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Winter Days in the Big Woods

(My First Little House Books)

Laura Ingalls Wilder,

Renée Graef (Illustrator)

4.29 · Rating details · 1,687 ratings · 76 reviews

Laura helps Ma and Pa make the little log cabin snug and cozy for the snowy days ahead. 1994 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA) ...more

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Paperback, 32 pages

Published September 15th 1995 by HarperCollins (first published September 1st 1994)

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Average rating 4.29 ·

Rating details

· 1,687 ratings · 76 reviews

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Jan 08, 2019 Melki rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, kidstuff

A very sweet introduction to the Little House books for the youngest readers. Join the Ingalls family as they prepare for the coming winter, and indulge in fun indoor activities once the season arrives. This is a perfect warm and cozy read when the weather is getting you down.

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Nov 13, 2017 Lekeshua rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2017

Daughter read this aloud with me and we loved it. I'm so glad my daugter was able to read this on her and able to enjoy Laura, Ma, Pa, Mary, and baby Carrie's life in the Big Woods. I see her re-reading this until she's ready for the original series alone. ...more

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Nov 02, 2016 Danette rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: picture-books

10/2016 - Read with Naomi & Julia.
7/16/18 Read with Naomi & Julia.
11/9/18 Naomi read to Julia & me
1/2/19 Read with Julia.
4/29/19 Read with Julia.
7/22/20 Read with Julia

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Feb 22, 2017 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Our family loves these illustrated versions of The Little House books!

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Jan 20, 2019 Angie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: picture-books, read-aloud

This is a great story for learning about what life was like in the “olden days” before people lived near a grocery store where they could purchase whatever they needed. We enjoyed hearing about the little girls’ simple pleasures of playing house and dolls in the attic and creating homemade paper dolls.

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Feb 03, 2020 Nicole rated it it was amazing

In this children’s picture book, adapted from the Little House books, Laura and her family live through the winter in the big woods. She and her older sister help their mother gather their garden harvest, bake, churn butter, and do other house chores. During the day her father hunts and at night entertains the family with his fiddle. This story is a nice introduction to a pioneer way of life. In my school district, second graders learn about our city’s pioneer history, and visit historical log c ...more

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Feb 27, 2018 Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: laurie-books

Smaller version of a tale from the Little House on the prairie

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Jan 30, 2019 Peacegal rated it liked it

The classic stories of life on the American frontier are adapted for the picture-book set. Young people are offered a (very idealized) glimpse into the past and the ways the Little House family prepared for the winter months.

Veg*n parents note: Pa is shown going into the woods with his gun and we are told that he hunts every day so the family will have plenty of meat for winter. This could bring up discussion regarding how food and our ways of obtaining it have changed greatly over time.

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Feb 21, 2019 Faith Hough rated it it was amazing

I realized I had never reviewed this wonderful picture book series here. I just read a few to my girls and nephews yesterday and was reminded how much every child I know LOVES them.

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Jan 16, 2021 Anna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Renee Graef is one of my favorite artists. This book was the coziest read!

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Feb 06, 2018 Heather rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My sister passed this along me, us both being fans of Little House. I've never actually read any of the books before, and wondered if this was a snippet from the series, or a made-up story.

I loved the little cabin in the woods, with the split-rail fence. It looked so cozy.
I found myself comparing it with the show, thinking they didn’t have a bulldog, it was a boarder collie. Like in the show, Laura had brown hair, Mary and Carrie had blonde.

They were picking vegetables from the garden, but it My sister passed this along me, us both being fans of Little House. I've never actually read any of the books before, and wondered if this was a snippet from the series, or a made-up story.

I loved the little cabin in the woods, with the split-rail fence. It looked so cozy.
I found myself comparing it with the show, thinking they didn’t have a bulldog, it was a boarder collie. Like in the show, Laura had brown hair, Mary and Carrie had blonde.

They were picking vegetables from the garden, but it didn’t show a garden, just her holding carrots above the grass, which looked like they sprang up out of nowhere. Rather than having a garden with rows of different vegetables.
It showed the simplicity of games children back then would have, how they played house in the attic, using pumpkins as tables.

When the first snow came, the windows were frosted over, with pictures of trees and flowers and fairies. Ma said Jack Frost came in the night and made the pictures while everyone was asleep. Laura and Mary used Ma’s thimble to make patterns in the frost.

They had a day for each chore: Wash on Mondays, iron in Tuesday, mend on Wednesday, churn on Thursday, clean on Friday, bake on Saturday, rest on Sunday.
She would cut paper dolls for them, drawing their faces on with pencils, and cutting dresses, hats, and ribbons out of colored paper.
The best time of all was when Pa came home. He would take off his fur cap, and coat, and say “Where’s my little half-pint of sweet cider half drunk up?” If you’ve watched the show, you’re definitely familiar with “half-pint,” but I’d never heard the rest of that tacked onto it.

Like the show, Pa plays the fiddle, and he sang, too, although I don’t remember that in the show. Carrie looked cute on this page, with her arms outstretched, listening to the music.
He also liked to tell them stories, setting them on his knees and ticking their faces with his whiskers. We’re told he had blue eyes. I guess that's accurate to his eye color in real life.

It says it was cold and snowy outside, but they were all cozy and snug in the little log cabin, and happy in the Big Woods. I liked that line, because it shows the coziness you can feel in your house during winter, but I didn’t expect that to be the last line of the book
The last picture shows their cabin in the snow, with a smoke trail from the chimney, and the light from the windows shining in the snow on the ground.

This shows a glimpse into what life was like in the past. I loved the outfits, like Pa in a fur cap, with his rifle, and hunting gear on, and them in their dresses. And how even though their house was little, they were still cozy and happy in it.
I wish it had been more of a story. It’s titled winter days in the big woods, but the chores it talks about are done on any day, any time of the year. It only snows eleven pages into the book, and shows them drawing on the window. It didn’t cover what chores are specific to winter. The rest of the scenes in the book are of them inside of the cabin. You wouldn’t even know it’s winter, until the very last page.
This didn’t really feel like a winter book.

...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Natalie Zagara rated it really liked it

A charming story about a young pioneer girl and her family. The story weaves the tale of life in the woods of Wisconsin and the daily routines of a little girl and her family. The story covers everything from Pa and Ma's daily work, such as hunting, planting, sowing and gathering crops, churning butter and other subtleties. The little girls and their parents seem happy and cozy with their life. The realistic pictures paint a picture of what life back then would really be like. A straighforward, ...more

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Mar 15, 2014 Ricki rated it really liked it

Shelves: children-s-books

These are my favorite books to read to Henry. They make me want to curl up in front of a fire and cuddle with him.

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Feb 02, 2018 Andrea rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I didn’t know they made My First Little House books; they didn’t have these out when I was a kid. I was just browsing through the library’s books and wanting a throwback to my childhood, and to learn about life at this time. I didn’t know they had bridged the gap between the original chapter books and younger kids, so I wasn’t expecting this to be basically a picture book with a few sentences on every other page. I don’t think I remembered that they lived in Wisconsin. I would have thought it wa I didn’t know they made My First Little House books; they didn’t have these out when I was a kid. I was just browsing through the library’s books and wanting a throwback to my childhood, and to learn about life at this time. I didn’t know they had bridged the gap between the original chapter books and younger kids, so I wasn’t expecting this to be basically a picture book with a few sentences on every other page. I don’t think I remembered that they lived in Wisconsin. I would have thought it was another state.

It was interesting that Pa went hunting every day to stock up on meat for the winter. Ma and the girls picked potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, cabbages, onions, peppers and pumpkins. I wouldn’t have expected them to have all of those kinds of vegetables.

I liked learning that they used a thimble on their fingers to draw pictures in the frost on the windows. I was surprised that each day had its own task. Monday was for washing, Tuesday: ironing, Wednesday: mending, Thursday: church, Friday: cleaning, Saturday: baking, and resting on Sunday.

They churned cream to make butter. Ma would give them little pieces of dough to make a little loaf of bread, and bits of cookie dough to make cookies. Sometimes after the work was done for the day, Ma would make paper dolls for the girls. She’d cut colored paper and draw faces on with a pencil, and cut out dresses and cats and ribbons so they could dress them.

I had never heard Pa’s saying about Laura: “Where’s my little half-pint of sweet sider half drunk up?” I only knew that he called her half pint, not the whole saying.

He would play the fiddle and sing songs, and tell them stories with them sitting on his knees.

It was a short story, just the basics, which I guess is ok for little kids, but I expected more and was disappointed how it ended with saying the cabin was warm and cozy, despite it being cold outside. I wanted even more from life back then and was hoping to learn about more customs and traditions. ...more

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Nov 18, 2018 Chloe DeRocker rated it it was amazing

Shelves: life

1. Awards received: none

2. Appropriate grade levels: Pre-K to 2nd Grade

3. Original Summary: Winter is coming to the big woods of Wisconsin but don't worry because Ma, Pa, Mary, Laura, Carrie, and bulldog Jack are ready. During the day Pa goes out to hunt and the girls stay home to cook, mend clothes, churn butter and play! At the end of the day Pa comes back and plays fiddle and sings with the girls around the fire.

4. Original Review: This is a very warm and child-friendly adaptation of Laura I ...more

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Sep 11, 2019 Kaitlin Schraeder rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

The genre this book fits under is historical fiction. It fits under this genre because the plot and setting is located in the past. This book was about a little girl named Laura and her family getting ready for a Wisconsin winter. It mentions her father having to go out hunting everyday for food for the winter and her mother having to do chores at the log cabin to prepare for winter. It talks about each chore the girls and their mother have to do such as churning butter, making bread, and washin ...more

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Apr 19, 2019 Natasha rated it really liked it

These "My First Little House Books" picture book series is beautifully illustrated, but I feel like they're almost too young for my children as we've already read-aloud the first 3 books of the original Little House books. So they are familiar with the stories already and we appreciate them more for their artistic value. ...more

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Dec 28, 2017 Brittany rated it it was amazing

Something so cozy and nostalgic about the little house books!

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Sep 01, 2019 Talea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, history, children, historical-fiction, biography

A great way to introduce younger children to the beauty of the Little House books.

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Oct 11, 2019 Kaliah rated it it was amazing

This was a fun book to read. I liked the detailed pictures. I liked that the book had a meaning to it.

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Jan 16, 2020 Ammie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This series is a treasure to share with your littles.

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Mar 24, 2020 Jayda Safford rated it it was amazing

I like this book a lot storys can come true and a dream the you wish will come true

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Jan 13, 2021 Erin Berry Salazar rated it really liked it

A good precursor for younger readers to the Little House series.

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Jul 29, 2011 Eva Marie rated it really liked it

Shelves: julias-books

I'm so pleased that Julia continues to love the My First Little House books we read. After she enjoyed the first one we read I was a little nervous that it would fall off. After all, these aren't the most exciting books in the world and that seems to be all kids are interested in these days. But she hasn't stopped enjoying them and has even asked me a few times if there are more. Instead of swamping her with all books in the series we've continued to read whatever we want with these tucked in no ...more

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Feb 13, 2017 SLoMoe rated it it was amazing

Love all the stories in this series. Love the illustrations!

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Nov 10, 2014 Theresa Landgren added it

Shelves: historical-fiction

This a story about Laura Ingalls Wilder when she lived in the woods of Wisconsin. The book goes through what her family does to prepare for the winter days that are coming to the big woods. They have to get the vegetables from the garden, her pa went hunting for meat, and her sister Mary and her have to churn the butter. The end of the book shows the family in the cabin being warm and having each other to get through the winter.

I would use this book in my classroom because it is a story that I e ...more

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Nov 27, 2016 Mattie Troyer rated it liked it

As a little girl I remember my dad reading Little House books to me. I love the picture books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. They do not do justice for her chapter book series but these short stories are good for beginner readers. Especially for young girls who love the Little House series! My favorite part about the Winter Days book would have to be the illustrations! They are beautifully done with colored pencil and flow really well with the story. This particular story takes you back in time to pio ...more

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Dec 17, 2016 Kala rated it it was ok

Shelves: children-s-books

The illustrations in this picture book rendition of the Little House books is far better than the ones in "Sugar Snow". These look like they were done with car unlike the ones in the book mentioned above which seemed rushed and a bit creepy, especially since little Carrie's head seemed far too big for her body.

The story telling in this volume is also a step up from "Sugar Snow" which I found boring in comparison. "Winter Days" reminded me more of the actual novels and their ability to transport ...more

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Dec 04, 2008 Kim♥ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: z-children-picture-books

Much to my delight, my boys who are five and two absolutely love these books! The "My First Little House" series takes stories out of the original little house books and illustrates them beautifully. My boys love to point out each family member and my five year old asks lots of questions. These books have become a wonderful way to introduce history and "the simple life" to my little ones. These books have great family values. :) ...more

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Feb 22, 2009 Dori rated it it was amazing

At first I was appalled at the idea of "dumbing down" the cherished "Little House Series" for toddlers, but when my husband brought this home from the library I was charmed. The series is faithful to the original books, breaking out each chapter of the original book into a separate book with plenty of pictures and simple sentences that my 2 1/2 year olds enjoy. And I didn't have to wait to share my favorite childhood books with them!! ...more

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About Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls Wilder

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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.