I was in my room reading and re-reading some boring history books for like, the hundredth time, when my mom, holding a stack of classic books, came in and said, "You need to read some classic literature." I groaned. I knew that classic literature in my mom’s eyes was her having me read to my brother (besides, usually classic books are really hard to understand.) She gave me half the books and she said, "Here, these are for you, and these are for your brother." So I took off the first book I saw and it was the first book of the Little House series. Soon I was deeply absorbed in how life was like about 100 years ago. It was amazing. For the next few weeks I could be seen with the book anytime anywhere. Once I was done, I was like, I want some more of these books, so I reread them, then reread them again. My favorite one of the books is The Long Winter.
Set about 100 years ago, The Long Winter is about Laura Ingalls and her family, as they survive a series of blizzards that last for several months. They are cold, hungry and tired, tired of brown bread, tired of grinding the wheat. When the town runs low on food and fuel, Almonzo Wilder understands what must be done, even his life is at a risk. So he and Cap Garland go after some wheat that was rumored to be grown southeast of the town of De Smet. The Ingalls family continues to have hope, hope that somehow, sometime the blizzards will end. Will Laura Ingalls and her family survive the long winter? Will Almonzo and Cap Garland somehow survive the long drive and beat a blizzard?
Even through all the challenges, Laura has hope, hope that someday that the blizzard will end. And Almonzo has courage, and with that little bit of courage and a touch of bravery, he goes after that wheat, with his companion, Cap Garland. This book teaches us all a lesson important to life, it is to never give up, always have hope, because there always is hope. It also makes me think how lucky we are to live in such an era. I also feel lucky that we have air conditioning, snowplows, and refrigerators.
In conclusion, I think that we should learn from this book to always have courage, and to always have hope. This is what makes The Long Winter unique, the feeling that you have to read on, because you want to know what happens next, and the feeling that says, Wow, that is true courage.
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Harper Collins, 2019. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Chloe! I read these books when I was young, and I felt so passionate about them. Thank you for reminding me and letting a new generation of readers know about the Little House books. Your book review really brings back a memory of what I liked about the book. I loved your story about how you were introduced to this series. Go Mom!