The First Four Years (Little House)

Rating:
Summary: The first years they are married
Review: "The First Four Years" has a distinctly different tone from the "Little House" books, which, despite the hardships of pioneer life, were suffused with the strength, comfort, and security of loving parents. Pa would play his fiddle, and Ma would sit sewing in the evenings, and all was well. This book describes the beginning years of Laura and Almanzo Wilder's life together, and it was a difficult period.

Both Laura and Almanzo suffer from diptheria, a very serious illness at the time. Laura later gave birth to the couple's second child, a son whose life was so brief that he apparently remained unnamed. After his death, during a period when Laura must have been distraught and inattentive (although this is not spelled out), there is a fire which destroys the house Almanzo has so lovingly and carefully built.

Their troubles and losses eventually lead to a re-location to the Ozarks in Arkansas, far from Ma and Pa and the family circle of sisters, although that move is outside the scope of the book.

"The First Four Years", despite lyrical passages, describes the end-of-innocence in Laura Wilder's life. It's a book for older children. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Tough times for a hardy pioneer family
Review: "The First Four Years," by Laura Ingalls Wilder, tells the story of the early years of the marriage of Laura Ingalls and Manly Wilder. The introduction by Roger Lea MacBride notes that the text was discovered as a manuscript among the real-life Laura's papers, and was not published as a book until after the deaths of both Laura and her daughter Rose.

As the story opens in 1885, Laura agrees to marry Manly and help him try to make a living farming. Manly quotes the Irish saying, "Everything is evened up in the world. The rich have their ice in the summer but the poor get theirs in the winter"; this saying recurs throughout the story. The young family eventually grows with the birth of baby Rose.

"First Four" offers lots of details about farm economics and daily farm activities. The pioneering family faces much adversity: sickness, the harsh climate, and more. Wilder presents the often deadly dangers of pioneer life quite frankly; I don't believe that this is a sugar-coated portrayal.

There are some dark and troubling moments along the way, but ultimately I found this book to be joyful and hopeful. Wilder celebrates the courage and tenacity of the pioneer farm family.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps one to skip
Review:
This is a must for Laura diehards only. At any rate, perhaps those reading the stories to children younger than 8 or so should have second thoughts.

The book picks up just before the ending of "These Happy Golden Years," and describes Laura Ingalls' first four years married to her husband of over 60 years, Almanzo Wilder, who she here calls "Manly."

This is the only one of the original series which was not published during her lifetime, and not edited (some say co-written or ghost written) by her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, herself a best-selling author, and it shows.

The writing was not as bad as I was led to believe without Rose's hand, as the book was based on a diary Laura kept during her first married years. A close friend of Rose's, Roger Lea McBride, received this diary and saw to its publication after Rose's death. The book seems more like a story outline than a diary as such, and perhaps Laura intended it as a base for Rose to embellish, but this never happened.

I read this book in order with the others in the series with my 8-year-old daughter (we took an entire school year of evenings to finish). My daughter was annoyed by the fact that the descriptions of the events before Laura and Almanzo's wedding are not exactly like those in the earlier book, and she quickly picked up on the fact the book doesn't have the richness of description so important to enjoyment of the earlier works, especially for young girls.

Laura and Almanzo had a rough time of it those first four years, but this book does not have the tone of hopefulness and progress that illuminated the earlier works--in fact, Laura reveals a great deal of anger and bitterness that exists, but is veiled, in the Rose-edited stories.

Despite the tribulations, there are good times, too, and the young couple's pleasure with their daughter Rose shines through. Nevertheless, the hardships of the prairie became so oppressive that, by the end of the 3rd year, I almost dreaded reading the 4th, so I jokingly tried to end the series by saying "and then a giant grasshopper ate the entire crop and the house! The end!" My daughter didn't buy that, though, and the actual end was, if anything, less cheerful.

I consoled my daughter by pointing out that Laura, Almanzo and Rose all lived long full lives afterward, and it wasn't all so hard. But if I had had the choice, I would've just skipped this one.

Rating:
Summary: A change of pace from the 8 previous "Little house" books -
Review: For those of you used to the sentimental (but still lovely) "Little House" books, from "Little House in the Big Woods" to "These Happy, Golden Years," you will find "The First Four Years" to have quite a different feel and tone. Whereas Laura wrote the first 8 books with major input from her journalist daughter Rose Wilder Lane, Laura wrote "The First Three Years and a Year of Grace" as a personal journal of sorts, separate from her major works which were written and published from 1932-1946. "The First Four Years" is more somber, a little heavier, and weighed with Laura and Manley's disapppointment over personal tradgedies such as losing every crop for 4 years due to drought or hail, losing their home to a fire, going into heavy debt, contracting a major illness that left Manley with a stroke and a disability, and finally losing a child just a few days old. This book was published in the 1970s, after the death of both Laura and Rose. A must-read for "Little House" fans, with the understanding that The Wilders had a hard life that Laura did not want to address much in her books. - Lori M. Sampso

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Summary: The First Four Years - painting life with words
Review: Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote from the heart and from her experiences of life on the prairie as a child. If it's been a long time since you've read a Laura Ingalls Wilder book, then I suggest you pick this one up and read the beautiful descriptions and let your mind paint the scenery with words.

Laura wrote what she saw and she described life so well you can nearly smell the farm air and help her with sewing her new black cashmere dress or feel the threat of the thunderstrom rolling in. Make no mistake, you are there with Laura.

The tone in this book is a bit different then some of her other books. Perhaps there is a reason why she never had this book printed. Interestingly enough, the draft of the book was found among her personal papers and was written on an orange colored school tablet. The family lawyer looked over her personal works and had the book published after her death. I for one am glad he did. This book tells of Laura's life as an adult and the birth of her daughter Rose, and the hardships and disappointments of farming and life in the mid to late 1880's.

It is a great book! A classic. It tells about life as it was with all of the bumps along the way. It is a must read for youngsters who like this historical time and want to know more about everyday life. It is a treasure if you are one of those that grew up on the "Little House" series and want to relive the series of books through your children or the neighbors children. Oh, what the heck, read it for yourself just one more time. You will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Last But Not Least
Review: The First Four Years is dramatically different from the rest of the Little House books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, but is a must-read for all those who have enjoyed her earlier books, and who were left wondering what happened after Laura and Almanzo were married at the conclusion of These Happy Golden Years. As many others have already pointed out, this manuscript was pretty much published as it was found, with no polishing or revisions, and as a result, there is a realism here that makes for a much different reading experience. The way that the book barely touches the subject of the death of Laura's infant son reveals just as much about Laura's feelings at the time as any written words possibly could. Even though the book is very different from the rest of the series, I still highly recommend it!

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Summary: Yadira (B.P, US)
Review: The four first years was the best book I had read from Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote, thats what I think. I loved that book.It was kind of hard in the begining to understand it but at the end it was great.Well, it was boring in the biginning and at the end there were the interesting parts.Especially when Laura and her man Almanzo gets married.Then years later they had a baby girl.But at first Laura didnt wanted to married Almanzo.Then at the end of the story their house gets burned.
Thats why I tink kids of age 10 should read this book.Eventhough its kind of hard to read it and understand it. As I said I didnt understand it at the beginning it was kind of hard also some of the words were hard to understand them.
The only part that I didnt like was when Laura told him that she wasnt sure if she wants to married him.Because es a farmer and she doesnt want to be married to a farmer because they dont get enough money and that shes not going to have a good life with him.But I tink that is she really loves him she doesnt have to be worried about the money or having a good life.The only thing that its important its the love that she has for him.I hope that everyone could enjoy reading this book like I did.

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Summary: Warning! Read This If You Loved the Series So Far!
Review: The Little House series is fantastic for readers of all ages. Laura Ingalls Wilder is a wonderful writer. It was her intention that the series end in the nice, neat little wrap-up she included in "These Happen Golden Years." However, this novel, "The First Four Years," was published after both Laura and her daughter Rose had died. And after reading the text, I can see why these pages were not really written to be published. Foremost, the book is too sad. None of the cheerful quips and passages that fill the other Little House books are included in this one. It is only a detailed account of all the incredible hardships the young couple faces. Second, the book contradicts parts of the other novels (in fact it starts with the same marriage proposal scene captured so sweetly in "Golden Years" only in this version, Laura initially says no because Almanzo is a farmer and she can't stand the idea of being a farmer's wife!) These are things to keep in mind before getting this book. Admittedly, it is interesting to know what happens next to Laura, but this book is not like the others. Be prepared.

Rating:
Summary: Different isn't always bad!
Review: Yes, this book is different from the rest of the books in the series.

No, that doesn't mean it's necessarily not a good book!

This book tells a lot about the kinds of things families went through to get started in the late 1800's. As a child, this was not one of my favorites in the series; as an adult, I am able to read a lot more into it.

I have to comment on the folks who stated that Rose "ghostwrote" Laura's books. I have no doubt that she had many suggestions, and did some editing, but--
Have you ever read any of Rose's books?
Not even close.
They are entertaining *stories,* but no more than that. The characters are not 'alive,' as they are in all the Little House books. (Even in this book, you get the feeling that the characters are real people you might meet.)
The styles are vastly different. Anyone who thinks that Rose is responsible for the LH books could never have read any that Rose actually wrote.
Rose may have helped out--may have helped out a lot!--but without Laura, she could never have duplicated this series of books.