Survey Results

Not surprisingly, the majority of our readers would like to see Dean Butler play a part in Little House on the Prairie: The Musical. Twenty percent, however, only wanted him to be part of the production if his performance would be close enough for them to see the show. But when 7% of our readers responded "Dean who?" I really began to get worried. Out of all the cast members I talk about Dean the most, so where have these people been hiding all this time. LOL!

I've been away for a couple of weeks, but Dean, the actor who portrayed Almanzo Wilder on Little House on the Prairie for those 7% who don't know, was in Green Bay recently, along with Laura Ingalls Wilder biographer William Anderson to celebrate Laura Ingalls Wilder Day at Heritage Hill State Historical Park. Beth Ingalls-Leisses, one of Charles Ingalls's relatives, and a friend of mine, met Dean and Bill while they were there.

I want to thank my friend Lorrie for thinking of me while she spent time rubbing elbows with Dean and Bill. This week's mail brought me an autographed copy of William Anderson's The Story of the Ingalls and autographed greettings from Dean. I am extremely happy!

Look for a new survey coming soon!

Laura and Almanzo's Romance - The Books Versus The Series

This topic has been on my mind for quite a while, so I figured I would open this up for some discussion to get more thoughts on it.

The developing romance and subsequent marriage between Laura and Almanzo was portrayed very differently on the Little House on the Prairie (LHOP) television series than from what Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in her books.

While Almanzo was the gentle pursuer in the books, it was a young Laura who was pining away for Almanzo on Little House. Now, we realize that Michael Landon had to think of his viewers when he developed Laura and Almanzo's romance for TV. The show's audience had been watching Melissa Gilbert grow up for five seasons; so it would be difficult for them to see a much older man going after Laura in the show. It would almost seem creepy. Take into account the real-life age difference between Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler, who portrayed Almanzo in the show, and once again, Landon had to be very careful with how he presented their budding romance.


In the books, we are also treated to more coverage of their courtship than we are in the show. Most of Season 6 we watch Laura trying to get Almanzo to notice her. That changes starting with the episode Wilder and Wilder. In one episode (Sweet Sixteen) Almanzo finally notices how much Laura has matured; in the next one he proposes (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not); and in the next episode they are married (Laura Ingalls Wilder).

Fans of the books, however, are introduced to Almanzo Wilder in The Long Winter, when he and Cap Garland travel many miles to buy seed wheat to save the town of De Smet from starvation. We see the beginning of Almanzo and Laura's romance in Little Town on the Prairie, and their courtship continues and they get married in These Happy Golden Years. Laura's impressions of Almanzo are very different in the beginning in the books, versus her being so taken with him in the show. If I remember correctly, Laura actually had her eye on Cap Garland.

While I am one of those fans who sees the show and the books as totally different entites, and appreciates how they both celebrate Laura's legacy, I always wished the show dedicated more time to Laura and Almanzo's courtship. Laura's pining away for Almanzo and how she occasionally embarassed herself because of it didn't always sit well with me, but I believe I understand what Landon was trying to accomplish.

How about you? Which version of Laura and Almanzo's romance do you prefer? What changes would you have made to the television version if you had the power? Or are both versions perfect the way they are?

August Book of the Month

I'm posting this early because we'll be off to the Outer Banks of North Carolina this evening and we won't be back until mid-August.

When we asked our readers, which book of the Little House series was their favorite, The Happy Golden Years won by a landslide.

Not quite sixteen, Laura takes her first teaching job at the Brewster School twelve miles away from town. She had never been away from home before, and from the opening illustration to the opening paragraphs of the first chapter, we can see and read the apprehension Laura experienced.

"...Pa did not not say anything.

Sitting beside him on the board laid across the bobsled, Laura did not say anything, either. There was nothing to say. She was on her way to teach school.

Only yesterday she was a schoolgirl; now she was a schoolteacher. This had happened so suddenly."



Those who have read this book remember how homesick Laura was while she lived with Mr. and Mrs. Brewster and taught school. Most of her students were taller than she. And who could forget Laura's excitement at going home when Almanzo arrived to pick her up in his sleigh, or her dismay when she thought Almanzo would no longer come for her once she told him she would not be going riding with him after she returned home for good. But Almanzo continues driving her back and forth to the Brewster settlement, encouraging her because he knows how much she dreads going there.

Mary comes home from college in The Happy Golden Years, and we get to see and read what a young lady she has become and how many things she has accomplished while she was away.

Winter turns to spring and spring to summer. Almanzo and Laura go riding in his buggy and they attend singing school. But perhaps the best part of this book is Almanzo's surprise return on Christmas Eve. By this time, Almanzo and Laura are engaged to be married, and Almanzo, along with his brother Royal, had planned to spend the winter with his folks.

Late on Christmas Eve the snow had begun to fall again and when there was a knock at the door. Laura was struck speechless when she saw Almanzo on the other side. Almanzo comes bearing gifts and admits he didn't want to stay away so long.

Almanzo and Laura marry and settle into their "little gray home". The book ends with two verses from a song that Pa's fiddle often played:

"Golden years, are passing by,
These happy, golden years."

It's nice to watch Almanzo and Laura's relationship develop in this book. We see a bit of the hero in Almanzo from The Long Winter, and there is nothing better than a romantic and unexpected return.

Preliminary Survey Results

While there are still 11 days left to vote, not surprisingly it looks like our readers would like to see Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder, NBC) performing in the Little House on the Prairie Musical.

A couple of my friends plan to see Dean this weekend while he and Bill Anderson are at Heritage Hill State Historical Park, a living history museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Here's a short article from the Green Bay Press Gazette about Dean's appearance.

Hopefully my chums will share some photos and their experiences with us.

New Kids Book Blog

While this is not Laura related, it is children's book related, so I feel I can talk about it here. I've been blogging for a few years now, and my book blog, The Book Connection is doing very well.

What I've noticed lately is that I am reviewing an increasing number of children's, Middle Grade, Young Adult and teen fiction books. I decided to branch those reviews off onto their own site. The Kids Book Connection is now up and running.

I am in the process of copying over some of the reviews that appear at The Book Connection. Once that is done, I will no longer be posting children's book reviews there. All of them will be at my new kid's book blog.

I hope you'll stop by The Kids Book Connection and add us to your blogroll.

Thanks!

All my best,

Cheryl

Note: Thumbnail comes from Mrs. Harper's Kindergarten website.