A senior editor for Albert Whitman & Company, McClure brings the reader through her journey as an adult of rediscovering these beloved classics from her childhood.
A year after the death of her mother, McClure's eye catches the yellow spine of Little House in the Big Woods in her apartment. She picks the book off the shelf and begins reading. Her boyfriend, Chris, brings home a new set of the Little House books and together they read, explore "Laura World," and embark on a trip by car to visit the many Laura Ingalls Wilder homesites across America.
The Wilder Life is both touching and irreverent. The author's lifelong obsession leads her on this terrific journey into a world that is familiar, yet, altogether new. From tracking down a "crock and dash" churn so she can make butter like Caroline Ingalls, to wading in Plum Creek; from purchasing numerous sunbonnets, to meeting girls competing in the Laura-Nellie Look Alike Contest at the Wilder Pageant in Walnut Grove, MN; and from a surprise during her trip to De Smet, SD, to the meaning found in a visit to the Wilder farm in New York, readers will enjoy following McClure's travels.
This is the kind of book that you have to consider as a whole. There are moments when it feels like McClure is poking fun at the whole "bonnethead" obsession and some of the people she meets along the way. She occasionally uses words that were not made for family TV back in the 70's. She also has her own vision of what faith meant to the Ingalls family versus how it was portrayed on television in Little House on the Prairie and the 2005 mini-series of the same name.
But when you take those moments and blend them into the entire narrative, you come up with a funny, engaging, and moving look into the impact Wilder's books had on McClure's life, and how Wilder's legacy continues to touch the lives of people everywhere. I am thrilled to have The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure as part of my Laura Ingalls Wilder book collection.
Title: The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie
Author: Wendy McClure
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (April 14, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1594487804
ISBN-13: 978-1594487804
SRP: $25.95 (Hardcover)
Will also be available in a Kindle edition and as an audio book.
7 comments:
Another great book for the Ingalls family and fans. Thanks for sharing.
This is really interesting and,oh so, well written. Thanks for this, Cheryl. I certainly enjoyed reading it.
It's really cool how many people Laura touched with her books. My father-in-law started reading them after he retired and immediately bought the whole set. I found that re-reading them as an adult brought an entirely different perspective to the stories. So this sounds like a very interesting book. Thanks for sharing!
My daughter will start reading some of the Little House books this summer as recommended summer reading. I loved the series as a child. Thanks for this review!
Diane
Thanks for stopping by with your comments everyone. I appreciate it.
Your review is excellent as always. It interests me in the book and makes me remember all the joys of reading the series aloud a bit each night to my 2 little girls. Now they have little ones who are ready to begin the tradition. I'll have to mention it. Thank you!
Jennifer Houdeshell
I heard Wendy read an excerpt of her book at Laurapalooza in 2010. I wasn't planning on buying this book because her reading seemed to be like too many run-on sentences. But if I can find a copy I'll have a look and consider it. I'll likely end up with one to add to my collection.
Thanks for the review Cheryl.
Marilyn
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