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Do we seriously not have a Laura Ingalls Wilder discussion on here yet? OMG, we need one.

Little House in the Big Woods--kind of boring, but it's her earliest memories.

Little House on the Prairie--same as above, but a tad more exciting.

Farmer Boy--the only one not about her life--she wrote it from the memories of her husband's childhood. I could probably take it or leave it.

On the Banks of Plum Creek--Oh, I just loved this one when I was a kid. It was definitely a favorite.

By the Shores of Silver Lake--I never enjoyed it much when I was younger, but I suspect that I'd enjoy it now, if I could get around to re-reading it!

The Long Winter--kind of long and boring, as you would expect. They were snowed in and hungry. Not much happened that I recall.

Little Town on the Prairie--this was another favorite when I was a kid!

These Happy Golden Years--I didn't love this one as a kid, but as an adult, it's absolutely my number 1 favorite. Very romantic in a loving way that makes me envious of the author!!

The First Four Years--bores me senseless. I never have liked it, and I probably never will.

So to summarize, I love On The Banks of Plum Creek, Little Town on the Prairie, and These Happy Golden Years.

Does anyone out there have any thoughts on their favorite/least favorite, or any other thoughts about the books in general??

Is it possible that your dissatisfaction with the majority of Wilder's works provides a reason why there is not a thread about her here?

I will ask my daughter, now a young adult, her opinions about these titles. I read only one of them to her when she was a child, and I enjoyed it. I believe it was Big Woods.

As a popular author, Wilder is much better than some of her contemporaries, who used very stilted prose and created melodramatic stories and scenes that were on the whole silly.

I consider Wilder a good author, one whose reputation is perhaps undervalued because her books are relegated in the children's section of bookstores and libraries. She provides valuable insights into the lives of people who lived on the prairie after the Civil War.

--StevenLW

Addendum: Did you see this?

"The autobiography of prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder, a blockbuster for the South Dakota State Historical Society Press, is expected to jump to about 145,000 copies in print by mid-summer."

More on the abcnews / AP websites (You will have to cut and paste the URL into your browser. I am too much of an untested tyro to be permitted to insert a live hyper link.)

Folks see
forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php ... lit=wilder