Little House in the Big Woods

Caleb and I recently read Little House in the Big Woods together. I wasn't sure if he was ready to sit through a chapter book, but a couple of my friends had tried with kids about his age, so I thought we'd give it a try. Although it was kind of hard for him to stay focused on a story that didn't have pictures on every page, he did seem to get a lot out of it and did a great job sitting still while I read!

I've read Little House in the Big Woods a few times, but until I read it with Caleb, I didn't realize what a perfect book it is to read with a little kid. Laura is 4, turning 5 thoughout the book and the story is very light - compared to the later Little House books. Basically the book starts off as the family is preparing for winter. The book spans a year and ends as they are getting their home snug for the next winter. It includes stories about how they made maple sugar and butchering a pig - something Caleb is very eager for us to try! Every stick he found for the next week was going to be employed in "killing a pig." It was also useful in helping Caleb understand that things have not always been like they are now - we talked a lot about how the family didn't have lights or a tv or a computer and how there was no grocery store. We looked around our kitchen and pointed out all the things Laura would not have had in her house - basically we gutted the room.

It also has several stories about kids getting into mischief - something Caleb is skilled in - and I think that helped him relate to the book even more :)

After we finished Little House in the Big Woods, we moved on to Little House on the Prairie, and we are still working on it. Although we plan to finish it, I have decided it is not as age appropriate. The family goes through a lot more trials in that book. There are a lot of wolves in the story and Caleb has a mix of terror and fascination about wolves, so he likes them, but they sort of scare him too. The other problem with it is that there are a lot of references to Indians and it's hard to explain to Caleb that no one calls them Indians anymore and that they aren't bad - even though the story tells about them stealing things from the Ingalls. While the Big Woods story details all that had to be done in a year's time, the Prairie story is more about how they started life over from scratch. It is fascinating to read how Pa build the log house. For a time, the family did without a door - using a quilt to cover the opening. Eventually Pa makes a door. I asked Caleb, what would we do if we needed a new door? Without hesitation he said, "Go to Home Depot!" :) How times change!