Little House in the Big Woods (Annotated Edition)

"Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs." Thus begins the first of nine books based on the frontier existence of the Ingalls family, fixing the time at 1873 and introducing the main character of the series. The simplicity of presentation fixes Laura's perspective as the lens for the story, and all facets of the tale remain true to a child's point of view. Wilder's use of capital letters heightens Laura's wonder at her surroundings.It is fall, and the snug Ingalls home bursts with harvest foods, colorfully cataloged. The themes of family safety and self-reliance emerge as central to this book and to the whole series. Complete but easy-to-understand descriptions of building a smokehouse and slaughtering a pig make it clear that even children knew the basics of preparation for winter. This recitation of essential frontier knowledge became one of the most valuable and interesting aspects of Wilder's contribution to later understanding of pioneer life.