Little House in the Big Woods

Laura Ingalls's story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Four-year-old Laura lives in the little house with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack.
Pioneer life is sometimes hard, since the family must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her folks celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town. And every night they are safe and warm in their little house, with the happy sound of Pa's fiddle sending Laura and her sisters off to sleep.
And so begins Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved story of a pioneer girl and her family. The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America's frontier past and a heartwarming, unforgettable story. 

Little House in the Big Woods is a book about home and family. The family we almost all know through not just the amazing book series but also the beloved TV series Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983).

The main character through whom we see the story unfold is the author herself, Laura, a small child at first who depicts her upbringing in this first book. A primitive but rich life in a little house quite isolated far out in a vast forest. Laura observes (and occasionally helps) as her parents do all the things we today take for granted being able to buy. He hunts and farms and builds and crafts as she cooks and cleans and so on.

I read the series as a kid and always loved it, no matter how often I reread the books. Rereading the first again, it was hard not to go straight to the library and borrow the rest of the books. They are simple in writing I suppose, but the detail of the life is stunning. It pulls me in every time and makes me want to try this simple but rich life in so many ways we cannot imagine today. Imagine making everything simple thing you eat or wear or live in yourself. In a world spinning out of control filled with digital devices it's not hard to be attracted to simpler times.

The book is short and sweet and a never fading classic that children (and adults!) today can still enjoy.

	Little House in the Big Woods Little House #1 by Laura Ingalls Wilder ISBN13: 97887044805 238 pages / published in 1901
	Review by Iben Jakobsen, BoB, 2014