Little House in the Big Woods
Although the Little House stories are traditionally seen as &quot;girl&quot; books, boys might be happily surprised if they take another peek at their sisters' shelves.Little House in the Big Woods--the first book of the series and Laura Ingalls Wilder's first children's book--is full of the thrills, chills, and spills typically associated with &quot;boy&quot; books. Any boy or girl who has fantasized about running off to live in the woods will find ample information in these pages to manage a Wisconsin snowstorm, a panther attack, or a wild sled ride with a pig as an uninvited guest. Every chapter divulges fascinatingly intricate, yet easy-to-read, details about pioneer life in the Midwest in the late 1800s, from bear-meat curing to maple-tree sapping to homemade bullet making.Wilder's autobiographical tales ring with truth and excitement. Readers will receive a perfectly painless history lesson, and in fact will clamor for more. Beloved illustrator Garth Williams spent years researching young Laura's pioneering family. His soft-line illustrations bring to life the full, simple days and nights in the family's log cabin. No one can read just one Little House book! (Ages 9 to 12)--Emilie Coulter