I didn't like this book that much. Laura and Mary are great role models! Laura thinks of herself as ugly compared to Mary. In one of the chapters Laura thinks that her brown curls are dirt ugly while she is thinking Mary has beautiful long blonde curls.
It is pretty good. I read it to my 5 and 8 year old kids and they liked it for the most part. Some parts they found boring (and I did, too) but they liked it. There were parts that we discussed how things are different now. For example, how Laura so much dislikes her brown hair, how it was typical to smoke, how the kids were spanked, etc. The educational value is very good. It teaches history in an engaging way.
Great series, fun, historical and great family values.
I remebr reading these as a little girl. I loved the spunk of Laura and her little adventures. I alos loved the history and being able to learn about life during the pioneer days. Now my daughter ahs read the series and is re-reading them becasue she enjoys them so much too!
I started reading this to my 3 year old and found that she LOVES it. She has certain chapters that she likes me to read over and over again, like each chapter is a self-contained book. I dont skip anything, but I do abbreviate certain parts that lose her attention (eg the detailed description of the smokehouse, how Pa cleans his gun and makes bullets, etc.) She can't sit still while I'm reading it (because there are no pictures to look at) but I know she's paying attention because we discuss it after we read. If you've got a child who loves being read to, you might be suprised how much they can get out of this book.