Now in Minnesota, the Ingalls family once again tries to get back on their feet. Although there’s not much game here for hunting, Pa hopes the wheat crop will bring in enough money to make their dreams come true. Despite never wanting to owe anyone, he repeatedly borrows against the coming crop, building the fanciest house they’ve had yet. Their new home is within walking distance of town which means that Laura and Mary attend school for the first time, and meet the infamous Nellie Oleson.
If you’d been harboring any romantic images about the life of a farmer after reading Farmer Boy, now is the time for disillusionment. Between grasshopper plagues and dangerous blizzards, the Ingalls family has a tough time of it, despite the fancy house.
Nellie Oleson is every bit the spoiled brat I remember her to be, but she isn’t in the book all that much, which may be surprising more to adults who remember her well (maybe influenced by the television show) than it will be to young readers.
Between the floods, grasshoppers, blizzards and the appearance of more characters outside the Ingalls family, this book was a much faster and enjoyable read than Little House on the Prairie.
For those enamored of the Ingalls family’s Christmas celebrations, this book includes two. The first of which is a bit of a non-Christmas as Ma delivers a lecture on how Santa is many men (definitely worth skimming before you read with your own children, particularly if they’re still deep in the Santa myth themselves) and the girls pass up gifts of their own so that Pa can get horses. (Foreshadowing: Laura instantly falls in love with the horses.) The second Christmas involves a church visit in which the family receives charity.
Racism – A man’s face is described as “red as an Indian’s.” The ponies are described as “Indian ponies” and this is the explanation of why they would rather roam out west than plow. Ma comments that there are no “wolves or Indians howling” and she hasn’t felt so peaceful in a long time. The Ingalls family lives near Norwegians and make some jokes about how they pronounce English words. Mary warns Laura that if she doesn’t put her bonnet on she’ll be “brown as an Indian.” Laura says she wishes she were an Indian and didn’t have to wear clothes.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Pa sings a song with the lyrics “Charley likes to kiss the girls/And he can do it handy.”
Profanity – “shut up,” “darned,”
Death, Violence and Gore – Laura is bitten by leeches. Naughty children get hit by the teacher’s ruler. Nellie Oleson grabs Laura’s hair and pulls her to the ground. Laura nearly slaps Nellie. Pa travels for awhile and they do not receive word. The girls worry that a train hit him or wolves got him or a panther had leapt on him. Pa tells about children that were left in their house when their parents went to town. A blizzard came up and the children froze to death before their parents returned. These children who “froze stark stiff” are mentioned several times as the Ingalls children find themselves home alone during multiple blizzards.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – Pa smokes a pipe. He buys tobacco for it.
Frightening or Intense Things – Laura has a few close calls with drowning. Laura pokes a badger with a stick and it snarls at her. There are a lot of animals (cattle usually) that are running very quickly and dangerously. There is a grasshopper plague. There is a drought. Tumbleweeds catch fire and wheels of fire roll across the prairie
This one is my favorite of the series, though I’d be hard pressed to tell you why. I just know I read it repeatedly, unlike the others.