The Third Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge

Welcome to the third annual Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge! We hold it in February because her birthday  (February 7, 1867) and the day of her death (February 10, 1957) both occurred in February, so this seemed a fitting time to commemorate her.

Many of us grew up reading the Little House books. I don’t know if there has ever been a time when there wasn’t interest in the Little House series since it first came out. They are enjoyable as children’s books, but they are enjoyable for adults as well. It’s fascinating to explore real pioneer roots and heartening to read of the family relationships and values.

Some of Laura’s other writing has been bundled into books, as well: her newspaper columns have been compiled in Little House in the Ozarks: the Rediscovered Writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Stephen Hines, and some of her letters have been compiled in West From Home and other books (links are to my reviews).

Then, of course, there are any number of biographies and books about Laura or the Ingalls family. Let the Hurricane Roar by Laura’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, and isa fictionalized account of some of her grandparent’s experiences. The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure, Laura fan extraordinaire, is unique in that it is one woman’s attempt to capture as many “Laura moments” as she can by doing some of the activities Laura did (like churning butter) and going to some of the sites where Laura lived. I Remember Laura by Stephen W. Hines is a collection or articles and interviews of people who actually knew Laura. Those are just a few that I’ve read: there are many more out there I’d like to get to some day. I listed a few others under Books Related to Laura Ingalls Wilder, but that list is by no means exhaustive.

For the reading challenge in February, you can read anything by, about, or relating to Laura. You can read alone or with your children or a friend. You can read just one book or several throughout the month — whatever works with your schedule. If you’d like to prepare some food or crafts somehow relating to Laura or her books, that would be really neat too.

Let us know in the comments whether you’ll be participating and what you think you’d like to read this month. That way we can peek in on each other through the month and see how it’s going (that’s half the fun of a reading challenge). On Feb. 28, I’ll have another post where you can share with us links to your wrap-up post. Of course if you want to post through the month as you read, that would be great. You don’t have to have a blog to participate: you can just leave your impressions in the comments if you like. And I just may have a prize at the end of the month for one participant. 🙂

My own plans are to read The Farmer Boy about Almanzo’s childhood. I may go on to By the Shores of Silver Lake, but I haven’t decided yet – I’m participating in so many other reading challenges this year, I want to be careful to pace myself.

Feel free to grab the button for the challenge to use in your post:

<div align="center"><a href="http://wp.me/p1mPv-32b" title="Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge"><img src="https://barbaraleeharper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/liw.jpg"   alt="" width="144" height="184""" alt="Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

By the way, Carrie  chose Little House on the Prairie as her Classics Book Club selection for February to dovetail with this challenge, so if you’d like to read that book you can complete something for two challenges with one book. 🙂