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.

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.