Laura Ingalls Wilder Books

By Kyle Heironimus
Friday, April 09, 2004

I'm currently reading these with the children and Beth. We all love them. We read them once before a few years ago and loved them then too. I highly recommend reading them with your children.

My favorite is Farmer Boy, which describes the life of Almonzo Wilder as a boy. He later grows up to marry Laura. Any father (or mother) of a boy needs to read this with their son. It ranks as one of my all-time favorite books. After reading this, I have started thinking of more chores for my boys to do. Too many children, mine included, don't have enough worthwhile things to do.

We are currently reading the last "real" one called These Happy Golden Years. There is one more called The First Four Years, but it was just written as a manuscript by Laura and never properly finished. It has a totally different feel and a poorer writing style than the rest. We will probably read it to finish out the series, but it is a poor ending to a great series. Update 5/3/04: Actually, after finishing, it was not as bad as I first remembered. It is a good book, but a little depressing and a little less "magical" than the rest. It is definitely worth reading, though.

As a parent, these books got me thinking about lots of different things. It has definitely brought a yearning for a simpler life to both me and my wife.