by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illus. by Garth Williams

HarperCollins Publishers, 1994 (originally published 1932)

Image from publisher

The Ingalls family lives in a small cabin on the edge of the forest. Laura is only four,  and while she is too young for some tasks, she helps her family to the best of her ability through the whole year. She is the middle child, between her older sister Mary and baby Carrie.  Living so far from town means that the Ingalls family must be almost self-sufficient, and Wilder provides many details about how they stay fed and comfortable in their cabin in the wilderness. In fact, it is the rich description of the family’s activities that makes the story such a fascinating trip into the past. The warmth of the Ingalls family practically radiates off of the page. Particularly joyful are the descriptions of Pa’s fiddling by the fire. The stories Pa tells the girls are set apart by their titles, and are entertaining but also moralistic. Williams’ sketches, which led Wilder to remark that she “and her folks live again in these pictures” (jacket flap), truly do animate the characters in a way that makes them feel alive. Williams captures emotion perfectly, and his detailed and well-researched drawings help set the scenes. 

(This review was originally submitted to my Materials for Children class)