Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, reviewed by Meenakshi Nair

Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Reviewed by
Name: Meenakshi Nair (11 years)
School: The Shri Ram School, Phase-III, DLF City, Gurgaon


Set in the 1880s, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series about life in pioneer America, although very far away from me in both time and space, is very dear to me.

Laura Ingalls, the protagonist begins the series as a five year old who plays with rag dolls, bids adieu to the readers as wife and mother who has to worry about flour in the pantry and potatoes in the cellar.

Wilder describes vividly families, friends and the joys and sorrows of pioneer America which I discovered are no different from what we experience today! I was overcome with emotion reading about the family’s despair and resolve to meet the various challenges they faced, specially the attack on their crops by blackbirds.

Ma’s advice to Laura about how to deal with snobs is indeed timeless. I hear my parents saying similar things!

Pioneer America and Indians are inseparable; Ma and Laura’s sister Mary were scared of the Indians, while Laura and Pa were not. In fact, Laura wished to ride horses and wear clothes like the Indians.

Laura’s parents did not force her to be lady-like but she was constantly urged to not contradict or interrupt. I learnt a great deal about what life was for girls in pioneer America. It was tough!

Wilder’s books lay tattered and dog-eared in my bookshelf. Once I began reading them I enjoyed them greatly and have read them many a times.

I hope that after reading this you will visit the nearest bookstore and get the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.