PLEASE READ THIS ONE:
This is a incredible writing by DDUSTYROSE PLEASE Read this. I loved it!!! You will, too.

Since this is my personal entry into the write-off hosted by "ME"... Are We All The Same? I decided I should include some biographical data to help you understand my decision for writing on Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Boxed Set. Laura (played by Melissa Gilbert in the television series), who's books were essentially auto-biographical in their revelations, was a writer I could identify with completely. Not only was she a tomboy (like me), she loved to read (like me) and she hated Nellie Olsen (like me). She called her father (played by Michael Landon in the television series) Pa, as I called my two grandfathers (Bud Arrowood and John Shepherd) "Pa". Like me, she adored her "Pa". I adored both my Pa (BUD) Arrowood [Birthday: OCTOBER 11th - died in 1990] and my Pa (JOHN) Shepherd [Birthday: SEPTEMBER 16th - died in 1998]. They were my heros, as "Pa" was Laura Ingalls Wilder's hero.

There were so many things about Laura that I could identify with in her stories, so much so that I could easily escape the world when engrossed in one of her Little House books. She was so much like me, in fact, that I would never forget these childhood tales and would continue to think of her name as some think of the name "Elvis" or "Nascar" or "Ford". Laura Ingalls Wilder was the icon from my childhood and I honestly believe that she provided my first spark of a driving passion that leads me to write and write and write. I write without fear of being judged or condemned. I write honestly and from my heart. I write because it feels like I MUST write to be ME. I don't expect to ever come close to writing as impressively as this wonderful icon I have cherished as a inspiration for so long. But I do believe she impressed upon me the first inkling of my love affair with ink. Thus, my review of her Little House Boxed Set, which I sincerely believe would be a wonderful gift for any little girl (or boy) who is interested in delving into the amazing world of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The Little House Boxed set includes Nine Paperback volumes from Laura Ingalls Wilder's writings for children. These books are all beautifully illustrated by Garth Williams and I must encourage anyone who has a little girl (or boy - who may be surprised upon reading at how much they enjoy these books) that they would like to tempt into reading more to either purchase this set or visit their local library with the intent of checking these out. I sincerely believe that, despite their age, most young readers will still find these stories, both the characters and plots, worthy ventures in childhood reading. These books are timeless classics with the ability to endure throughout the ages.

A few others that come to mind when comparing Laura Ingalls Wilder's tales to those of other writers are Louisa May Alcott's Little Women Series, Where The Red Fern Grows and National Velvet, to name a few. There are many timeless stories for children, but these are a few of the ones that I can't imagine any child coming away from without being effected in a positive way. And, I don't believe any child should come away from their childhood without experiencing these enchanting tales. None of these books are preachy or pretentious. They are simplistic, yet capable of giving a child the chance to peek into a world they can never experience themselves because of the changes in our modern world. These stories are filled with lessons that the child reader won't even realize they are learning. They will be so captivated by the tale itself that they're unlikely to associate these stories or their characters as teachers, but they each have so much to teach any child.

This Set of Little House Books includes Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, Farmer Boy, On The Banks of Plum Creek, By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years and The First Four Years. In my opinion, the books should be read in the order they are written to help the reader to understand the next volume in the series. Even if you aren't a child, I believe you will enjoy reading the Little House Set.

Adults are not immune to these captivating creations written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. If you're an adult and want the chance to be taken back to the innocent simplicity and purity of childhood, you will undoubtedly find yourself enthusiastically turning the pages of these enchanting stories. I could never imagine anyone, child or adult, who could read any of these books without feeling a morsel of delight. Laura Ingalls Wilder KNEW how to WRITE a great story and her tales are perfect additions to any child's library or any adult's library of timeless literature. If you want to give a child a great gift, this is one gift that will, needless to say, outlast the latest video game or movie. This is something that is a little like oatmeal... simple, yet capable of sustaining your appetite with real nutrition. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Boxed Set is real NUTRITION.

The Little House Boxed Set Book Descriptions:

Little House In The Big Woods (1st in the Series): Laura, along with sisters - Mary and Carrie, live with "Pa" and "Ma" Ingalls in their little house or "cabin" in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. The story is set in the late 1870's. Among the pages, readers will discover the essentials of what life during this time was really like. This story is exciting and enjoyable to read. Yet, the book is a easy read that will give the child a chance to experience various true to life activities that were normal in everyday life during this era. Little House in the Big Woods is filled with understandable and informative details about a historical lifetime that will keep it's reader turning the pages with a enthusiasm only the best tales can aspire to. This book is approximately 256 pages of exceptional reading for child and adult alike.

Little House On The Prairie (2nd in the Series): When "Pa" and "Ma" sell their little log house "in the Big Woods" and move from Wisconsin to Kansas (by covered wagon), Pa builds the Ingall's a new "little house on the prairie". This story shares more details of farm life and the title of the related television series, "Little House on the Prairie". Once again, Laura Ingalls Wilder uses simple life experience to provide her reader with delicious insights into a world that most of us can never experience without the use of a history book or historical writing. While the reader is entertained with these true to life tales, Laura Ingalls Wilder displays her greatest talent for story telling with these keen and memorable details of her life events. This one is approximately 352 pages and will leave it's reader completely satisfied with every page turned.

Farmer Boy (3rd in the Series): This one, I believe, is one of the books that reveals just how amazingly talented Laura Ingalls Wilder was in creatively relating her stories. This is the tale of her husband, Almanzo Wilder's, childhood story. She has taken Almanzo's childhood on a farm in New York and captured it in detail with her 3rd addition to this incredible series of stories. In my opinion, the ability to creatively detail another's insights and interior proves beyond any doubt that Laura Ingalls Wilder was destined to be the writer she was. It takes a much deeper motivation and perception to tell someone elses story than the one you have experienced yourself. Farmer Boy is, undoubtedly, a gift for the man she loved so intensely that she spent her life with him. Farmer Boy is approximately 384 pages of engrossing details and insights into the childhood life of Laura Ingalls Wilder's husband, Almanzo.

On The Banks Of Plum Creek (4th in the Series): Laura Ingalls Wilder's family, once again, moves from their little house on the prairie to Minnesota, where they make their home in a sod house beside the banks of Plum Creek until Pa builds the family a new house. This fourth in the Little House series, once again, reveals the hardships and intricate details of life in another time. The tale, as do all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, inspires children to reconsider the simple possession of sharing their happiness and their heartaches with their family. It is a reminder that love is the most meaningful possession any of us have to offer or accept. On The Banks of Plum Creek provides readers with approximately 352 pages of in-depth historical facts and family ties that will keep anyone (child or adult) turning pages with a passionate destination, the next glimpse into the life and times of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

By The Shores Of Silver Lake (5th in the Series): The series that journals the extraordinary childhood of Laura Ingalls Wilder continues when her family moves, once again, from the banks of Plum Creek to Dakota Territory, where "Pa" works on the railroad. The family claims a large homestead in this growing wilderness country and, again, Pa builds his family a new house. In the same style as the others in the Little House Series, Laura writes about her families most intimate experiences and details the events that are life changing and history making. She devotes this story to the facing hardships and the essential needs that most of us take for granted in modern day society. By The Shores of Silver Lake will conclude the childhood of Laura Ingalls Wilder with approximately 304 pages of thought-provoking and creative details on life in this historical time.

The Long Winter (6th in the Series): Devoted to the long winter of 1880-1881, this is the book that introduces Almanzo Wilder into Laura Ingall's life. In The Long Winter, Laura describes the hardships of the Ingall's families first winter in Dakota Territory, along with morsels of insight into what it might have been like to have faced a blizzard without the necessary provisions, including heat. The story, as all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories tend to, will keep the reader engrossed in a time that they can never partake in other than through the pages of Laura's deeply effective writings. As always, this writer fills the reader with insights and inspirations that are always layered between the pages of anything Laura Ingalls Wilder has written. This story is approximately 352 pages of classic literature for children and worthy of any reader's (child or adult) time allowance for engrossing themselves within the pages of a great story.

Little Town On The Prairie (7th in the Series): Finally, Spring has come to the little town and it's people who have withstood the Long Winter and Laura Ingalls Wilder is on the verge of falling in love with her husband-to-be, Almanzo Wilder. This is the story that portrays Laura's movement from child to woman and engrosses the reader with her wondrous experience with Almanzo Wilder. In a sense, this book reveals the way it "should" be when a couple fall in love. It shares the sense of our ancestor's naivete and the innocence of a love that is expected to and will last beyond the first kiss or first date. This reminds the reader, especially the adult reader, just how much our world has changed since those wonderfully simple times shared within the pages of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books. Little Town on the Prairie provides it's reader with approximately 320 pages of insight and delight.

These Happy Golden Years (8th in the Series): In this story, Laura Ingalls Wilder discovers what life is like apart from her family. For the first time in her young life, she is living away from home and she is definitely homesick. But, by earning money teaching, Laura is helping to pay for her blind sister, Mary's tuition at a college for the blind. Her beginnings of love with Almanzo Wilder are even more prominent in these title and it becomes obvious that Almanzo Wilder is the man Laura Ingalls Wilder holds in her heart and will eventually marry. These Happy Golden Years is approximately 304 pages worth of substantial revelations that will touch the heart and inspire any reader to keep reading Laura Ingalls Wilder as faithfully as they might pursue the love she discovers with Almanzo Wilder.

The First Four Years (9th in the Series): Ending up the series of Laura Ingalls Wilder incredible journey is The First Four Years, which describe the life of newlyweds, Laura and Almanzo, the wondrous excitement of their beginning their life together and the amazing miracle of the birth of their daughter, Rose. In this book, the reader is taken through the trials and troubles that many young couples are well aware of facing. The two young people are determined and clearly in love, though. And, those two combined are enough to keep them filled with joy, hope, faith and a love that never fails. This last book in the series will leave you yearning for more with it's approximately 304 pages of delightful insights and thought provoking details.

About the Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder began writing her classic "Little House" series in 1932 without ever imagining the level her stories would attain. These books have been published in 40 languages and have delighted readers and television viewers of the Little House Series throughout the world. These are classic tales in every sense of the word and I believe everyone (young or old) should take a chance and read at least one of these exceptional books. During my research for this review I discovered various sites where readers might find some exceptionally unique material on Laura Ingalls Wilder. These sites provide generalized information on Laura Ingalls Wilder Museums, Parks, Memorial Societies, Home-Museum and much more: For a variety of information related to this writer, you might find it beneficial to visit www.lauraingallswilder.com - www.almanzowilderfarm.com - hoover.archives.gov/LIW/index.html. Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in 1867in the little log cabin described in her first book, Little House In The Big Woods. I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder without ever meeting the woman. Does that mean it is truly possible to touch hearts deeply without actually touching them physically? Of course it does. Don't each of us, in some ways, keep visiting this very site for just that reason?

Thank you for reading this entry to my Are We All The Same? Write Off and this Happy Birthday to my two PA'S [Pa Arrowood's birthday is today, October 11th] [Pa Shepherd's birthday was September 16th] I had no trouble remembering either of their birthdays and I have no way of forgetting the wondrous ways they effected my overall outlook on life. They were and are still loved. These two beloved men will be remembered as long as I live.

I wanted to NOTE* that the photo used in Epinion's Database shows a 7 box set, although the ISBN # for this same item is for a 9 book box set. Epinions has the wrong photo, but the correct ISBN Number.

Thanks for reading -
(C)2005 faithforever

PS: I hope you will let me know, by adding the URL to your own review into the ARE WE ALL THE SAME? Write-Off on the comments section of the page I've invited your submission to this one. If I have enough entries, I will do my best to list them on the front of the page, also. And, once again - Thanks for reading and sharing your writing talents with this reader!


©2005 faithforever

Other Inspirational Books I've Reviewed include:

The Language of Prayer: A Blue Mountain Arts Collection
The Battle Belongs to the Lord: Overcoming Life's Struggles Through Worship
90 Minutes In Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth
Inspiring Words From the Psalms for Women: Reflections on God's Gift of Inner Beauty, Peace, and Happiness
God is Always Watching over You: An Inspirational Reminder of God's Constant Presence in Our Lives
The Language of Recovery: A Blue Mountain Arts Collection
FOR CHILDREN: Little House Books
Think Positive Thoughts Every Day: Words to Inspire a Brighter Outlook on Life
You're Just Like A Sister To Me - Blue Mountain Arts Anthology
Keep Believing in Yourself and Your Special Dreams: Words to Motivate and Inspire Your Dreams

Recommended: Yes