Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aerie and I read this several years ago. It was one of our first book club parties in AF, so it was five years ago (when she was six years old). She was sure that Daddy would hollow out a tree in the back yard to make a smoke house for our snacks. She loved the book. Sophia and Coco each have loved reading books from these series as well.

Sallie and I just finished it. We picked up an extra large print illustrated edition, which made it fun to take turns reading. when we started the book, Sallie would read one page and I would read the rest. About the middle of the book, she would read an entire chapter aloud to me (while I cleaned up her room or did something else mindless like put on makeup). Now, she is reading chapters aloud to me from other books, even those with smaller print. I think the oversized format gave her confidence that she could read an entire chapter, and now that she knows she can do it, she just does it!

She loved that Laura Ingalls celebrated her fifth birthday in the book, making them the same age. She also liked that Grandma Laura had read the same book when she was a girl and shares a name with Laura Ingalls. She especially loved the stories that are told within chapters.

We read this rather quickly because she was always so eager to read (either with me or to me . . . her room hasn't been this consistently clean in months!) But Sallie made lots of plans to make this a Book Club Party book. We are celebrating Poppy by Avi tomorrow and have to announce our next book. She is having trouble deciding between this book and A Nest For Celeste by Henry Cole. My vote is for Little House in the Big Woods, but we aren't sure yet.

Next we are reading The BFG by Roald Dahl. She giggled and laughed through the first five or so chapters (they are very short.) She also wants to read the Wide Awake Princess by E.D. Baker. But, when she realized today that there are more books in the Laura Ingalls series, she said, "I want to read more if they are as good as Little House in the Big Woods." Oh they are . . . and I can't wait to have another chance to read them with another daughter!


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