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124th out of 2,636 books
—
4,869 voters
On the Banks of Plum Creek (Little House #4)
Laura and her family find a new home in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, where the nearby creek and swimming hole lure Laura with dangerous, yet thrilling adventures. Too soon, their life is threatened when prairie fires and other strange events jeopardize their crops.
Paperback, 358 pages
Published
January 1st 2007
by HarperTrophy
(first published 1937)
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I loved this book! I am currently rereading the entire Little House series, which I have not visited since I was a kid. I feel like the books just keep getting better. Since it had been such a long time since I read this, I had forgotten most of the plot and, consequently, it was almost like reading this for the first time.
I was left with a few unanswered questions. For example:(view spoiler)...more
I was left with a few unanswered questions. For example:(view spoiler)...more
Of all the Little House books, this was my childhood favorite. I was exactly Laura’s age when I read it – eight – and at last, her life experience was close to mine; she began school! I re-read the chapters called “School,” “Nellie Oleson, “Town Party,” “Country Party,” and “Surprise,” hundreds if not thousands of times, just the way I would later re-read Elizabeth’s scenes at Pemberley, Dumbledore’s scenes with Harry, and lately, Daniel’s scenes with Mirah. What’s more, I’d discovered the TV se...more
1 like · like · see review
On the Banks of Plum Creek has always been one of my favorite Little House books. This story makes me want to run barefoot through tall prairie grasses, roll down haystacks, and wade through muddy creeks. It makes the idea of only getting a package of candy for Christmas seem extra-special and a dinner of “beautiful brown baked beans [and] golden corn-bread” sounds more appealing than steak and crème brulee. I don’t know how she does it, but Laura Ingalls Wilder weaves some sort of prairie magic...more
1 like · like · see review
This book shows different qualties of family problems and how they can get through it. They can have down sides and good sides. this book wasn't my faviort and wasn't the worst book i have read. this book is the forth book in the larua ingalls wilder series. this one they move in to walnut grove and they have a hard time trying to earn money to get.
Caroline is talking to charles and makeing sure they got something and this is what she said. "Did you remember to get more stovepipe." this shows th...more
Caroline is talking to charles and makeing sure they got something and this is what she said. "Did you remember to get more stovepipe." this shows th...more
Mar 08, 2013
Book Concierge
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
19th-century,
children-s-literature,
classic,
concierge,
family,
historical-fiction,
library,
nature,
strong-women,
women-writers,
audio
Book on CD performed by Cherry Jones
Book four in the “Little House” series finds the Ingalls family in Minnesota after their failed attempt to homestead in Indian Territory. They trade their horses to a bachelor Norwegian farmer who wants to head West, and settle into the sod house he’s built near the Banks of Plum Creek. Seven-year-old Laura will go to school for the first time in this location and the family’s relative proximity to town will help see them through a tough year. This book also i...more
Book four in the “Little House” series finds the Ingalls family in Minnesota after their failed attempt to homestead in Indian Territory. They trade their horses to a bachelor Norwegian farmer who wants to head West, and settle into the sod house he’s built near the Banks of Plum Creek. Seven-year-old Laura will go to school for the first time in this location and the family’s relative proximity to town will help see them through a tough year. This book also i...more
By far, the boys enjoy the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder more than any other chapter books. I know I am very enthusiastic about them, but they love the on their own merit. They especially love Pa and all of the things that he builds.
On the Banks of Plum Creek was especially exciting to the boys as it is set in Minnesota. Their grandparents live in Minnesota and that is where my husband is from originally. They thought it was very cool that Laura and Mary lived in a so...more
1 like · like · see review
This is one of my favorite Little House books next to Little House on the Prairie! It spans a period of 3 years or so, of the Ingalls' life in Minnesota. Love, love, love it! The book is jam-packed with many adventures. Laura was so good at looking on the bright side, because years later I realized she was writing about some hardship. (She didn't write about everything that happened. The grasshopper plagues were the tip of the iceberg). When we were little my mom read this book with us and she,...more
Sep 06, 2012
Tracy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children,
little-house
So many memorable things happen in this book. This is probably my favorite in the whole series. The family leads a fairly civilized life in this book, living only three miles from a town. They go to church on Sundays, the girls start school, we see the girls socialize with other children who are not relatives, and even though the family initially lives in a dugout in the creek bank, Pa builds them a home out of lumber, not logs, with two rooms and an attic. Life seems to be looking up. Unfortuna...more
Apr 10, 2012
Tracey Demario
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s-literature
On the Banks of Plum Creek is the fourth book in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s historical fiction series about growing up in the Midwest during the 19th Century. The books are intended for children in elementary through early middle school grades (P,I). This installment finds the Ingalls family moving to Minnesota. At first the family lives in a dugout house built into the bank of a nearby creek. Later, Pa builds a more permanent house of cut lumber. The house is close to town and Laura and her older...more
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder continues the well-known and well-read saga of the Ingalls family. In this book, they plant a steak in Minnesota, having realized their first home in Kansas was in Indian territory and not open for settling. Again, they must start from scratch, but finally life is looking up for the Ingalls. That is, if you call living in a dirt hole hounded by wolves "looking up," for the hardships of frontier life are inescapable. Once again, the reader is re...more
The 4th book in the Little House on the Prairie series and another wonderful read. Laura and her family have now moved to Minnesota, where they first live in what can only be described as a dugout, then move into a house that Pa builds. Everything's idyllic at first, especially with a beautiful creek nearby to play in, but unexpected hardships quickly arise, such as a plague of grasshoppers that destroys most of their wheat crop and a long blizzard that separates the family for days. Laura also...more
Age Range - Intermediate
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a story about a young pioneer girl who moved with her family from the Indian Territory to Minnesota. The author takes us through all the challenges and hardships of growing up. Laura is eight years old and has her first school experience. She learns about helping out her family, and making new friends. She finds out how to be strong when her father doesn't come home in a blizzard. Laura sees happiness in being with her...more
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a story about a young pioneer girl who moved with her family from the Indian Territory to Minnesota. The author takes us through all the challenges and hardships of growing up. Laura is eight years old and has her first school experience. She learns about helping out her family, and making new friends. She finds out how to be strong when her father doesn't come home in a blizzard. Laura sees happiness in being with her...more
Good grief, as an adult and as a parent, have I grown too practical to read and completely enjoy these books?
When Ma and Pa packed up the kiddos and left the Big Woods because there were too many people, less land and game to go around, I thought a little bit to myself, Um...Pa, did we think through this completely? Are you sure? Are we safe? But Pa is supposed to be an example of Great American Spirit. So, fine, we let this happen. There were some bumps in the road, but oh boy, we have some ma...more
When Ma and Pa packed up the kiddos and left the Big Woods because there were too many people, less land and game to go around, I thought a little bit to myself, Um...Pa, did we think through this completely? Are you sure? Are we safe? But Pa is supposed to be an example of Great American Spirit. So, fine, we let this happen. There were some bumps in the road, but oh boy, we have some ma...more
Jul 29, 2011
Elena
added it
Laura is now 8 and has "never felt so fine and frisky." Many wonderful things happen to her. She lives in a house with glass windows, goes to two parties, attends school, and receives a beautiful jewelry box and fur cape and muff for Christmas. However, she experiences many scary things as well. She nearly drowns in a flooding Plum Creek, survives a harsh winter; which reminded me of the winter of 2009-10 here in Philadelphia, but must have been much more difficult in a house with no central hea...more
May 21, 2011
Dawn Trlak-Donahue
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
children-classics,
children-non-fiction
Starting to really agree with a review I read of the Little House books. One woman wrote about how on top of things Alamonzo's family seemed in Farmer Boy. They had a permanent home, savings, etc. Whereas Papa Ingalls was a hot mess. He dragged the family away from their relatives in Wisconsin where they had a home, to Indian country. Along the way they were almost swept away down a river when he insisted they could cross it, wagon and all. (Jack, the dog, gets the short end of the stick overall...more
Another great classic from Wilder. These books are great reads and essentially timeless. There's a reason that Laura's life has captured the hearts of so many people and this book is a real good example of it.
Having left Indian territory, the Ingalls make their way to Minnesota where they trade their wagon and horses for a piece of land and a dugout house. Pa is determined to build them a proper home, but has to wait for a good wheat crop first. Laura and her sister Mary spend their days playing...more
Having left Indian territory, the Ingalls make their way to Minnesota where they trade their wagon and horses for a piece of land and a dugout house. Pa is determined to build them a proper home, but has to wait for a good wheat crop first. Laura and her sister Mary spend their days playing...more
This book chronicles the Ingalls' first years in Minnesota, and notably through a grasshopper infestation causing the destruction of crops and livelihood for two summers. The book ends on a happy note, with the family together for Christmas, and a promise of a successful harvest during the next year.
I am having such a blast reading this with Madeleine, and she is adoring the books. She is entranced by Laura and Mary, much as i must have been at her age. There are some difficult, and perhaps frig...more
I am having such a blast reading this with Madeleine, and she is adoring the books. She is entranced by Laura and Mary, much as i must have been at her age. There are some difficult, and perhaps frig...more
I brought out my set of Little House books for my husband to read to our four year old daughter. She loves hearing stories from these books over and over again. I had great fun rereading the first four books again! (I think we are going to stop at On the Banks of Plum Creek for now. As I was previewing the fifth book, By the Shores of Silver Lake I thought some story lines might be too mature for our four year old.)
From my childhood readings, I distinctly remember the grasshoppers coming and des...more
From my childhood readings, I distinctly remember the grasshoppers coming and des...more
Nov 12, 2012
Delicious Strawberry
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
laura-ingalls-wilder,
autobiography
Little House on the Prairie was different because there, the family was practically alone, out there on the big prairie. However, the family moves and while they don't really have close neighbors, they're near a town, so the girls get to experience some town life (including church, which makes Ma very, very happy) Of course, the family is not without its problems, like the locusts that threaten the crop, or Laura's own problems with Nellie Oleson (but Nellie gets a pretty good comeuppance in her...more
What a wonderful story! I loved every word!
This is the third book in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, and so far the best. I love the descriptions of life on the prairies, where Laura and her family live first in a dug-out whose door is surrounded by pink, blue and purple morning glories (one of my favorite flowers, as it happens!), then they move into the house Pa built, with boughten shingles and boughten windows and doors. Unlike the big Woods, where there were wolves, or Indian Territory, wh...more
This is the third book in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, and so far the best. I love the descriptions of life on the prairies, where Laura and her family live first in a dug-out whose door is surrounded by pink, blue and purple morning glories (one of my favorite flowers, as it happens!), then they move into the house Pa built, with boughten shingles and boughten windows and doors. Unlike the big Woods, where there were wolves, or Indian Territory, wh...more
Plum Creek, Minnesota 1874. Nachdem Familie Ingalls ihre Farm im auf Indianergebiet auf Anordnung des Staates verlassen musste (Laura in der Prärie), zieht die siebenjährige Laura mit ihrer Familie wieder in Richtung Osten. Die Ingalls lassen sich zunächst in einem unterirdischen Erdhaus am Ufer von Plum Creek nieder, das Pa gegen die Pferde der Familie eintauscht. Hier beginnt für Laura und ihre Schwester Mary eine neue spannende Zeit, denn zum ersten Mal besuchen die beiden eine Schule und ler...more
I have read the Little House series a number of times now -- nearly always in the winter it seems; perhaps because so much of the books seems to take place when the family is struggling through blizzards and cold weather! Despite elements that make me occasionally cringe (in the first book, there's a song about an "old darkie"), and the conflicting emotions I feel when skimming quickly past these passages (these songs were real...the events were real...that is really what people were called back...more
In this "Little House" story the Ingalls family has trekked from Indian territory to southwest Minnesota, near Walnut Grove. At first they live in a sod dugout, but quickly build a snug house near Plum Creek. The family stoically marches trough one trial after another. Pa busts his hump to put in a big wheat crop, only to have it all devoured by locusts. He needs to walk 300 miles to get farm work and leaves the women on their own. A prairie fire then threatens the place, and later a series of b...more
Type: {Bedtime Read: lulls you to sleep with sweet dreams.}
Rating: {I’m Lovin’ It: Very entertaining!}
Why You’re Reading It:
You’re a child or are reading to a child
You enjoy “light” historical fiction
Sweet stories are your thing
You never read the Little House series as a child and want to see what they’re all about
What I Thought:
On the Banks of Plum Creek is technically the fourth in the Little House series, though it is the third about Laura and her father (the technical third in the series, Fa...more
Rating: {I’m Lovin’ It: Very entertaining!}
Why You’re Reading It:
You’re a child or are reading to a child
You enjoy “light” historical fiction
Sweet stories are your thing
You never read the Little House series as a child and want to see what they’re all about
What I Thought:
On the Banks of Plum Creek is technically the fourth in the Little House series, though it is the third about Laura and her father (the technical third in the series, Fa...more
Mar 23, 2009
Ashley
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
ELLIE AND ELIZABETH AND KAYLEE AND BRIANNA AND LAURA AND MARRISSA
Recommended to Ashley by:
MY SISTER
Shelves:
books-i-loved
It was good.as u can see i am trying to read all the books.
1 like · like · see review
The story of the Ingalls famiy continues in this fourth book of the Little House series. Forced to leave their home in Indian Territory, the family moves to the plains of Minnesota, where they struggle against the harsh realities of pioneer life. Their indominatable spirits flag at times but their family bonds, faith and strict adherence to right living see them through even the most horrendous of circumstances. Along the way, they make friends in the nearby town and experience a little bit of h...more
Jan 04, 2012
Rebecca
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2012,
read-out-loud
This was my favorite in the Little House series growing up, and it is Audrey's (age 5) favorite so far. I love the setting (the Minnesotan plains now) and the adventures they go through in On the Banks of Plum Creek. The live in a dugout until Pa makes them a house with two rooms (!) and more than one glass window (!!) and a wood-burning stove (!!!). So much happens: Laura almost drowns, Laura's legs get covered in leeches, a glittering cloud of grasshoppers descends on the wheat fields and eats...more
I am re-reading all of the Little House books after reading Wendy McClure's "The Wilder Life". I also wanted to see what my thoughts would be on these books that I hadn't read since childhood. Well I now realize just how poor the Ingalls were and how Pa was a little reckless. Building that fancy new house on credit?! I must say that my memories of this book are different from the actual book. When I was younger I thought that this was my favourite Little House book. I can't say that it is now. (...more
The best thing about the Little House series is that, it just grab me and make me (I'm more than happy to) go into the book and to experience the story with them and have their meals. Comparing with the previous books I find this one bit depressing but it gives a strong picture of the hardships and wonders they must have undergone and experienced while moving west in the 1800s.
The unrelenting goodness of the entire Ingalls family, the love and understanding between Ma and Pa always gets me, and...more
The unrelenting goodness of the entire Ingalls family, the love and understanding between Ma and Pa always gets me, and...more
Dec 14, 2011
Kerith
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical,
middle-grade
This was the first of Wilder's books that I read as a child. And re-read, and read again. Laura is 8 as we begin and only just now going to school (and learning to read!). The Ingalls family settles outside Walnut Grove (only known as "town" in the book), Minnesota in a dugout house, intending to stay and make a fortune off wheat -- so certain of this that Pa builds a new house on credit. And then the Grasshoppers come.
I always seem to want to read these books again during the Christmas season....more
I always seem to want to read these books again during the Christmas season....more
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Ingalls wrote a series of historical fiction books for children based on her childhood growing up in a pioneer family. She also wrote a regular newspaper column and kept a diary as an adult moving from South Dakota to Missouri, the latter of which has been published as a book.
More about Laura Ingalls Wilder...
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“She heard pa shouting,"Jiminy crickets!It's raining fish-hooks and hammer handles!”
—
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Apr 19, 2012 01:33pm
Apr 20, 2012 08:27am