On Reading the Little House Series

A few months ago I discovered my city's public library had copies of the 1970s TV series Little House on the Prairie on DVD.  I LOVED that show as a kid.  It was a big family event in our household when we all gathered around the TV in the living room to watch each week's episode.  It was one of the few happy moments I spent with my family growing up, so the series holds very special memories for me.

As I slowly made my way through all nine seasons of the show I started to think about the books it was based upon.  Something I hadn't given much thought to as a child.  I remember in about fourth grade reading the book, from which the TV series took it's name, and having to write a book report on it.  At the time I hated doing book reports and I hated the book.  It was long, and boring, and nothing like the show I was sitting down to watch on TV week to week.  So I thought it was probably high time I rediscovered this series because it's a classic and I'm a bit of a book snob about reading and appreciating the classics.

Well the TV show still had little to do with the books, save for the main characters and a few incidents in the real life of Laura Ingalls and family.

                                               (the real Laura Ingalls Wilder)


And it took me a while to get into the books.  I kept waiting for Nelly Oleson and Laura to break out into a cat fight, or Mr. Oleson to give a rather inspired zinger in reply to Mrs. Oleson's latest rant, or Mr. Edwards to come singing down the wagon road.  These characters do show up in the books, but very briefly as the Ingalls family moved around a lot more in real life than they ever did in the TV show.  Still, the family values remained, and the historical details were far more fascinating to grown up me, than they had ever been to fourth grader me.  But to be perfectly honest, I didn't really start absolutely loving the series until the last three or so books when Laura is older, a young woman with a budding romance with one Almanzo Wilder.  But that's just the romantic in me showing it's preference in reading material.

If you never read this series, or did once upon a time in your childhood, why not pick them up and visit or revisit them again?  They are definitely reading time well spent.

Till next time, happy reading!
L :)