Little House on the Prairie Series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Part 2

This week I managed to finish off the rest of the Little House series. My opinion of all the characters changed as I continued along. It's very interesting but I do believe that my favorite character of the series is Carrie -- who I was specifically named for. My mom read this series when she was in 6th grade, liked the name, and decided if she ever had girl she'd name her Carrie. So here I am! And I am VASTLY disappointed, btw, that we don't find out what happens to the rest of the Ingalls family by the last book. SERIOUSLY put out.

By the Shores of Silver Lake is certainly not my favorite. I may not rank it number 9 on my list of likes/dislikes but I didn't really go for the environment that Pa took the family to live in. It was obviously a scary situation for Ma and her girls to be brought out to live with ruffians. You definitely get a feel for Ma's Victorian instincts in the way she reacts to the settlement. It seems that in the later half of this book series Ma is having to work harder to make sure that her girls grow into proper young women out in the wilds of the Dakota territory. I would imagine that just about any woman would be sympathetic to Ma's plight. Her daughters, without her care and guidance, would have been far less genteel. At the same time, she almost comes across as a pussy footer which was annoying.

The Long Winter had to be my favorite book in the later half of the series. You know that the family is going to make it through all the blizzards and harshness of winter -- but you really start to wonder exactly how that was going to happen. Yet survive they did. At this point in the books I'm thinking Ma is incredibly admirable for never complaining. At the same time I almost think its a little overboard to refuse to let children complain - ever. I understand the point but that seems a bit legalistic to me. At any rate, I thought the way that the family pulled together and helped one another out was very inspiring and beautiful to hear about.

Little Town on the Prairie. Hmm. Probably the least memorable for me. Nothing really stands out as being extremely interesting, excepting Nellie Olsen, of course. This is the book in which I really started to like Carrie. Before she just struck me as the spoiled baby but in this book she really grows up and starts to become an equal to Laura. I enjoyed her even though she did not receive as much attention as I would have liked.

These Happy Golden Years made me dislike Mary (for not wanting to come home on vacation that one summer!) and really dislike Ma. Ma just seemed to harp on so much about what it meant to be a lady. It was related in such a way that you would wonder how Laura was really managing life with her. Ma was understood but I think she tried too hard to be too perfect. No one IS perfect and in their striving to be so, their flaws become more evident. Better to be honest and real about things then to pretend All Things are All Right All the Time. That's just not reality and it was almost like she was fighting against it always -- which in a way, she was! The interesting character in this book was Laura's border, Mrs. Brewster. Just when you are thinking that Ma is striving for perfection, enter Mrs. Brewster who gives her husband the what-for for dragging her out west. A most unhappy character indeed. It makes you grateful for Ma's efforts to remark only on the positive and to avoid focusing on the negative. Mrs. Brewster does a lot for keeping the whole picture in perspective! I was as happy to get back to the Ingalls home as Laura was.

The other thing of note in this particular book is, of course, Almanzo and Laura's courtship. She mentions it, talks about it and yet says absolutely nothing whatsoever about their relationship! I was wondering if "proper Victorian custom" is not to say A WORD to the person that you are courting. They just didn't SPEAK! Laura did not seem to ask questions about his whereabouts, actions, beliefs, hopes, dreams, etc. The only inkling you get about her true thoughts on their relationship is in the next book and even that is weird. I don't know if she was what type of legacy she was trying to leave to Rose in these stories but These Happy Golden Years explains positively nothing about her marriage or why she wanted to enter into it.

Despite the peaceful illustration on the cover of this book, it contains nothing of a peaceful scene. It is in this book that you discover Laura did address the issue of Manly's life occupation with him during their courtship. She did not want him to be a farmer. She wanted an easier life than the one that she grew up with. Now, I find this book positively curious. It almost speaks against all of the other works. When she was young she thrived on adventure and working and flitting about. But it as if once she married she really understood the struggles and didn't want a repeat with Manly. Yet repetition is exactly what she got. I did NOT like Almanzo by the end of this book (series). The amount of debt that he brought upon them, etc., was just too much. Their life was hard but. . . . despite all of this Laura did seem happy. Passionate about her marriage? No. Not at all. But content in what she knew? Yes. When Mary questioned Laura over whether or not she really wanted to marry "that Wilder boy" Laura responded, "We seem to belong together." Like something comfortable and known. It doesn't really seem to be anyone's right to question. Somehow it worked.

On the whole I really liked this series. I definitely enjoyed the first half of the Little House series more than the second half.

I ended up liking Pa & Carrie best, Almanzo least and I have to confess that I do not really understand Laura well enough to say whether I liked her or didn't. I liked her young self. Not sure about the elder self. I'll have to think about it.

In the meantime, thanks for your comments on the review of this series (Part I) earlier! I'll be curious to know if you can add anything to the Ingalls history that would summarize things for me nicely.

Friends of the Library Booksale

This year I was smart. I took $30 cash in and nothing else. This would make sure that I would not over spend and add to our already very large book collection. How did I fare? I picked up:

1. The Indispensable Calvin & Hobbes Treasure (heh...I couldn't resist for $1!);
2. The Vienna Prelude, by Bodie Thoene which I've never read a bit of although it was much heralded by all my friends growing up;
3. All-of-a-King Family Uptown, by Sydney Taylor;
4. Old Mother West Wind, by Thornton Burgess (which I almost paid $6 for the other day at a local used book store and now I'm glad I didn't);
5. The Beginners Bible;
6. The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden;
7. Ribsy, by Beverly Cleary;
8. Holes, by Louis Sachar (because I loved it so much as a Bookfest read);
9. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsbury (which I'm very curious about);
10. The Boxcar Children #1, by Gertrude Chandler Warner;
11. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic, by Betty MacDonald;
12. Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne (which I hope isn't packed away in a box somewhere already);
13. Five Little Peppers Midway, by Margaret Sidney;
14. Thale's Folly, by Dorothy Gilman;
15. Animal Poems, by Meg Rutherford;
16. My Life and Hard Times, by James Thurber;
17. Flap Your Wings, by P.D. Eastman;
18. Cowboy Bunnies, by Christine Loomis;
19. Onstage & Backstage at the Night Owl Theatre, by Ann Hayes;
20. The Many Adventures of Robin Hood, by Howard Pyle; and
21. The Complete Humorous Sketches and Tales of Mark Twain, by who else?

And how much money did I walk out with?

$0.00

Little House on the Prairie Series, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Part I

I have never read the Little House on the Prairie series and I finally decided it was high time I did. Quite frankly, I'm very glad that I have waited until now to do so. The stories are far more interesting to me, I think, because we are currently in the process of building a log home to live in ourselves. That makes certain aspects of these stories a bit more applicable and meaningful. I was surprised by other interesting tidbits that I ran across as I worked my way through. Today I have read as far as On the Banks of Plum Creek. I anticipate finishing this series in the coming week, and I'll post my thoughts on the later half of the books then.

Of course all things start in that Little House in the Big Woods. So far this was the least memorable tale for me. Sure, it sets the series up and tells you where they came from and why. Quite frankly, I don't understand Pa and I likely never will. The family was warm and cozy and surrounded by friends and family. Pa felt the need to go adventuring though and that lead them out of the Big Woods eventually. I suppose I should be grateful for people like him who were willing to leave the life of "comfort" that they knew and strike out to explore new territory. Living on the West Coast myself, I am grateful. I just wouldn't have done it, lemme tell ya!

Little House on the Prairie is certainly the most popular title in the series and I have to confess that I do not really know why. I'm frankly surprised that it receives the notoriety that it does in today's society. Why, you ask? Ma's dislike/distrust of the Indians. Now, grant it, Laura is just relating the general feeling of the population of the time towards Indians. They were not understood, their land was being invaded and the white man (in this case, Pa) didn't seem to care. I thought Pa had an interesting perspective of expecting the government to just give him the land that the Indians lived on. I'm not going to state my opinion about this one way or another. History is history in this case. I'm just a wee bit surprised that this book is promoted so heavily. Sure, it does explain life on the Prairie.

I liked this book VERY much from the standpoint of building a log home. Pa announced he found a spot for them to live on the Kansas prairie and I thought to myself, "But yeah....where are the supplies for the house coming?" Turns out Pa had to spend days hauling logs from the creek bed and then he had to put the thing together for himself (and Ma had to help - bleh!). Nowadays you just "order" a "kit" and a log home company comes with crane and stacks your house for you. It's much easier and way more romantic NOW than it was back THEN! On a personal note, here's a picture of our house in progress:



Next up, of course, is Farmer Boy, which breaks up the tale of the Ingalls family and gives us a peek at Almanzo's childhood. His family was much more wealthy than the Ingalls. Of course, they were also well established on the East Coast where goods were more readily accessible and you didn't have to work quite so hard as the pioneers did. For my personality, were I living in that time frame, I would have stayed on the East Coast. I'm too wimpy for great explorations and the sacrifice of a good bed. Heh. I like Almanzo's character so I'm already happy about the fact that he and Laura marry. The most interesting thing in this book is that, without the slightest mention of God's involvement in their lives, He was. (Well, He IS.)

Laura relates the story of the night when Almanzo's father sold two of his horses for two hundred dollars. Unable to make it to the bank, they had to keep the money in the house, which worried Almanzo's mother something awful. Although she was anti-dog, it "just so happened" that a stray dog appeared on their doorstep and was befriended by the children that same night that the money was in the house. Buglars had attempted to come and steal the money but were chased away by this stray dog. The next morning the dog was gone but footprints were found on the property. A God-thing? I think so. See, even if you don't recognize that God is active in this world and even in your life -- it is a truth. He protects His people for a reason and a purpose -- whether they choose to acknowledge it or not. How many times in my life have I not been aware of His care for me? I'm thankful for it nevertheless. It's stories like the stray dog that drive the point home sometimes.

Lastly (for this week) is On the Banks of Plum Creek. This book made me like Pa even less. I know he had good excuses for having to leave the family to go find work. I guess I'm just disappointed that up to this point he's been incredibly resourceful and unwilling to be "beholden" to anyone. In this book he's banking on wheat that hasn't been grown and throws his family into debt which results in him having to leave them for months at a time to go find work elsewhere. It's just a sad situation, really. If I were Ma, I'd be a bit put out with him. Especially when he failed to heed her advice about going to town when a blizzard could have been on its way (which it was) and resulted him stumbling about in the snow until he found shelter.

Pa always has a good outlook on life -- but I think he would have been an EXASPERATING person to know! I like steady and I think Ma did too. Pa doesn't strike me as steady enough. But then, that's probably why the west was settled. It's those crazy adventure people who are able to smile against the odds that frequently make things happen.

The last thing I'd note about this book, and the second most memorable thing, is the grasshoppers. Can anyway say "EWWW" louder than myself? The swarm of grasshoppers was just downright disgusting. There's no getting around it. It's hard to believe that would happen outside of the plagues of Egypt when locusts swarmed the earth but....I cannot image living through something like that.

I really am enjoying this series and am anxiously ready to hop off onto the next book. So here endeth Part I of this review.

Stay tuned for more . . .

WHAT the . . . . !??!?!?!?!!?!?!?

Before Green Gables, by Budge Wilson.

What!? Why!? WHY do we have to do this?!

I can't say what I really want to say because this is a polite blog. So I'll have to remain (mostly) speechless.

Let me just say that there was only ONE Lucy Maud Montgomery and while I agree that she didn't write enough (20 novels, 12 short story collections, 2 books of poetry and 1 piece of non-fiction I haven't been able to get my hands on) we should NOT try to "make up" the difference. If she didn't bother to say it about her own characters then it is quite better left unsaid.

WHY!? WHY?! WHY?!?!

Edge of Eternity, by Randy Alcorn

I just finished this book. Now I'm sitting back in my chair staring at it, wondering what to say. My fingers are clicking the keys and I really don't know what words are going to come out. I'm listening to Chris Rice's song Missin' You. It came on "coincidentally" just as I sat down to type. I hit repeat on the music to hear the song again.

I heard about the day You went away
You said You had to go prepare a place
And even though I’ve never seen Your face
I’m missin’ You
I lie awake tonight and I watch the sky
And I wish it didn’t have to be so high
‘Cause I’m belonging on the other side
And I’m missin’ You

‘Cause somewhere behind those stars
Is Someone who belongs to me
And I know in my deepest heart
There’s a place for You until I find the place You made for me
But still I’m missin’ You

I dream about Your promise to return
And I wake up hangin’ on Your every word
But for now my feet are planted here on earth
So I’m missin’ You
And even while they say that I’m a fool
I know you see me waiting here for You
Oh, and prayin’ that somehow You’ll get here soon
‘Cause I’m missin’ You

‘Cause somewhere behind those stars
Is Someone who belongs to me
And I know in my deepest heart
There’s a place for You until I find the place You made for me
But still I’m missin’ You

How much longer will it be
Till I get to see you
Though I know you’re right here with me
Tell me when can I be there with you

‘Cause somewhere behind those stars
Is Someone who belongs to me
And I know in my deepest heart
There’s a place for You until I find the place You made for me
But still I’m missin’ You

Oh, I’m missin’ You
Lord, I’m missin’ You

What if you had a chance, here on earth, to see your life as it really is? By that I mean, what if you had a chance to view your life the same way God does? Each day we are given opportunity to choose Heaven or Hell. Each choice we make effects our life and our behavior. Each event pushes us close to the edge of one or both.

Life is a battle that goes beyond the cartoon of the devil perched on one shoulder and an angel on the other. Both sides - both forces - are whispering our ears. One is mean and gruesome, the other patient. Both are violent in their passion. Neither one is avoidable or willing to concede defeat. The difference between the two is that one acknowledges victory and the other side pretends it.

Alcorn does a marvelous job telling the story of businessman Nick Seagrave who is battling his own hell. Edge of Eternity is a modern day retelling of Pilgrim's Progress and, I think, to this modern audience, far more applicable. It's definitely adult in nature. Whereas you can read Pilgrim's Progress to the youngest of children, I'd hold back Edge of Eternity for a few years yet.

I don't really know what to say about this book, quite frankly. Alcorn's style speaks to me. I really appreciate his work. He makes life a little bit more clear through his writing.

I like this book just like I like his others. It's both meaningful and gripping. I think he's the only author who has the ability to make me truly long for Heaven. Don't misunderstand. I'm glad that's where I'm headed but Alcorn has the ability to paint such a picture that I'd be willing to go NOW. That is, I'd go now if it weren't for my family. =) Heaven is going to surpass Alcorn's representations but I thank him for the taste of it all the same.

This book cannot come more highly recommended by this blog poster. Because I appreciate Alcorn and his ministry so very much, this is one book that I would say to go and buy it brand new. Usually I try to find books used but not Alcorn's. To buy the book new is to support the author and I'm all for that in this instance.

For more information about Alcorn you can visit his website at: www.epm.org or click here to visit Eternal Perspective Ministries.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

I really wasn't sure whether or not I'd like this book and sort of had a hard time working my way through it. Tom Sawyer was rather a mischievous boy and a bit too troublesome for my tastes. On the one hand, his "innocence" in creating trouble was almost Anne-like (Montgomery) in nature. On the other hand, you spent most of the time wanting to give him a really good spanking. He sort of reminded me of a boy I grew up with who was bent on making trouble but still had enough charm about him to keep him out of it. Mostly. Publicly anyway.

Tom is confusing. He's likable and frustrating at the same time. He doesn't think and most certainly doesn't care enough about his bad behavior to change it for the benefit of those around him. He lacks respect for his elders and is outright disobedient when he is told to do something that he doesn't want to do. However, Twain wrote the character so well that you can totally believe that Tom didn't actually mean to be bad -- he just was. So I spent a great deal of the book smiling through his shenanigans.

I think that makes Twain a great author -- or at least in my book (pardon the pun)! He made me like an unlikeable. I don't go for kids who lack self discipline. However, I liked Tom in a cute sort of way. Certainly if he were my child I would have a great deal more to say about the things he said an did. But being that he is not, I can merely roll my eyes and try to understand that "boys will be boys" -- even though its frustrating (and even though I hate that statement as a general rule).

I'm very glad to have finished this book and I'm really not sure that I wanted to go on and read more about Huckleberry Finn. Then again I'm curious. It's all a vicious cycle of likes and dislikes, I tell ya!
Phooey on Mark Twain.

Those which I cannot live without

I decided to keep track of which children's books I feel our family NEEDS to own on The Master List blog.

If you are a friend or relation that is interested in purchasing children's books for us -- here's a list. The only reason I created it is because we really are starting to overflow and the book piles are starting to actually bother the neat portion of my personality.

Time to scale back and be specific! This is my small effort. =)