I loved immersing myself in Laura’s world. Even when she was hungry during the Long Winter or jealous of her sister or being put down by Nellie Olson. It seemed so exciting: living in the big woods, travelling by wagon out west, settling on a claim. This is another from that family of books that make even the little daily routines fascinating. I still have vivid memories of Laura and Mary helping with the butter-making (eating the milk-soaked carrots!), or of Laura helping Pa take in the hay, or of the spelling bee. Those historical details of daily life were probably my favorite thing about these books, and are what still brings me back to read and re-read them.

Laura, on the other hand, has always been a bit enigmatic to me a main character. Unlike my warm reactions to Anne Shirley or Betsy Ray or Caddie Woodlawn, my feelings toward Laura have always been a little distanced. Though I sympathized with her trials and cheered her successes, I always had a little bit of a feeling that she (the author herself, I suppose) was holding me at a distance. In a way it made these books feel a bit more like history books and less like novels to me. Did anyone else feel this way? Or was it just me?