Little House in the Big Woods

«Little House in the Big Woods» – is the first book of the famous autobiographical epic by American writer Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Four-year-old Laura lives on the edge of the vast forests of Wisconsin with her sisters, loyal dog Jack, and her parents – the first settlers pioneering the free lands of the western United States.

The family's life is so harsh that a twenty-first-century child would exclaim: how is it possible to endure all this?!

«If you go north – walk for a day, a week, a month – you will see nothing but forest.» One must work hard to obtain food, prepare in advance for the cold winter, and beware of wild animals roaming around the house. But Dad – the only man in the family – can do everything: cast bullets, hunt, plow, sow and harvest, smoke meat, and play wonderfully on the violin. And he gently loves Mom and his dear daughters. All the household work is done by the patient and caring Mom: «Wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday, darn on Wednesday, churn butter on Thursday, clean on Friday, bake bread on Saturday, rest on Sunday.

The children are raised in religious strictness, under conditions of daily labor. And if the Ingalls happen to entertain guests or visit neighbors, a strict principle applies: «Children should be seen, but not heard.» Moreover, the entire tale from the first to the last page — is a bright, joyful memory of a happy childhood, a spacious world, loving relatives, and kind neighbors, with rare but vivid celebrations that are remembered for a lifetime.

Thanks to the writer's astonishing artistic memory, her attention to people and things, the book is easily read with lively interest, and the young reader naturally wishes to compare their own childhood with Laura's childhood.