Little House books

[homestead jenna]

I was really lucky to have found the entire box set of the Little House books at a yard sale. Re-reading them as an adult a few times has been enlightening. And no - it wasn't all sweetness and light...babies died, hard winters, bad crop years....they had stress too! But, by god, I'd rather that then the stress of capricious job insecurity, dealing with people with bad manners (or way worse), and feeling like a cog in some money machine for the very rich. I think the feeling of being grossly and patently manipulated is about the worst thing this century has to offer.

Not to hijack but...If you get a chance and can find it on DVD (maybe your library has it - that's where I got it to view) - try to view the Colonial House PBS series. I think you'd like it judging by your post. Talk about life being pared down to the essentials. There's a bit of 21st century stuff to wade through during it - but it's really a good study. You can see more about it here http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/

 

[Beekissed]

I think the feeling of being grossly and patently manipulated is about the worst thing this century has to offer.

YOu hit the nail on the head!!! Yes! Like mindless sheep being herded in just the direction they want us to go. The government, the schools, the media, the manufacturers....all of them. Just like that old saying goes, "If you think you are free, try not paying your taxes." The illusion of freedom is quickly fading and we seem trapped in a box of our own making, as we follow the norm, the accepted, what is supposed to be the "intelligent" choice.

 

[curly_kate]

Speaking of bad manners, I'm now reading Banks of Plum Creek, where Nellie Oleson is introduced. Guess kids have been being spoiled for centuries! Also in this story, Pa buys a bunch of wood on credit to build their house. He's counting on the wheat harvest to pay it all off. I know how that turns out.... Pretty clear example of why you should stay away from credit.

HJ - I totally agree with the different types of stresses. I'd rather deal with the capriciousness of mother nature than the faceless, giant corporation I work for! They keep talking about the "bigness" and quiet of the prairie. I wonder how many places there are like that that are left....

 

[newchickwi]

I reread the series as an adult this past fall, looking at it with a more critical eye than I did as a 9 or 10 year old . One of things that I found interesting, besides how they made use of EVERYTHING, was that, as time went on, Pa was constantly chasing the dream of a better life--the constant moving, looking for bigger and better. Ma, putting up with only so much (she draws the line on moving to Oregon Territory), was really wanting to be in or near town. (I had remembered them as a much more rosy set of parents.) And the children learning to put up with and deal with anything WITHOUT complaining--I can't imagine my kiddos in The Long Winter starving, freezing, and tying stalks of grass together for fuel!

 

[Beekissed]

They probably would fall over in a dead faint if they saw today's kids....very few chores, sitting around whining about being bored, every gadget known to man in their rooms, and glued to the TV!

My kids get the eyes to rollin' when I start talking about all the work I did as a youngster, as opposed to their chores. They always finish with..."and it was up hill both ways in hip deep snow!"...yada, yada, yada....

 

[homestead jenna]

I think the feeling of being grossly and patently manipulated is about the worst thing this century has to offer.

YOu hit the nail on the head!!! Yes! Like mindless sheep being herded in just the direction they want us to go. The government, the schools, the media, the manufacturers....all of them. Just like that old saying goes, "If you think you are free, try not paying your taxes." The illusion of freedom is quickly fading and we seem trapped in a box of our own making, as we follow the norm, the accepted, what is supposed to be the "intelligent" choice.

THIS is why The Matrix is my favorite movie of all time.... (I really should go start another thread, but my granddaughter will be in here a few for the night....)

 

[me&thegals]

Farmer Boy was my favorite and inspired me to explore other foods for livestock. They saved all their bean vines with pods on them, pumpkins, winter squash, etc. to feed to their cows and horses in the winter time.

I loved how they described, in detail, each meal and how much detail was included in their seasonal harvesting and choring, exactly how they built things and how they stored things. So informative for just a children's book, don't you think?

The way they describe it, they were working on something all the time, every season....but they had full-to-bursting larders and barns with all the harvest. A very industrious family with chores even for the youngest family member.

I loved it!!!

I must have missed this thread the first time around!

I was looking for a book for my son. I was hoping for something to inspire him to a great attitude of helping out around the house, farm and gardens. Something interesting, nonfiction (he doesn't like fiction) and with a really great family in it. Plus, with times getting tough, I was excited for all of us to read about a family who had to pull hard together to make it.

Drum roll..... Farmer Boy!

He wasn't interested, so I started reading a chapter at supper each night to the family. It started with a bit of eye rolling on his part, until I got him to understand this was nonfiction, a real story, a real boy.

I'm telling you, that Almanzo works so hard that my son may be developing a better attitude toward the few things expected of him He IS a bit miffed, though, that Almanzo gets to eat about a dozen each of donuts and cookies every day. Just the food scenes get me drooling. And, my kids are absolutely enthralled with the story

It is a wonderful book. If you have young kids, it's really neat for them to draw the parallels between their own SS lives and those of Almanzo and his family.

 

[Beekissed]

All my boys loved that book and read it once again in their teens. I think they are fascinated with the "big boy" chores this kid accomplished and was entrusted to do. Not that they had any desire to emulate him at all....they just liked the story!

 

[Henrietta23]

We just finished it a week or so ago. I'd read it as a kid many times and my son loved it. He wants to go to the Wilder homestead on vacation this summer! We just might.

 

[muddacluff]

I loved The Long Winter! Another series that I really enjoyed was Little Britches by Ralph Moody. Kind of along the same lines, only a little boy's perspective. Loved them!