Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957)

Laura Ingalls provides an account of the childhood of her future husband in this book. Similar to the first installment, it is very charming and offers a children-friendly perspective on life on a 19th-century farm, specifically a prosperous one. The narrative is filled with numerous stories, and while the plot meanders a lot, the central focus is on the theme of Almanzo's love for farm life and his work with horses.

Despite the overall appeal, I'm deducting points because of to what I would term the "procedural aspect" of the book. The detailed descriptions of food preparation and farm chores became a bit overwhelming for me. Although interspersed with charming scenes of farm life, these intricate details, at times, overshadowed the narrative's flow. People who love reading details like this will enjoy the novel even more.… (more)

This is my favorite book in this series. I love how hopeful it is. The farm is finally starting to produce and although they still have their challenges I love reading about how things are getting just a little bit easier. They now have a proper "house" with actual bedrooms. It was fun to read about how the town is starting to grow. It was bittersweet reading about Mary going away but exciting to know that now she is able to learn new things. I loved reading about all the events in town! The literaries were really fun and the birthday party. This is the period of the Little House "lifestyle" that I always fantasize about living in.
One thing that jumped out at me this time that I never really noticed before in the dozens of times I've read this book was "A grown-up person must never let feelings be shown by voice or manner." I wonder why this was. Why wasn't it okay to show any feelings, even surprise?
Another thing that just boggles my mind every time I read this book was during the school exhibition. How much more information they knew than people now. Being able to do the mental arithmetic. I'm sure there are still people that can do this in their head, but the majority of people that I know would not be able to divide 347,264 by 16 in their head.
This is a book that I really enjoy reading, even though I've read it dozens of times!… (more)

I really enjoyed my re-read of this book. I've read it many times in the past. I did find the first part quite disheartening reading of how hard it was for some of these women who didn't want to be in the west. There is something to be said for making the best of a bad situation but I can see the point of view of Mrs. Brewster as well. The monotony of day after day in a cold dreary home seeing no one but your husband and son. What a miserable place Mrs. Brewster made it for Laura.

I did find that this book moved so quickly. I would have liked to have read more about the other schools that Laura taught. The last school we don't even know how many pupils she had. It felt like so much was skipped over compared to the other books.
A really good book though.… (more)