Little House in the Big Woods (1932)

It's been a lifetime since I've read this book, but some wounds never heal. Nothing I can tell you will prepare you for the atrocities that occur in this isolated cabin and the depravity of it's barbaric inhabitants who force children to fashion macabre balloons from the entrails of pigs. Burn this book and bury the ashes before the evil that drips from every page infects your soul forever.

"I play with a pig's bladder like it's a balloon." - Laura Ingalls Wilder

NA

I've wanted to re-read "Big Woods" and "Prairie" and finally get to the rest of the series for a while. I'm glad I'm getting the chance now. I remember loving "Big Woods" as a child. Re-reading it as an adult I was surprised to find that it's pretty much just a collection of anecdotes about pioneer life, but that doesn't make it any less of an interesting read. The ending is still one of my absolute favorite endings of any book ever. ( )

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. ( )

[This is a review I wrote in 2007]

**An insight into what it was like to grow up in rural America over 130 years ago**

This is the autobiographical story of little Laura Ingalls, her big sister Mary, and in "Big Woods", her little baby sister Carrie. "Big Woods" is all about Laura and Mary's early childhood growing up in their log house in the woods, with Ma and Pa, near to the village of Pepin in Wisconsin.

Life isn't easy for the Ingalls family (compared to our standards today), but food is plentiful and the girls enjoy a happy caring home, learning about the skills they'll need as grown ups. The detail that the author's goes into when describing ways of life is delightful. You can really picture the girls helping Ma to make butter, and all the other things they do... which I don't like to give away. It's easy to imagine the house, the setting, Aunts, Uncles and cousins, and the story is not without moments of excitement and discovery for the two girls. The author reminds us of how even the simplest new experiences can be so exciting and full of wonder for a small child!

Even with the detailed descriptions, the writing is simple and the story flows along in a lovely engaging way. Perfect for ages 7-11... and for all the young at heart too. ( )