This book will have huge appeal to a specific audience: women whose childhood infatuation with the Little House on the Prairie books never quite went away. The author keeps a sense of humor about her obsession, while providing thoughtful research and analysis of the fictional books v the reality. A few uneasy reactions I had upon re-reading the books as an adult were mentioned: for example, there is some rather overt racism at times; Pa’s urge to move was not always entirely due to a desire for wide open spaces. Most importantly I appreciated the affirmation of my firm belief that no serious fan of the books would ever believe Pa looked like Michael Landon.

Often accompanied by her husband (who you can tell is totally into it despite pretending to humor her), the author visits the Ingalls homestead sites. In between trips there are attempts to recreate the LHOP lifestyle. While I have not felt the urge to grind my own wheat, I did recently buy a churn. As to the writer’s comment that as a child she thought she would one day have a daughter and name her Laura … umm… guilty, and not just of the passing thought.