Summertime in the Big Woods

My First Little House Books

by Trophy Pr (contributor)

Summer is here, and there's so much to be done! Laura and Mary spend a busy day helping Ma make cheese, playing outside, and enjoying the sweet honey that Pa brings home. Full color.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Summer, Fiction, Historical, Classics

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Little House picture books so much more than Little House in the Big Woods. This one is vivid and memorable. I recalled much from childhood readings and was delighted all over again as an adult.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

We found this along with a few others in the series at our library and my girls love them- nice big illustrations and not too wordy that a toddler can't follow along.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

These little house picture books are so precious, and bring back many memories of lying next to Mum before bedtime while she read them aloud. The illustrations are lovely and the story is timeless.

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t wait to visit the big woods of Wisconsin and try fresh cheese curds that go SQUEEK!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I was going to have to wait a few more years to introduce the classic Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House series to my 3-year-old. Then at an event at the library a few weeks ago he got to pick out a free book. The one he chose was called A Deer in the Wood, part of the My First Little House picture books. It was a perfect, sweet picture book version of one vignette from Little House in the Big Woods. My son was immediately enraptured and saw on the back of the book that there were many others available in the series. He said, "Next time we go to the library, let's look for these ones," pointing to the images of the other books' covers. And so we did. We've so far checked out two others, and this one, Summertime in the Big Woods is my favorite of the bunch. They all are great, though, and perfectly emulate the appeal of the original books (even with illustrations in the style of Garth Williams) while reaching a younger audience. I can tell that by the time my kid is ready for chapter-book read alouds at bedtime, he will be totally primed for the Little House series.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

These Little House illustrations just may be the best I've ever seen in my entire life of reading. They are so amazingly perfect I can't put into words how I feel. You really get a feeling when you look at them, some sort of peaceful feeling that isn't the norm, at least for me, when looking at the pictures in any kind of book. The illustrations get 5 stars by themselves.
The story is slightly lacking IMO. I wish there would have been more. More excitement. More detail maybe. Just more.
I believe the books are good for kids though, if only to show some differences between life now and life then.
Seeing two little girls under a tree playing with dolls instead of watching cartoons is important I think. Seeing a little girl bringing her Father lunch while he works in the field is important. There's a lot of importance in these books but IMO that's found more in the illustrations than in the text.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a HUGE Laura Ingalls Wilder fan since I was a little girl and got the box set for my 9th birthday. We have just started reading Little House in the Big Woods with our oldest son which he really enjoys. I have the My First Little House Books set in my school library and grabbed them one day when I was in. Our boys are hooked! They love listening to the stories, like this one, of pioneer life and how Laura lived. The book in particular talked about all the fun things Laura used to do in the summertime.

[Heather Minson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summertime in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a part of the collection of My First Little House Books in the Little House on the Prairie series. This book is about a little girl named Laura and her life and adventures in the prairie during summertime. This book is most appropriate for first to second grade level readers. This makes a perfect historical fiction as it is set in the late 1800s to early 1900s. It is an enjoyable read as it follows the life of a young girl. There is no alarming content in this book. Great read!

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so sweet. If you want to start your kids on historical fiction, then I highly suggest this book.
As a young child, I watched the TV show Little House on the Prairie. I still do.
Anyway, then I read this is Kindergarten as my "Birthday Book Club Book". Then in the 3rd grade, I read the Little House on the Prairie books for real. From there I have continued to read books about Laura, her family, and her daughter.

All that to say that the Little House picture books were pretty good as I remember from Kindergarten.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read Little House on the Prairie to our girls yet, so I thought I would read these My First Little House picture books first to introduce them to the story. They enjoyed the pictures and the story is short and sweet. It's a nice story to read at bedtime.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed reading these "First Little House books" and reading them outloud to my 2 year old granddaughter. Was happy to find them and excited that we wouldn't have to wait until she was 'older' to expose her to the Ingallas families. Same thing for my teenage special needs son. He loves them just as much as my granddaughter. Simple but yet good. The illustrations are GREAT! And very similar to the illustrations in the novels so that is a nice thing as well.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the PERFECT book to introduce little ones to the Ingalls and life in Laura's family. Readers of Wilder's books will recognize snippets of longer stories included here, like visitors during the summer, a bit about the work necessary on a homestead, and Pa finding a honey tree. But it's brief enough that it will hold a preschooler's attention. The artwork is gorgeous!

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love renee graefs illustrations so much, they are so warm and inviting and lively. The story is a simple one about summertime with gardening, canning, and playing with neighbors and friends featured. My kids liked reading about “way back then, like in the 90s” haha. Good for preschoolers and early elementary.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:
All the books in this series are beautiful.
Great intro to pioneer life, but may not connect to preschoolers with no frame of reference.
Son read them after he first learned to read.
Excerpted from Wilder's actual books.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real foodies will enjoy the cheese making and bee tree and from-scratch cookies! These picture books are stories taken from Laura Ingalls Wilder's longer books. Fascinating historical details of life in the Big Woods and on the prairie.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great segmented series that breaks out smaller stories from the series. This series is a great introduction to the Laura Ingalls Wilder series to move the young reader onto once they are ready. This book broke out to the simple ways of life in the big woods during summer.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I read the full length Little House books, I read these Little House picture books. I absolutely love these books. The illustrations are great and the story follows along with the real books. In this book a typical summertime day with the Ingalls is described.

[Alyssa]

It was summertime and Laura and Mary were helping their mom in the garden and played outside while dad tended to the farm and animals. They also helped feed the animals and gathered eggs. When they weren't helping, they played and played.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up I was a big fan of Little House on the Prairie tv show and books. These books are good to introduce younger children to the series. The preschoolers I teach enjoy comparing our life now and Laura's life in the past.

[Anna Colvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My older daughter is about ready to have Little House in the Big Woods read to her, but for now she is enjoying these picture book adaptations with her little sister. We just read this one again on the first day of summer.

[Andrea Flory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is good for grades k-2, 3-4. Its a good book that talks about what children in the olden days when it was summer time. It's a good book to have in a classroom and good if a student has a interest in those type of books. The genre is biography.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are beautiful, based on the originals by Garth Williams. My two-year-old loves it, and now he wants me to read him the original.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book to read before bed. It has a gentle, soothing tone and ends up with the girls snuggled up all cozy in their beds ready to drift off to sleep.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ada choose this 2/09 and it is a very nice introduction to Laura Ingalls Wilder. There is a whole series and she likes them all so far! Fun.

[Maren Prestegaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura is not beloved yet. But when (if) that happens these books will rock.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the original series as a kid, and love that they have some pictures now too.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was basically one of the scenes from Little House in the Big Woods, just written a lot more simply for little kids. I absolutely loved the illustrations!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful; the story has definitely been simplified for a younger child but it still has the neat turn of phrase here or there. I'd like to read more in this series.

[Ammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is a treasure to share with your littles.

[Lokita · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom read this to me when I was very little, so the nostalgia factor is strong here. I love the artwork very much. A sweet and simple book for introducing toddlers to Laura Ingalls.