Friday, February 27, 2009

The Secrets of my Childhood, or How I Learned To Love Reading

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder…also known as the book that changed my life. There have been other significantly influential books throughout the years, of course, but Little House in the Big Woods and the subsequent Little House books became a cornerstone of my childhood from the day my maternal grandparents gave me the first one.

My grandparents always sent books as holiday presents. It could always be counted on that there would be a book as part of my birthday and Christmas presents, as well as for Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Halloween. They particularly enjoyed choosing series to send, slowly but surely providing me with a complete set. There may have been series sent to me before the Little House books, and I know for a fact there were series after, but none had quite the same influence on me.

You can’t quite begin to grasp the influence Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books had on my childhood unless I publicly admit to a few things that nobody outside of my family and anyone who knew me during my younger years knows. Here goes:

Little House in the Big Woods let to a significant obsession with all things Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House. This included celebrating a birthday with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s wedding cake, getting taffy stuck in someone’s hair at a birthday party where we tried to make a taffy recipe from the Little House cookbook, family road trips that included visits to every single related site and monument you can think of between Northern California and Chicago, a sunbonnet and nightcap made by my grandmother (worn often and nightly, respectively), and an after-school tradition of watching Little House on the Prairie TV show re-runs.

As you can tell, the adventures of Laura had a great impact on my childhood.

Aside from the obsession, Little House in the Big Woods was the book that really made me love reading. It showed me that a story just didn’t have to be words on paper, that it could be something deeper…that I could take the story and embrace it on many levels.

Even beyond that, it was the foundation of a bond, and eventual common love of reading and books, between my mom and me. While my grandparents sent the books, my mom was the one to read them to me every night before bed. Laura’s journey was a journey we shared, and I can guarantee that if I have a daughter someday, it will be a journey she will share in, too.

3 comments:

Steve Morozumi said...

i never read the books, but you've swept me away with your story nonetheless! great story! loved it!

i have to admit that when i was younger i used to enjoy watching Little House on the Prarie. well, there's my confession for the day. LOL!

-Steve @ fluxlife

Brian said...

Does this mean you want us to start calling you half-pint?

Me said...

I stated off by reading Farmer Boy , and fell in love with the Little House books. I also grew up in Kansas so I guess there is another reason that I was drawn to the series. I have bought some of those books for several of my nieces.