The eighth book in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s treasured Little House series, and the recipient of a Newbery Honor—now available as an ebook! This digital version features Garth Williams’s classic illustrations, which appear in vibrant full color on a full-color device and in rich black-and-white on all other devices.Fifteen-year-old Laura lives apart from her family for the first time, teaching … first time, teaching school in a claim shanty twelve miles from home. She is very homesick, but she knows that her earnings can help pay for her sister Mary’s tuition at the college for the blind. Only one thing gets her through the lonely weeks—every weekend, Almanzo Wilder arrives at the school to take Laura home for a visit. Friendship soon turns to love for Laura and Almanzo.
The nine Little House books are inspired by Laura’s own childhood and have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America’s frontier history and as heartwarming, unforgettable stories.
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all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books were my constant companion when i was younger, and i still re read them all sometimes to this very day. She is the supreme story teller, she literally takes you into her world of the 1860’s, and you want to stay there forever.
In this penultimate book of the Little House Series, Laura finally gets to teach school. But life with the family she is staying with is far from pleasant. As she wonders how she will live there for the few months she is teaching the school, her answer comes in the form of Almanzo Wilder, who braved the icy winter weather to return her to her family every weekend.
Once the term is over, Laura keeps riding with Almanzo in his sleigh, and she begins to realize that he might have feelings for her. Though she is initially reluctant to accept his affections, as the years roll by, she begins to harbor feelings for him as well. Is there romance in the air? Will Laura accept Almanzo and become his wife, or will she remain with her family?
With Mary away at the college for the blind, Laura teaching school and becoming more independent, and Carrie and Grace growing older, Laura begins to realize that her family is changing. There is so much heart in this book, and I love seeing Laura teaching for her own life. There is sorrow and joy in this book as Laura takes the next steps in her life as a young woman.
If you enjoyed reading about Laura as a little girl in the Big Woods, in Indian Territory, and on the prairie, you will love reading about her life as she becomes a woman. I would recommend this for older children who can grasp the concepts of growing older and things changing. There are more mature themes in this book, which fit as she is growing up. With the same heartfelt love of family and a new nostalgia for old times, Laura begins to find her place in the world.
Laura’s teaching years, when Almanzo courts her by taking her to and from her teaching job, although she’s not ready for courtship yet. You can tell that Pa certainly approves of him, and in time Laura chooses him over her beloved family home.
Laura Ingalls Wilder knows how to write between the lines like no one else I know. She tells a simple story that is really far more complex, making it available to a child, yet food for thought for adults.
The beauty of her life is not that everything worked out so well, but rather that so many things were so hard, terrifying even, and yet she endured through love and patience, much like her mother and father before her. When I look for real-life inspiration, Laura is a true friend. Her story enlightens as well as entertains.
This is probably my favorite of the Little House books, simply because I’m a hopeless romantic. 😉 It’s both a coming of age and a historical romance.
Favorite quotes:
“She had not known before that it takes two to make a smile.”
“Maybe everything comes out all right, if you keep on trying. Anyway, you have to keep on trying; nothing will come out right if you don’t.”
“She had heard that said, [sic] but had not realized what it meant. A bump on the log does not fight anyone, but it cannot be budged.”
From my favorite books as a girl. Just wonderful.
This series of books represents my youth. I wanted to be Laura. I read them all so many times, I probably could have recited them out loud.