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Cannonball Read III - Summer Reads: The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

By Caitlin | Posted Under Book Reviews | Comments (12)

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My only encounters with Little House on the Prairie are the reruns I occasionally watch, this website, which is excellent, and reading the awesome Confessions of a Prairie Bitch. Sadly, I never read a single Laura Ingalls Wilder book in my youth. Reading The Wilder Life made me wish I had set aside the Baby-Sitters Club for a minute to try something else.

The book has a simple premise. Wendy McClure rediscovers her old copy of Little House on the Prairie. She proceeds to reread the entire series, then takes steps to recreate the “Laura World” that she had experienced as a child. McClure does a ton of research on the people, history, and places. She learns how to churn butter and make bread starter. Eventually, after continued research, she plans a road trip to important Little House locations.

The entire book is entertaining. It makes me want to get some obsession of my own, plan my own road trip. Alas, the BSC’s Stoneybrook was a fictional town. I also lack the incredibly supportive boyfriend who followed McClure to the majority of her destinations. He read ALL of the Little House on the Prairie books for her! That is beyond adorable. Start reading for descriptions of property law, stay for encounters with religious sects who are using Little House as a training manual for the coming apocalypse/rapture! Trust me, just read this book.


For more of Caitlin’s reviews, check out her blog, I’m Going to Read Your Mind.

This review is part of Cannonball Read III. For more information, click here.
For more Summer Reads recommendations, click here.









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Comments

Having this wholesome thread next to the Dirtiest Talk in Cinema thread seems wrong.

Posted by: logan at July 13, 2011 10:48 AM

For my history capstone in college, I got to volunteer on the pioneer homestead at Living History Farms, an Iowa museum that had working farms from different periods in Iowa history. I got to dress up like Laura Ingalls Wilder once or twice a week, and discovered my love for baking bread from scratch during that six-month span. It was deeply satisfying and fulfilling. And it was all because I was raised on a diet of Little House from a very early age -- not the show -- I didn't know it existed until high school -- but my mom read me the entire series starting when I was about four.

Farmer Boy is my favorite, followed closely by the Long Winter.

Posted by: linny at July 13, 2011 11:50 AM

I read all the books back in the day. We actually read Little House on the Prairie for reading class in either 4th or 5th grade (I had the same teacher for both, so that's why I'm not certain). I even made a Little House diorama. I then read the whole series. This review kind of makes me want to revisit them.

Posted by: tamatha at July 13, 2011 11:58 AM

There was a Canadian series caled Pioneer Quest: A Year in the Real West in which two couples lived for an entire year as sodbusters that was absolutely fascinating. I would love to be part something like that where you live in the style of a previous era for a period of time. How do I go about that? How do I talk Mr. Julien into it?

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at July 13, 2011 12:09 PM

I'm on the wait list for this at the library. I can't wait to read it (even though I never read the LH books).

Have you read McClure's other book, I'm Not the New Me? It's really, really great. If you liked her voice at all, I think you'd probably love it.

Posted by: Clementine Bojangles at July 13, 2011 12:28 PM

Mrs. Julien, PBS did a very similar show many years ago but I think it was called Frontier House. It may be the exact same show under a different name. The only thing I really remember from the show was a wedding.

Prior to doing Frontier House, PBS aired a show called 1900 House. It was set in England and a family of 4 or 5 moved into a house built in the 1900s and had to live and dress according to the period. I enjoyed it much more than the frontier one. If you can find it somewhere, I would highly recommend watching it.

Posted by: elsie at July 13, 2011 12:51 PM

elsie

We watched part of Frontier House and have taken one of the family's names as a metaphor for twisting the truth, "Don't try to Klune your way out to this". I've also seen 1900 House and an amazing British show about living during The Blitz. I didn't get to see the Edwardian Country House/Manor House, but I would love to. I am endlessly fascinated by the day-to-day life of a "great house", especially below stairs. I will watch any movie, documentary, reality show etc. about them, including Downton Abbey, Gosford Park and The Remains of the Day.

Did anyone else see that awful PBS series (Colonial House?) where they set up a mock 17th century colony and no one would abide by the rules of the community or verisimilitude? The cast were so uncooperative that we gave up on the show.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at July 13, 2011 1:11 PM

When I was a little kid, my mother read Wilder's books to me at bedtime. I grew up imagining Laura's world - I almost feel like I grew up alongside Laura, strange as that probably sounds. I think this book sounds like a wonderful way for me to revisit that world. Excellent review!

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at July 13, 2011 2:42 PM

Mrs. Julien,

Definitely watch Manor House! It's probably my favorite of that PBS series.

Have you ever seen "Texas Ranch House?" That one is painfully bad. Imagine if everyone on the show was a Klune and everyone refused to wear their corsets. The experts at the end were flabbergasted by how poorly everyone did. The cast, of course, were shocked!

Now you've piqued my curiosity about Colonial House. I love a good train wreck all dressed up in period garb.

Posted by: The Fatling at July 13, 2011 3:06 PM

Colonial House wasn't that bad. It's just that we're used to sanitized reality TV, and this was reality TV like it really ought to be, people bumping right up into their prejudices and hangups when they're thrown out of their comfort zone.

Posted by: Lurkette at July 13, 2011 4:20 PM

I was obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was growing up. I even dressed as her for Halloween when I was in 3rd grade. I also convinced my mom to let me sign up for a summer program where we went to DeSmit, South Dakota to visit the town and see a play about her life. (I had very cool parents, now that I think about it).

I will definitely be reading this book and revisiting my loves of the past. (also, the show is rubbish)

Posted by: cumdog at July 13, 2011 10:04 PM

I cannot thank you enough for the post. Great.

Posted by: Kenneth Fiorentini at August 24, 2011 10:32 PM