A Little House Picture Book Treasury, Adapted from the Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

A Little House Picture Book Treasury: Six Stories of Life on the Prairie, Adapted from the Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Many of the picture books I've been receiving for possible reviews have been...not my favorite. So many of them are based on characters, usually from TV, that I just don't care for. I don't do negative reviews, so many of them just go unreviewed.

When I opened the last box and found this gem, I was thrilled. Now, here are some characters I can really get behind!

I may have actually gasped with delight.

Reading this little treasury to my kids did not disappoint, either. It is living up to my expectations upon seeing the cover, and is quickly becoming a favorite.

The Treasury is a compilation of six little stories from the Little House books. The stories include A Little Prairie House, Going to Town, County Fair, Sugar Snow, Winter Days in the Big Woods, and Christmas in the Big Woods.

The artwork is beautiful and endearing.

You could use it as an early chapter book. As for us, we haven't read it without going all the way through in one sitting...and a couple times I've closed the back cover and been begged to read it all over again...and yes, I obliged.

Our giveaway of this treasure and two others ends tomorrow, so be sure to enter if you haven't yet!!!

Pioneer Project #2: Corn Husk Dolls

We followed this simple little tutorial and made corn husk dolls a couple days ago. Bubs was more into the process of making the dolls, while Welly-Bells couldn't wait to be done and play with them.The project was inspired by our reading of Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This is the first book in the Little House series, and it is highly recommended!

Little Laura is a great protagonist. She wishes she could be good like her big sister, Mary, but finds herself hopelessly flawed. She treasures her corn cob doll, and when she is finally given a 'real' doll, she makes sure her corn cob doll still feels loved, too.

I loved reading Little House in the Big Woods aloud to my kids for two reasons. First, it is an excellent intro into pioneer life. We glimpse the roles of Ma and Pa, the work that must be done with each new season, and the simple life they lead...which brings me to #2...

It shows how much we have and helps prompt a feeling of gratitude. Laura talks about how she savored her treats because she only had them twice a year.

This book made me long for a simpler life, where the family is truly the central unit of society.