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Summary: A wonderful mother-daughter collaboration
Review: "On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894," by Laura Ingalls Wilder, really brings to life this era in American history. The book is actually a collaboration between Laura and her daughter, writer Rose Wilder Lane; Rose's introduction and concluding chapter "sandwich" Laura's journal entries.As the author of the "Little House" book series and as the subject of a long-running television series based on those books, Laura Ingalls Wilder is a truly beloved figure in American popular culture. "On the Way Home" offers an excellent opportunity to "hear" her speak directly from a real-life adventure. Her trek with her husband, Almanzo, and daughter Rose is a classic pioneer tale. The book is well complemented by a wealth of black-and-white photographs of the family, as well as of the architecture, artifacts, landscapes, and animals that were part of their world. There is also a map of their route. Laura's prose is very engaging. She writes of the natural landscape, plants, and animals they encountered along the way. She also gives a sense of the ethnic and religious diversity of that time and region. Her journal entries capture the excitement of the growing cities and towns. This is a short book (120 pages), but it is full and fascinating. When Laura writes of such pleasures as wading in a warm river or picking wild blackberries, you can imagine yourself standing beside her. Recommended as a companion text: "O Pioneers!", by Willa Cather.
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Summary: The Wilder family moves
Review: 'On the Way Home' is Laura's diary as they traveled from DeSmet to their new home in Mansfield, Missouri. There are pictures included in this book that take you back to Laura's time and can make you feel even more like you know Laura. This book is very interesting and is a quick read. The book starts with Rose Wilder Lane telling us about the events leading up to the Wilder's move to Missouri in 1894. The majority of the book is Laura's actual diary. It begins on the day they set out (July 17, 1894) and continues through to the day they arrived in Mansfield (August 30, 1894). Laura includes in her entries things such as the temperature, what time they started in the morning, how many emigrant wagons they saw, what towns they drove through and what rivers and creeks they crossed. Laura also wrote down things that occurred along the way. For example, a lame horse, a lost dog, conversations with strangers and wading in creeks. Also included in the book is a map of their journey. I found this interesting and referred to it often as Laura named the towns they drove through and stopped at. It was nice to see the route they took. At the end of the book, Rose wrote some more. She wrote about the search for a home, an important thing being lost and then found again, a description of Mansfield, moving into the new home and so on. This book is not an 'edge of your seat' type, but it is interesting for those who are fans of Laura Ingalls and the Little House books and for those who like to learn about days gone by.
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Summary: On the Way Home
Review: For the children who love Little House On the Prarie, this book is for you. On the way Home is about an 8 year girl traveling with her family towards their new home. There were many adventures that the Wilder family encountered "On the way Home." There are parts in this book that will keep you on edge. This book would appeal to children under the age of 10. Laura Ingalls Wilder has published many interesting books for children including,On the Way Home.
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Summary: On The Way Home
Review: For the children who loved Little House on the Prairie series;this is for you. On the Way Home is about an eight year old girl traveling with family toward her new home. There were many adventures that the Wilder family encountered "on the way home." there are parts in this book that would keep you on edge. This book would appeal to children under the age of ten. Laura Ingalls Wilder has published many interesting books for children including this one. On The Way Home is a book that would teach a child about the hardships of life in the eighteen hundreds. On the Way Home is a book that would interest children to read more books like this one. HAPPY READING!
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Summary: A Happy Ending
Review: I always wondered what happened after The First Four Years and this book lets us in on what happened to the Wilders. Because of high debts and failing crops, the Wilders lost everything. After a friend visited the Ozarks and told of the fertile land and milder climate, Almanzo and Laura decided to start over. Laura kept a diary of their journey for memories sake. Because so many readers were curious of what happened to Laura and Almanzo, Rose Wilder Lane wrote a wonderful setting leading up to the diary and after they arrived in the Ozarks. The diary was written as a diary for it was never intended to be a book but only as a memory of their travel. It was comforting to know that they were finally starting to move forward with their lives instead of backwards like what happened in South Dakota. The diary was found after Laura's death and Rose had it published to let us know that Almanzo and Laura had a hard but happy life. I didn't expect Laura's writings to be more detailed because it was still seventeen years before Laura started writing for the farm magazines. She only wrote what she found necessary to make sure she had enough paper for the whole journey. The pictures in the book are excellent for then you can see the real Almanzo, Laura and Rose. I consider this book the true ending of the Little House series.
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Summary: A Happy Ending
Review: I always wondered what happened after The First Four Years and this book lets us in on what happened to the Wilders. Because of high debts and failing crops, the Wilders lost everything. After a friend visited the Ozarks and told of the fertile land and milder climate, Almanzo and Laura decided to start over. Laura kept a diary of their journey for memories sake. Because so many readers were curious of what happened to Laura and Almanzo, Rose Wilder Lane wrote a wonderful setting leading up to the diary and after they arrived in the Ozarks. The diary was written as a diary for it was never intended to be a book but only as a memory of their travel. It was comforting to know that they were finally starting to move forward with their lives instead of backwards like what happened in South Dakota. The diary was found after Laura's death and Rose had it published to let us know that Almanzo and Laura had a hard but happy life. I didn't expect Laura's writings to be more detailed because it was still seventeen years before Laura started writing for the farm magazines. She only wrote what she found necessary to make sure she had enough paper for the whole journey. The pictures in the book are excellent for then you can see the real Almanzo, Laura and Rose. I consider this book the true ending of the Little House series.
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Summary: A little dry, but interesting reading
Review: I personally wouldn't recommend this book for the younger Little House readers, unless they are really keen. As it is a transcription of a diary that Laura kept during her long journey to the "Land of the Big Red Apple," it is more interesting than gripping. Laura would have been trying to save paper by being fairly tacit in her records, so while there's a number of interesting happenings they aren't fleshed out in great detail or with the rich descriptions that she's known for. I certainly did enjoy it, however. (Additionally, she probably intended this diary for her own use, so she goes into a lot of things like the state of the crops and price of land in different places.)
Rating:
Summary: A little dry, but interesting reading
Review: I personally wouldn't recommend this book for the younger Little House readers, unless they are really keen. As it is a transcription of a diary that Laura kept during her long journey to the "Land of the Big Red Apple," it is more interesting than gripping. Laura would have been trying to save paper by being fairly tacit in her records, so while there's a number of interesting happenings they aren't fleshed out in great detail or with the rich descriptions that she's known for. I certainly did enjoy it, however. (Additionally, she probably intended this diary for her own use, so she goes into a lot of things like the state of the crops and price of land in different places.)
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Summary: Must Read for Little House Fans
Review: It is so wonderful to find out what happens (without having to read a biography) after the original series ends. Both my daughter and I read and reread the original series, but we were a bit frustrated with The First Four Years. Although that story needed to be told as part of the series, the events that take place during The First Four Years are not as uplifting and fun to read about. I believe Laura Ingalls Wilder's tone in writing that book was quite different than the previous books of the series, likely because the painful events were not as much fun to write about. But my daughter and I were both overjoyed to read this book, and we feel it is much more the same tone as the happier books of the original series. And learning more about the beginning of Rose's life (again, in non-biographical format) was really special.
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Summary: On the way to a bad review
Review: On the way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder, should not be read by anyone at any age because of its lack of overall fun. It was one of the most boring books ever written. Laura Ingalls Wilder did not explain anything about where she was, what she was doing, and what was going on at the time. For example: She did not explain very well about how they got food and water out in the meadows and deserts of the midwest. She also didn't give much detail about their transportation and what they would do if it failed them. the strory line trailed off into nowhere many times leaving the reader at a confusing endpoint. Overall this book should be thrown out of every library in the United States.
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