The First Four Years

The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder

A rather lengthy introduction in my copy informs us that this is printed pretty much from a draft by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  It was published well after her death, and therefore never had the benefit of her own revisions, and as such it differs in some ways from the prior books.  The difference in tone and content may bother some readers, who would prefer to stop after These Happy Golden Years.

The beginning will immediately be difficult for some readers to follow as Laura switches to calling Almanzo Manly.  It also takes place before she’s married, so it in fact overlaps with These Happy Golden Years.

An awful lot of the book talks about how much debt they are in, which is sort of nerve-wracking to me as an adult, but is likely to be either boring or confusing to children.

Racism – A stereotypical picture of Indians is included. The Indians speak broken English.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – There’s a wedding.  He holds her hand. An Indian asks Laura to be his “squaw.” Laura is dizzy and faints often and is told by the doctor that she will have a baby. Laura has the baby, her Ma and another woman are there, and then the other woman says to call for a doctor. Laura is put to sleep for the birth and when she wakes up is handed her baby. Laura is pregnant a second time. It does not say this. It refers to a “familiar sickness” and her being bothered by smells, so you’d have to completely infer it. Laura has a second baby.
Profanity –”darned,”
Death, Violence and Gore – They have to butcher pigs. Indians “went on the warpath” and sometimes threaten railroad camps. Laura slaps an Indian. A man freezes to death on the prairie. Cattle are smothered and frozen to death in a blizzard. Men who find them are skinning them. A man is hit on the head with a hailstone and is knocked unconscious for a few minutes. Manly has a gun for hunting. He accidentally gives himself a bloody nose by not paying attention when aiming it. Two more men freeze to death in a haystack. Laura’s second baby dies.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – None.
Frightening or Intense Things – Manly is caught outside in a blizzard and nearly misses the house (heading out to the prairie to freeze). In a totally weird, awkward and kind of horrible twist, the Boasts (who have been friends since the Silver Lake days) ask Laura and Manly if they can keep baby Rose. Obviously Laura and Manly say no, but the whole situation is awful. Their dog Shep just wanders off and leaves one day. Laura and Manly catch diphtheria. Manly ends up having a stroke. There’s a worry that wolves will get into the sheep pens. There is a prairie fire that burns houses and barns. There is a tornado. A fire burns their house and destroys almost everything they own.