wrote:I suggest that you look around for some of the books and articles about what Wilder left out of her books. It's very interesting and adds to the story, making the story more complex.
GKCfan -- would you be able to elaborate? I am interested in what other resources you may be referring to ... Definitely interested in learning what she held back.
Also, I found on a news thread somewhere that her diaries are about to be published, perhaps containing some of this material.
Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography hit the shelves a few months ago and sold out rather quickly. I think it was a surprise at how popular it was. Of course, I am behind and have not yet picked up a copy but I have heard many good things about it.
I cannot speak for GKCfan, but they may be referring to the book The Ghost in the Little House by William Holtz. In it, the author states that LIW's books were far more edited by her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, than we were led to believe. I have not read the book, but being a huge LIW fan I have heard the controversy in regards to this. Many people people that RWL actually wrote more of the Little House books than LIW did. I have actually seen people argue about this on Little House forums. It is probably something that will never truly be settled.
LIW herself categorized her books as historical fiction, and I know that she leaves out several things in her book that may surprise people. For instance, baby Carrie was not actually born during the Little House in the Big Woods book. LIW had never intended to write more than the first book and she wanted to include her baby sister in it, so she added Carrie. Carrie was not born until they were in Kansas, I believe.
Also, during The Long Winter another couple lived with the Ingalls family in their house in town and that is also something that LIW leaves out.
I have also heard some controversy in regards to how they paid for Mary to go to the Blind School in Iowa. The Ingalls family did not need to pay for her actual schooling and room/board, as it was covered for them through the government. However, the Ingalls family did need to pay for Mary's travel expenses as well as her clothing for the several years that she attended. But many feel that LIW intentionally left that out as a way to portray the family's struggle of raising money to send Mary to school.
These are just some of the controversies I have read about in regards to the Little House books. It doesn't stop me from loving them or LIW. And now I have officially outed myself as a huge LH dork, and I am okay with that!
I vaguely remember reading all of these with my mom when I was a little girl, but I barely remember them now. I keep meaning to reread them. I don't have kids to read them with, but that's never stopped me from rereading childhood favorites before - in fact, I reread Anne of Green Gables once every two years or so. I remember loving the Little House movie and television series as well, and I even had paper dolls of the characters I played with until they were bent and tattered. I'm going to have to bump this series up higher in the queue!
I was obsessed with the Little House books as a kid, and to this day my favorite book of all time is "These Happy Golden Years". It is just a beautiful love story, I read it about once a year. "On the Banks of Plumb Creek" is also a good one.
I also love the series and "These Happy Golden Years" is a terrific book! I am going to have to go find the Pioneer Book mentioned - I knew there was a lot more left out, especially parts that the author felt would not be appropriate for a children's book (for example, the baby brother that was born and died between "Plum Creek" and "Silver Lake") and am glad to hear that they came out with a book about it. Also I had forgotten about the other books that went back in time. I'll have to go find those as well!
Yeah, there was no mention of Mary's going blind either. In one book she could see, in the next book she couldn't. The reader was never taken into how that happened, or what that was like. It was also between those two books--that must've been a very difficult time for the family, losing an infant son and Mary's going blind.
I read these books as a child. I actually have the whole set. These were one of the books that I could read over and over again. I preferred to read more about when Laura and Mary were younger because I think I enjoyed reading about their traveling adventures. Classics!
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I loved Farmer Boy. I started reading it with my daughter and then ended up reading it by myself because I thought it was such a great read. I live near Amish country and often think of the book when I see a young boy working out in the fields.
Loved all of these! Little Town on the Prairie was probably my favorite. I am fixing to start reading the series with my children. They are really timeless!
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