Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The World of Little House
Illustrator: Garth Williams , Deborah Maze
Nonfiction
For ages 8 and up
HarperCollins, 1996 ISBN: 978-0060244224
In this wonderful book fans of the Little House stories will discover not only the real and complete story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but they will also find numerous other delights which will take them back to the days when families from the east set off across the land in wagons seeking new opportunities and open skies.
The have taken the nine Little House books and have turned them into nine chapters, each chapter describing some of the events recounted in the book. In addition to the original Garth Williams illustrations, there are also some new pictures which further help the reader get a sense of what Laura’s world was like. The authors have also added recipes and projects that the reader might enjoy which were activities that Laura and her family used to do in their spare time. For example the reader can learn how to make "Laura’s Heart-Shaped Cakes" and how to sew a patchwork pillow.
At the back of the book readers will find a very informative timeline which places the events described in the Little House Books, in their historical context. Thus we find out that in the year that Grace was born, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, and in the year that Laura and Almanzo get engaged, the first skyscraper (ten stories high) is opened in Chicago.
The final chapter helps the real Laura Ingalls Wilder fan learn where he or she might go to visit some of the places described in Laura’s books and where further information can be found about the "Little House Sites."
