My daughter, Hannah, is 6 years old now. She still can’t read on her own, but she’s enjoying increasingly complex books that we read to her. On a whim at Christmas time I tried my old copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder‘s Little House in the Big Woods. It’s the first book in the classic children’s series, and it opens when Laura is around 5 years old.
In the past three months, we have made our way through Little House on the Prairie and On the Banks of Plum Creek. Hannah received a copy of Farmer Boy for her birthday, which chronicles the childhood of Almanzo Wilder – the man who would grow up to be Laura’s husband. We started that book a couple of weeks ago.
Our current book-in-progress
I read the books as a child, but now that I’m reading them as an adult, I have a totally different perspective. Ma exhibits a lot of casual racism towards the “Indians”. Parents and teachers use corporal punishment, including beating children with whips. And adults leave toddlers in the care of 8-year-old children while they go off to town for the day. Reading the books with Hannah has opened a lot of conversations, and not all of them have been easy.
As an adult, I am also much more aware of the incredible risks that Laura’s parents take. They move their children to distant places, build on land that has been granted to native peoples under treaty, and build from literally nothing. Their hope is that the native people will be moved and they will find riches in the process, but honestly, even ignoring the fact that they’re basically trespassing, I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Can you imagine living, with three young children, in a place where it takes you two days to make it to the nearest town? Where there’s no school, or mail service, and you’re on uneasy terms with the people who live there already?
A page in Farmer Boy
But then, as if the content didn’t provide enough drama, we noticed a mistake. There was a printing error in our copy of Farmer Boy. Everything was fine up until what should have been page 247, when abruptly the story changed from chronicling Almanzo’s life in upstate New York to chronicling Laura’s life on the High Plains. For 32 pages towards the end of the book, Farmer Boy was replaced with Little House on the Prairie.
I’ve never seen a printing error like this. At first it was sort of funny, but then I realized that the book was pretty much unreadable, with multiple chapters missing. So I sent some emails, and didn’t get a lot of help. Eventually, I took another copy of Farmer Boy out of the library, but in case Hannah wants to read the books again in the future, I wanted to replace our copy. Finally, it occurred to me to use Twitter to contact the publisher, and they set me up. Social media for the win!
Page 244 of Little House and page 279 of Farmer Boy, when the story switches back
Now we will be able to continue reading the semi-fictional account of Laura’s childhood unimpeded. I will get to address Hannah’s tough questions, and I will get to wonder in bafflement how any of the adults slept at night, when things seemed so dire. And both of us will get to see that really, all things considered, we are living in the lap of luxury.
Have you read any books with your children that have raised difficult questions? And have you ever encountered a printing error like I did? Do you wish that you could get away with wearing hoop skirts in your daily life? And did you know that Laura herself is on Twitter? I’d love to hear from you!
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Twitter: Miss_Scarlett99
says:
I started reading Anne of Green Gables to Victoria when she was younger. Just at bedtime. But she liked to watch the book as you read and since there are no pictures it made it a tough sell. PLus, I was always reading in dim light and the print was tiny.
I should pick up the Little House books. I wonder if V would like them. There are so many books form my childhood I want to find
Carrie’s last post … Remembered- Sweet Cherry
I did not know that Laura was on twitter, but I am officially a follower now! Too funny!
I was so very hip as a child that I once dressed up as Laura for Halloween. Unfortunately, none of my peers had any idea what I was talking about.
Anyway, on to the point of the post, the deepest reading material I have shared with my child thus far is “Guess How Much I Love You,” but I look forward to diving into many stories and to the conversations that they spark in the years to come.
Melissa @ The New Mommy Files’s last post … Making Space for Children in an Adult World
I found that Charlotte’s Web was at times a difficult read but I can’t put my finger on exactly what it was – I think it was the blantant reference to death and how the pig was going to die at the hands of the farmer. And we are now reading Little House on the Prairie. I chose that book because I wanted my daughter to understand about how things were before industry. Before cell phones and video games. That children helped their parents, went to bed when they were told, and sometimes had nothing to do. We just read last night a thorough description of how a wooden door is made. I remember loving the television series and so far we are enjoying the book. Glad you got your book all sorted!
Since my daughter is only three the only books that have raised questions for me have been the original “Curious George” and “Babar” both of which, seen from an adult perspective, represent the worst about colonialism. Dress up animals in clothes! Trick them into leaving their environment to “civilize” them! etc etc. I’ve just barely discussed these issues since Megan really can’t understand them yet, preferring to just choose better books. I can’t wait to read the “Little House” books with her!
As for not reading and being halfway through kindergarten, I was reading whole chapter books before kindergarten. It did me no good at all and I am hell bent on ensuring that my kids don’t read too early! It just made school too easy and made the other kids think I was weird (at library time the teacher would take me over to the chapter books while the other kids got picture books), and meant that while socially I was probably behind the average 5 year old, academically I was too advanced. I wouldn’t wish that pressure on anyone – it really set me up for a whole academic “career” of extra stress to live up to!
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Oh yes, I was a big fan of that series! (On the Banks of Plum Creek was my favourite).
I also happily absorbed the “Wind in the Door” Wrinkle in Time” and “Swiftly Tilting Planet” (Quite a bit older than 6). Of course the “Narnia” series too. And more recently Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl and some other modern children’s literature. There were a lot of horse themed books that I liked too. “Black Beauty” and “King of the Wind” being my favourites, but “the Black Stallion” was good too. “The Secret Garden” and “A Little Princess” opened up a bunch of questions for me, I do remember that. And “Anne of Green Gables” was so funny and sweet that I cried a few times reading it. I guess they are classics for a reason, eh!
*pol’s last post … Do I let go or not
“Bedknobs and Broomsticks” was very different from the Disney version, I would recommend it.
*pol’s last post … Do I let go or not
@ Melissa; I dressed as Laura every day I could! Floral prints, puffy sleeves and even an apron for picture day!
*pol’s last post … Do I let go or not
Yes, Amber, we ran into “Huckleberry Finn” and “Tom Sawyer” with our son, both replete with the “n” word. I must say, I was horrified. However, it gave us lots to discuss. I did not read my children “Beautiful Joe” and “Beautiful Joe’s Paradise” as they both made me sob as a child.They might even be out of print now. Black Beauty was a bit tough, too. Some things do not travel over time very well, except as an example of how things have changed. No one screens “Ole Yeller” anymore. It would break too many tender hearts. As to corporal punishment, my grandchildren are astonished to hear about Grandpa getting the strap at school, and maybe a little fascinated, too.
However, my daughter loved the Little House books as well as the Narnia series and the Anne books, all childhood favs of mine. And my grandson has a fondness for the Enid Blyton books and the Arthur Ransome series.The latter are wonderful for children because the adults are such minor characters and because the children have such adventures.
As to the idea of the Little House books being a bit much, I grew up on the pioneer stories of my father who was raised in a similar situation in the Bella Coola valley. He was fishing on his own at 12 years old! My husband talks about using the bus in Victoria at the age of 7. Can you imagine? He and I were a lot more unsupervised than our children were.
But here’s the thing…. we all finally have to let our children loose at 17, either with a driver’s licence or by waving good-bye as they travel a distance to go to university, training or a job. Yikes. That doesn’t leave much time for them to learn or accept responsibility on their own, does it? Maybe this is why adolescence has now increased to 30 years for some. Food for thought.
Twitter: RachaelNevins
says:
The printer error is not uncommon. I’ve encountered it twice, but both times the problem was that one signature (set of 32 pp.) within the book was repeated with another one missing, instead of one signature being replaced with one from another book.
Very curious to read the Little House books again, which I imagine I will be doing within the next few years. The episode that I’ve thought about recently-ish is the one in Little House on the Prairie in which they all have malaria. When I was a little girl I had no idea how dire that was.
Be prepared for the beginning of By the Shores of Silver Lake—I vividly remember reading the beginning of that book. The narrator straightforwardly announces that Mary is blind from scarlet fever. I was totally unprepared for that—and devastated. I shut the book and had to wait a while before starting it up again.
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@ Rachael; I had the exact same reaction to Mary’s blindness!
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Twitter: fuoriborgo
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My boys (avid story listeners and now readers) were so bored by that series, that we only made it through a few chapters. I have great expectations for my daughter. The major printing error I’ve ever encountered was in my own thesis – immediately after I’d spent hours making multiple photocopies!
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Twitter: MarilynBelsham
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K has really become interested in me reading chapter books to him. I started with some old favourites and hoo doggie, I forgot a lot of the not-so-nice-stuff that happens or is said as a matter of course. I guess as a young child I didn’t notice it.
As for leaving my kids with 8-year-olds, I can’t imagine it. But when I think of what I was doing as a young child – chopping wood with an axe and making the fire daily at age 8, walking across town from school to where my mother worked at age 5, being in charge of cooking dinner and being on my own for 2 hours after school each day at age 8 – my mind is kind of blown as well. People live in different times and different reality.
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I remember loving the Little House books in my childhood, but I bet it would be very interesting to approach with my adult eyes. One of my favorite movies as a child was Sleeping Beauty, but it was nearly unwatchable as an adult feminist. I’m sure reading to my own soon-to-be child will present many eye-opening moments!
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Twitter: pomomama
says:
When I see “LIttle House on the Prairie” I always think of the credits for the tv series, watching the littlest kid fall down in the grass and waiting for the snakes to get her (cos the whole of N America is infested with rattlers if you grow up watching westerns on weekend tv programming).
The books were relatively unknown in the UK so I grew up on a steady diet of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, Lloyd Alexander, KM Peyton and so on. I still have them for my son to read when he’s ready, and we’ve discovered some new classics (Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter) together though mostly on audio book.
As for tricky questions – I think some of the what ho! antics in Enid Blyton would be un-pc these days, and the amazing depth of the Charles Addams cartoons have taken me by surprise.
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Hello Amber!
I was so excited to see this post! I have loved the LHOTP series, TV and books. I received the box set of books years ago and today they sit on the shelf in my oldest gals bedroom. I’ve attempted to start reading to her, but after the first page I became aware that I have a couple years more to wait! I’m so excited though!
I look forward to reading it from an adult perspective now too!
~kristin~
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Twitter: ladymrules
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I had forgotten about all those things that might not date so well. I loved the Little House books so much. Not sure whether the boys will take to them – perhaps I’ll start with Farmer Boy.
Lady M’s last post … Bad Parenting
You know, LIW left out a whole book’s worth of material between Plum Creek and Silver Lake because it was too sad. She didn’t want to write about how Mary went blind, or the birth and death of her two little brothers. Can hardly blame her for that!
I love the way that Almanzo is educated in Farmer Boy — lots of hands-on stuff, lots of trust from the adults. He isn’t even ten and they’re willing to give him his own horse to raise. Instead of forcing him to go to school, if he doesn’t want to go, they let him follow his interests. Sounds a lot like unschooling to me!
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Twitter: thejaninefowler
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I’m not at this point yet but it makes me think about my own mother reading the stories with me. I was a pretty good reader early on so she couldn’t change too many words or phrases without me catching on. She is very sensitive to racism and I know she would be upset coming across it. I’m sure as a child I didn’t notice the riskiness of their situation. I remember them living far from town but I also remember thinking they had no choice. Parental choices never occurred to me.
We also read a lot of Narnia, which I believe has some religious undertones. I’m yet to re-read The Secret Garden as an adult and have that one ruined for me.
I was read the entire Little House series as a child and love them. But I’m also nervous about their content when I consider reading them to my daughter. There’s actually a great article about revisiting LH through a critical lens in a 2010 edition of Brain, Child. The author does a great job of describing her own angst as she reads them to her daughters. She talks quite a bit about how awkward it was to pause and discuss the issues around race with her daughters when all they wanted was for her to keep telling them the story!
I think most of the classic children’s books and stories, in their original un-Disneyfied versions, deal with tough issues-or at least issues parents would rather delay discussing. But, I think that’s okay. Kids are smart and observant. I think encountering these books with a parent or at least having that parent attentively answer questions that arise is vital. My boys adore audiobooks that we can listen to and discuss. We have listened to or read many of the books mentioned in previous comments. Sometimes the issues are disturbing enough that my 4 year old cries, like when Charlotte dies. Or they’re unpleasant, like the parental roles in Peter Pan. But, we listen to them together and they are able to make sense of these complex issues on their own terms. I hope this gives them, in a safer space, preparation for dealing with these issues in reality.
It has been refreshing to come upon “The Trumpet of the Swan” in our listening. The way the adults treat the children with the same respect as adults made me both adore the book and trust my children with “adult” issues that are actually all-people issues.
Zoie @ TouchstoneZ’s last post … Get your butt on the mat Get your butt on the mat Get your butt on the mat
HAHA I would totally love to get away with wearing hoop skirts in real life.
I was a crazy avid reader as a kid (still am) and don’t have many memories of my parents actually reading to me – I picked up and devoured books on my own, reading them over and over again. The Little House series, Anne of Green Gables, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn among many, many others…I don’t know if I was just not very sensitive or observant, but those stories never really made me ask any questions…I feel like I had an almost inherent understanding that those things (racism, etc.) were part of the story and not the norm or OK or anything, but they were real at that time…(and interestingly enough, I did grow up to be a person who often does question those things)
I do plan to read all of those to my daughter and I actually hope she does ask the questions…not in any way that I think it will be easy to answer them, but they are things I want her to be considering.
As for leaving an 8 year old with a baby…it’s not something most of us would do here. But I was reading an interesting article recently about mothers in Sweden who leave their babies outside the store in the stroller while they shop or have coffee…and it’s totally acceptable common practice there. Laura’s parents may not have seen what they were doing in that instance as that much of a risk – it was probably just the way life was.
And just a side note…reading Farmer Boy always made me absolutely ravenous! All that amazing food description…
Twitter: AlmostTruth
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I have really started to run into this problem with my 7 year old. It is so hard to find age-appropriate books for him that he can read, or I can read to him. I think I am a little nervous too, after reading ‘The Indian in the Cupboard’ series based on my memory of them. I also have been floored by Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, Hans Christian Anderson (and other stories of that era), and Beatrix Potter. Not what I remembered…
I do think that many of these books and stories provide an opportunity for discussion, but there are some that they are just not really ready for.
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Twitter: TheParentVortex
says:
I found the Little House books much more emotional to read as an adult than when I read them as a kid. Several times I got teary and had to stop for a while! I’m still glad to read them to my daughter though, she loves the stories and I think that kids kind of gloss over a lot of the content that they aren’t ready to deal with. In any case, life itself isn’t always tidy and neat, and I often find it easier to bring up some topics when they’re introduced in a book first, like racism, death or illness.
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