On the Banks of the Plum Creek is 4th in the series and chronicles the family's move from Kansas to Minnesota. Upon arrival, Charles Ingalls trades his wagon and mustang horses with a man who wants to head out West. In exchange he receives a plot of land, two oxen and a dugout house. Charles has big plans to harvest wheat and build a fine house for his wife Caroline, not knowing the many discouraging challenges that will delay these dreams. From the very beginning of the book, when little Laura expresses disappointment at the loss of their horses, Pa responds with the sentiment that runs throughout the narrative: We must do the best we can, Laura, and not grumble. What must be done is best done cheerfully.
I appreciated the simple, non-preachy lessons about the Christian life. When the family is able to go to church for the first time the girls knew from Ma's voice that going to church must be better than going to a party. We find out about the cost of disobedience when we read, Laura had been bad and she knew it. She had broken her promise to Pa. But no one had seen her. No one knew that she had started to go to the swimming-hole. If she did not tell, no one would ever know. But she felt worse and worse inside. The fact that Laura repents of some sins and nourishes others shows the struggles of real human being, (as opposed to an Elsie Dinsmore-type.) There are many instances in the book where family members give up their wants for the good of another. These lessons on unselfishness are one of the main reasons parents need to keep reading these books to their children.
Sometimes the very simple language left my heart longing for more eloquence, but there were enough pretty phrases to keep me going: Grey-green lichens with ruffled edges grew flat on the rock. Wandering ants crossed it. Often a butterfly stopped to rest there. Then Laura watched the velvety wings slowly opening and closing, as if the butterfly breathed with them.
Here's A U.S.A. Today article on why we should not ban Wilder's "racist" books.
Blessings,
3 comments:
I totally agree with you, I read them over and over to my children, and my grand children are having them read to them now. Our son is doing a year long adventure across America, stopping to visit all of the places that Laura and her family lived. It has been quite an adventure for them.
Thanks for the link to the USA Today article. I had read many articles about the controversy over LIW, but had not seen that one.
I've often marveled a the family's facing almost any hardship with that attitude: we just have to do it, don't complain about it. In fact, don't just avoid complaining: be cheerful about it.
Completely agree. What Ma Ingalls went through in The Long Hard Winter defies belief. She kept her family going. Of course, there should be explanatory discussion with new young readers, but use the discord between the pioneers and Native Americans as an educational issue. Love the books!
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