Customer Reviews

The Little House Set

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I had to search a fair bit to find these books in a boxed set that included all 9 volumes, so this was a great find. The illustrations are the original ones and the books themselves, of course, are classics. The box itself is a little flimsy, not the strong corrugated cardboard that I owned as a little girl (in the '80s). My daughter (7) loved this gift though and it was a good value for the price (compared to buying separate volumes).

This set is perfect! It has all of the Laura Years books and is very reasonably priced. Items arrived in perfect condition too.

These books are written beautifully by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was enchanted with them when I was young and now as an adult I am still amazed. The books provide such insight into pioneer life in the late 1800's. The way Laura writes, makes you feel as if you are right there with her experiencing what she is. If you haven't read them yet, go for it! You won't be disappointed!!

I have been reading these books since I could read and 25 years later, I still read them yearly and now read them to my children who are 2.5 and 4 months. My 2.5 year old son is always telling me how he loves Laura and I tell him that I do too.

Excellent, wonderful, classic, enduring and endearing; these books will never go out of style. We are now starting to read the other Little House books and just love everything to do with Laura and her family. I highly recommend them to anyone, young or old, male or female.

I first read these books when I was in first grade. Since then, my copies have disintegrated because they've been read so often. As an English teacher, I'm online right now looking for a new set to use in the classroom. Of course, at 23, I still plan on reading them again myself first. This set is amazing - it combines history and great writing.

When I was a little girl in the 1970's I was a big fan of the Little House on The Prairie TV show and I was very happy when one Christmas, probably either 1974 or 1975 I received a boxset of the Little House book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder and I loved the books. I still have my books but no longer have the box they came in and the books have gotten a lot of wear and tear from many people reading them such as myself and with them being borrowed many times over the years by friends, cousins, my niece, etc but that just proves how well loved these books are. The set has 9 books which are all outstanding and are the true life stories and adventures of the real Ingalls family and written by Laura who wrote about her family, what life was like back in the mid to late 1800's etc and the books are Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, On The Banks of Plum Creek, By The Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years which introduces Laura Ingall's husband to be, Almanzo Wilder, The First Four Years which details Laura and Almanzo's married life and their daughter Rose plus there is also Farmer boy. Most of the books detail The Ingall's family from their life in their homestate of Wisconsin to their journeys to Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota and finally The Dakota Territory which is where Laura met Almanzo but there is also the book Farmer Boy which Laura wrote about Almanzo's account of his childhood on a farm in New York state. These books are great and I highly recommend them to people of all ages, but I especially recommend buying the boxset!

Heroines: varied

Travel westward in a covered wagon with the Ingalls family and experience the joys of family reunions, the daily drudgery of feeding chickens and milking cows, and the terror of tornadoes, sudden blizzards which dump yards of snow around you, and "wild" Indians who appear at your doorstep.

What worked for me:

These books just thrilled me as a child and they thrill me still as I read them aloud to my own children now. I love watching their fascination at what a struggle it was to survive in the rugged American wilderness, and can't help but smile as they absorb their first history lesson in such a painless fashion.

Size-wise Laura Ingalls was described as being round like a French pony, but she really longed to be willowy with golden curls like her older sister Mary. From the very first book we hear how five year old Laura was so disappointed with her appearance and see how she always measured herself against her sister's paler beauty.

What didn't work for me:

The only disappointment I have had with this series is that the final book is so short and lacks the warmth of the earlier novels, probably because Mrs. Wilder passed away before it was rewritten.

Overall:

Fans of historical and juvenile literature should enjoy these books. (And fans of romance should enjoy the later books when Laura meets her husband.)

Note: The series was the basis of the popular television show, "Little House on the Prairie".

Warning: The story is sweet and easygoing, but also deals with the harsh realities of life in that era. It is less than "PC" at times because it accurately depicts the general attitude towards native Americans in those days. If you are planning to read this to a youngster, be prepared for possible questions on these matters.

If you liked the "Little House" series you might also enjoy the "Anne of Green Gables" series.

I love these books. I started first by watching the television series. Then a couple of years later my mother bought me the books. I am now 35 years old and I still love to read them. I love to read about how they made things and how they just managed to survive. I believe that they were was America was built on. Just think about if one of us was suddenly dropped back in time. Could we survive? After reading these wonderful books I would like to think that I had a chance.

I read these books as a child many times. I have read them many times as an adult. I have sons and when they are older I will encourage them to read them also. It gives a child an insight at their level of what life was like years ago. My kids are already interested in the pioneer days and how things have changed. These books will really bring it to life.

I have been reading these books since I don't know how long and have been revisiting them again as I look for material to read my daughter. These are timeless wonderful novels. I remember the fascination with frontier and pioneer life of America when I was alittle girl. Reading them as an adult I am always charmed and interested in them.

Laura's writing is wonderful - it is packed with details not just of how they lived life, but how they made things - the recipes, the way they lit fires, made button lamps, beds, and everything. The writing is so vibrant and colourful it leaps off the page. It is wonderful that books are so transportable.

Of all the books the two I love best are Little House on the Prarie and On the Shores of Silver Lake. I think because they seemed the most hopeful and the most detailed (of all very very detailed books).

If you haven't read these then buy the whole set - they really are compelling reading, and for all the fuss about Harry Potter (which I enjoy immensely) I love these more, they are pure humanity.