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I have often wondered if I am the only man who has read the entire Little House series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. While I grew up reading the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift Junior, We Were There, Landmark and other children's series books, it wasn't until I was an adult that I discovered the Little House series. I bought the set for my wife when we were first married because she had read them when she was a girl and really liked them. She kept telling me how good they were, so I decided to read them.

At the time, I was working as a night watchman in a toy factory. Night watchmen didn't get paid much and had few benefits. The one benefit we had, however, was time. I could do my rounds in 10-15 minutes, leaving 45-50 minutes of each hour free for reading. Most of the men I worked with read Sports Illustrated, Car & Driver, Playboy and other male oriented magazines. Hardly any of them read books. I was a little nervous about what they might think of me reading "girl's" books instead of "girlie" books; so it was ironic that while they openly read Playboy, I sneaked my Little House books into work in a brown paper bag and only read them when no one was around.

After reading the series, I realized what a mistake it was to think that the Little House books were only for girls or women. While they were written by a woman, from the point of view of a child, they contain a great deal of information about what life was like for men who homesteaded. The life was hard and would break most men today, just as the life of women on the prairies was also difficult. .

I read the books in the order which they were published, which is chronological with the exception of Farmer Boy. I found the first book, Little House in the Big Woods, to be inferior to the others in its writing skills, so I often advise people to start with the second book and they can always read the first book later.

I love the Little House books for several reasons. First, I enjoy learning about America's past. Second, I love the values that they teach: perseverance, honesty, love of family, integrity and so much more. Third, I like them because they are so well written.

Some scholars believe that Rose Wilder Lane, Laura's daughter, helped her write or at least edit the books. Having read some of Lane's books, I can believe that might be the case. But then the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and Rose might well have inherited her writing skills from her mother.

I have read the series several times now, and I have visited Almanzo Wilder's birthplace in upstate New York. Some day my wife and I will make the pilgrimage to Missouri and the Dakotas to see other Laura Ingalls Wilder sites.

While there are many other books I would put on the list of best children's books, the list would not be complete without the Little House books.

Learn more about this author, Dan Weaver.
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