Saturday, October 1, 2011

The Newbery Mission: The Little House Special

If you were a girl of the Midwest, there were three things you always heard about: Complaints against the weather, Packers vs. Vikings, and The Little House books and TV show. Especially the second one, but that’s not the focus of this article today. For almost 80 years, the memoirs of a high-spirited girl growing up in the heyday of American pioneering have captured the hearts and imagination of girls worldwide. But despite the great popularity of the books, it’s interesting that none of them have ever received the Newbery Medal. Five of the books have instead been given the Newbery Honor making Laura Ingalls Wilder the only five-time NH winner. Since all these books are fairly similar, I decided to tackle them all at once. So here goes:
Here are the books that were honored:
On the Banks of Plum Creek (NH 1938)

Plot (according to Amazon...yes, I am that lazy):  The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they leave their little house on the prairie and travel in their covered wagon to Minnesota. Here they settle in a little house made of sod beside the banks of beautiful Plum Creek. Soon Pa builds a wonderful new little house with real glass windows and a hinged door. Laura and her sister Mary go to school, help with the chores, and fish in the creek. At night everyone listens to the merry music of Pa's fiddle. Misfortunes come in the form of a grasshopper plague and a terrible blizzard, but the pioneer family works hard together to overcome these troubles.
By the Shores of Silver Lake (NH 1940)

Plot: The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they move from their little house on the banks of Plum Creek to the wilderness of the unsettled Dakota Territory. Here Pa works on the new railroad until he finds a homestead claim that is perfect for their new little house. Laura takes her first train ride as she, her sisters, and their mother come out to live with Pa on the shores of Silver Lake. After a lonely winter in the surveyors' house, Pa puts up the first building in what will soon be a brand-new town on the beautiful shores of Silver Lake. The Ingallses' covered-wagon travels are finally over.
The Long Winter (NH 1941)

Plot: The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary, Carrie, and little Grace bravely face the hard winter of 1880-81 in their little house in the Dakota Territory. Blizzards cover the little town with snow, cutting off all supplies from the outside. Soon there is almost no food left, so young Almanzo Wilder and a friend make a dangerous trip across the prairie to find some wheat. Finally a joyous Christmas is celebrated in a very unusual way in this most exciting of all the Little House books.
Little Town on the Prairie (NH 1942)

Plot: The little settlement that weathered the long, hard winter of 1880-81 is now a growing town. Laura is growing up, and she goes to her first evening social. Mary is at last able to go to a college for the blind. Best of all, Almanzo Wilder asks permission to walk home from church with Laura. And Laura, now fifteen years old, receives her certificate to teach school.
These Happy Golden Years (NH 1944)

Plot: Fifteen-year-old Laura lives apart from her family for the first time, teaching school in a claim shanty twelve miles from home. She is very homesick, but keeps at it so that she can help pay for her sister Mary's tuition at the college for the blind. During school vacations Laura has fun with her singing lessons, going on sleigh rides, and best of all, helping Almanzo Wilder drive his new buggy. Friendship soon turns to love for Laura and Almanzo in the romantic conclusion of this Little House book.
Analysis: Alright, I shall have to make a statement. And it’s not an easy one to make. But it must be done. So…I think that the whole series is overrated. Yes, you heard right: a native female Minnesotan is going against her Midwestern heritage and actually suggesting that The Little House Series is overrated. But there’s no other way to say it. The books (along with the too-sappy TV show) are among the category of ‘you’ve heard it talked about so much that you’re sick of it.’ Even as a kid, I couldn’t get through them. Not because I didn’t like historical fiction, but because it couldn’t keep my attention.
Personal opinion aside, I can’t really give a review on each individual book because they’re all practically the same. They’re the basic ‘how-to’ stories that one would find in any 3rd grade history book. But what is the most disappointing about these stories is that they suffer from a lack of good narrative. And it’s especially disappointing because they came from Laura Wilder’s own childhood. Now, I have no disrespect for Mrs. Wilder. But if you’re going to write a slightly fictional narrative about your childhood, you need a strong voice. Caddie Woodlawn was also based on real people and events, but it was told so much better. The difference: Carol Brink took her grandmother’s stories and made them real. In Caddie’s story, the characters had interesting personalities which made their trials more believable. I actually wondered what would happen to them. With Laura’s stories, the characters were one-dimensional and therefore, the stories weren’t as captivating as it should have been.
Bottom Line: While these books will be enjoyed by the 3-6th grade female group; I give the entire series 2.5 out of 5 for its so-so stories and lack of good narration. Now, does anybody know the number to the Witness Protection Program? I have a feeling that I’ll need to join there pretty soon…