Little House in the Big Woods

Little House, Book 1

By: Laura Ingalls Wilder

Narrated by: Cherry Jones

Narrated by actress Cherry Jones! Inspiration for the Netflix series Little House on the Prairie!

The book that started it all! Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in Laura Ingalls Wilder's treasured Little House series, which is based on her life growing up as an American pioneer.

Told from four-year-old Laura's point-of-view, this story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. Laura lives in the little house with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog, Jack. Pioneer life is sometimes hard for the family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her family celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town. And every night they are safe and warm in their little house, with the happy sound of Pa's fiddle sending Laura and her sisters off to sleep.

And so begins Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved story of a pioneer girl and her family. The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America's frontier history and a heartwarming, unforgettable story.

GRANDMA WAS JIGGING

HORSE POWER, HONEY, MAPLE SYRUP, CURDS, CHEESE, ETC.
This is a wonderful book. I am middle aged and I loved it. I think kids of any age will love parts of it. Like a Jean Auel book, a lot of time is spent in explaining how to make cheese, gather honey, cook maple syrup and so on. These explaining parts might get a little dry for the average kid. The book is also full of stories as told by Laura's dad. These stories are extremely entertaining for kids and adults. As a whole I believe kids of all ages will like it.

Cherry Jones
I read the hard back copy years ago. I remember liking the book, but not loving it. Jones made me love it.

I live 45 minutes from Mansfield Mo. That is where Laura and her husband moved and where she wrote all these books. They have kept her house in good shape and they have a museum. It is nothing fancy, I would not drive hundreds of miles out of the way to see it, but if your in the area it is well worth it. It is right off of highway 60.

ketchup on mignon

I can’t tell you what a disappointment these narrations are. Of course Harper Collins can no longer be trusted to do anything right and I hear they’re of the verge of editing the marrow out of these wonderful works—probably the greatest pieces of American Literature. Ingalls makes Hemingway, Melville or Fitzgerald look like pompous pretentious adolescents.

Jones narration is an insult. She doesn’t do everything wrong—Ma is very good. But as a gestalt, she is ketchup on fillet mignon. Please redo the entire set. It is a cultural imperative. Despite her best efforts she cannot destroy the beauty of these works but where oh where does she get the idea to use a Southern drawl and why would she conceive that Pa is tone deaf and worse. He is after all a violinist. She infantilizes the speech of the girls by blurring the final consonants and extending the vowels in the most obnoxious, and I think culturally prejudicial way. These people are in no way backward or ignorant. The minute Cherry proposes to sing, any responsible director would have shoved her out of the studio and locked the door. Even worse, her affects are often inappropriate to the situation….it is hopeless, it must be redone.
And if you think what I’m asking is impossible…not at all: Killian’s narration of Fagle’s Odyssey is superb….not overacted, not unconsciously sneering.

2 complaints

wasn't real crazy about the narration and her enunciation. that could have been better. js

awsome narator

I loved this book and the narrator was amazing and really made me real like I was back in pian

Perfect memou!

One of my childhood favorites- perfect for kids and adults hunkering down at home and imagining!