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My First Little House Books

Winter on the Farm: A Beloved Picture Book About Almanzo from the Little House Series for Children (Ages 4-8)

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The Little House books tell the story of a little pioneer girl and her family as they traveled by covered wagon across the Midwest. Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic books, illustrated with Garth Williams' timeless artwork, have been cherished by millions of readers ever since they were first published over sixty years ago.

This My First Little House Book introduces Almanzo Wilder, the young boy from Farmer Boy who would one day marry Laura Ingalls. In Winter on the Farm, Almanzo goes through his afternoon barn chores, and then sits down to eat a hearty farm supper with his family. In this first book about Almanzo, young readers are able to share in the warmth and joy of another Little House family and celebrate new Little House adventures. Winter on the Farm is the first in an ongoing series about Laura’s beloved farmer boy.

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

3 people are currently reading
455 people want to read

About the author

Laura Ingalls Wilder

417 books5,399 followers
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.

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5 stars
285 (43%)
4 stars
217 (33%)
3 stars
128 (19%)
2 stars
13 (2%)
1 star
5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
Profile Image for Anna.
844 reviews48 followers
May 9, 2024
Winter on the Farm, adapted from Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, c. 1996. Part of the Little House Picture Book series. Wonderful illustrations by Jody Wheeler and Renee Graef, in the style of Garth Williams (and with his permission) make these books very special.

Kudos to whomever created the Little House Picture Books for the youngest set of Little House fans. The stories are faithful to the original and the full-page, full-color illustrations help children picture the pioneer lives of Laura Ingalls, her family, and Almanzo Wilder, her future husband.

In Winter on the Farm, young Almanzo helps his family with chores around the farm, enjoys a hearty supper, and spends a cozy evening with his family around the stove, eating apples and popcorn.

Winter on the Farm is part one of three books featuring Almanzo. In County Fair, Almanzo and his family travel to the fair, bringing their contributions of pickles and jellies and sewing. Almanzo's huge pumpkin was sent on ahead because it was too big to fit in the buggy, and he can't wait to see if it wins a prize. In book three, A Farmer Boy Birthday, Almanzo gets to stay home from school on his birthday and gets a wonderful surprise from his father. Other events make his birthday a very special day.

"My First Little House Books" is a series that is comprised of at least 24 outstanding picture books adapted from Wilder's writings that your youngest readers, ages 3-6 years, will love.
Profile Image for Danette.
2,970 reviews14 followers
January 30, 2020
What's not to love? Farm animals, lots of food, and a sweet farmer boy.
This series is perfect for mamas who just can't wait to introduce the Little House books to their children.
1/7/19 Read with Naomi and Julia
1/29/20 Read with Julia
Profile Image for Elaine.
981 reviews15 followers
January 5, 2017
It crazy when tou compare and contrast Almanzo and Laura's lives.
Profile Image for Hannah Elizabeth.
32 reviews
September 19, 2018
Summary
The book Winter on the Farm is a book from the series "Little House on the prairie." This story followed the day of a boy named Almonzo. I would guess that Almondo was around eight years old. Throughout the story, it showed how life was back in the early 1910s. During the story, he milked his cow and helped with the farm chores.

Opinion
Growing up I loved these book in chapter book form but I was not very engaged in this particular book. Maybe children who have not read a book from a different time period would be engrossed. That is why I rated it a three.

Teaching Idea
I believe that this would be a good text for a student who is reading on a 2nd-grade reading level. It might also be a good one to use for a guided reading lesson. I would expand on the text by talking more about the time period, how people lived, and what a school room looked like. Maybe I would even run my classroom as the classrooms were run back then for a day to give my students the full experience.
1,451 reviews11 followers
January 21, 2019
We have a few of these on the shelf, and as a Little House fan, it’s gratifying that my 5-year-olds seem to love these picture book adaptations of some of the stories and vignettes from the original books. In this one, they get a “slice of life” view of a winter day at Almanzo’s childhood farm. It’s fascinating to them to read about what his chores were, and what the family ate for dinner. The illustrations in these picture books are beautiful, two-page spread, full bleed, which makes it easy to really get absorbed by the story.
Profile Image for Lisbeth.
221 reviews
July 19, 2019
This book is lovely. The story is a MUCH abridged version of Wilder's Farmer Boy, yet does a nice job introducing Almanzo, his family and their farm. The illustrations are exceptional complete with vast detail.
Profile Image for Miss Clark.
2,888 reviews224 followers
January 10, 2024
Artwork by Jody Wheeler (in the style of Garth Williams) enhances these short episodes taken from the Little House books proper, this time taking a look at young Almanzo on the family farm in New York.
Profile Image for Nichole.
167 reviews
January 6, 2018
A wonderful book to introduce children to Almanzo Wilder and winter farm life
Profile Image for Rachel.
1,137 reviews15 followers
March 1, 2018
A short story from the Little House on the Prairie series. Great to start the littles off on this great series!
Profile Image for Chelsey.
957 reviews32 followers
October 4, 2021
Love this story and the beautiful illustrations. This book tells us of what Winter is like on the farm and what Almanzo does to help out in the barn. Love this one!
Profile Image for Jules Loz.
120 reviews
January 3, 2022
J read this book aloud to me (3rd grade) - we love this series, short easy to read books, we love the illustrations too
Profile Image for Charlotte S.
410 reviews5 followers
September 11, 2023
Join Almanzo as he does chores around the farm. Don't miss the yummy food for supper! We absolutely love these books! Follow @bronteandwilder on Instagram for more fun book recommendations!
Profile Image for Kim Hampton.
1,702 reviews37 followers
July 8, 2024
A great way to introduce young readers to the Little House books.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
6,128 reviews113 followers
January 11, 2025
Winter on the Farm (My First Little House Books #4) by Laura Ingalls Wilder – If you love the Little House books, these picture books are a sweet intro for little readers! Happy Reading!
Profile Image for KaitandMaddie.
4,262 reviews13 followers
March 1, 2025
This is such a great way to illustrate how varied life could be in historical times when compared with Laura’s log cabin in winter.
Profile Image for Megan.
200 reviews19 followers
July 14, 2011
I've been scouring the local thrift stores looking for copies of "My First Little House" books for my son Peter. They are picture books for children which are based on the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories, and even feature illustrations similar to those done by Garth Williams.

"Winter on the Farm" is definitely Peter's favorite in this series, as it features "Farmer Boy" Almanzo Wilder and all the animals he takes care of in the barn. Almanzo milks the cows, and cleans the stalls, and loves to look at his father's beautiful horses . After all his hard work Almanzo sits down to a large meal with the family, and concludes that, "It's good to be a farmer boy."

I love the important lessons and moral messages found in this series. "Winter on the Farm" is a great book for young kids who are learning to take care of animals and help with household chores.
Profile Image for Kim♥.
89 reviews
December 5, 2008
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. :)
Profile Image for Naomi.
4,813 reviews142 followers
Read
May 26, 2015
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 focuses on Almanzo Wilder. BTW..see no mention of a Pearly Day Wilder or a younger brother...figment of tv imagination???
Profile Image for Rachel.
52 reviews3 followers
January 3, 2011
With warm illustrations and simple, pleasant text--this is not a bad book. As a vegetarian, though, it didn't work out well with the focus being on milking cows and eating pigs. I won't be sharing this with my animal-loving son.
Profile Image for Jen.
1,060 reviews27 followers
February 22, 2012
I really enjoy these books! This is part of the My First Little House Books Series and tells the story of Almanzo Wilder's childhood days on his farm in New York during the winter. My boys, who are big farm story fans, really enjoyed this book.
Profile Image for Bree.
1,751 reviews10 followers
October 22, 2012
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.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews

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