Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,378
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Oct 27, 2014 2:54:54 GMT
Hi everyone, Can you believe we're in week [HASH]6 already? I like that the moderators are posting the new material on Sundays instead of on Mondays. I have to say that I'm enjoying it more now that we're actually reading the books in the series. I actually felt that last week's lectures were helpful, especially the ones discussing the characters and themes of Little House in the Big Woods. I had never really enjoyed that one as much as some of the other books, and now I think that makes sense because I am able to see how it differs from the rest of the series--it really stands alone, in a sense. I was amazed at how Rose ripped off Pioneer Girl to use for her own book. I knew she had done this, of course, and I had read Young Pioneers a couple of weeks ago, but truly realizing Rose's audacity and the timeline of how it all went down just really blew me away. I am glad that Laura went ahead and used some of those stories (the grasshoppers, for example) in her own books, but I wonder if she herself ever experienced any backlash from 'copying' from Rose, as it would have appeared that way to anyone who didn't know of the existence of the Pioneer Girl manuscript. I honestly don't know how Laura was ever able to get past that with Rose, even if she was her daughter. I am about 3/4 of the way finished with Farmer Boy now, and took a look at the discussion questions tonight. It looks like there are five lectures this week. I haven't started them yet. Maybe I'll watch one tonight. I'd forgotten how much I really like Farmer Boy. I wish Laura had written more books about Almanzo. I would think that a book about his adolescence and early adulthood (pre-Laura) would have been pretty good reading. The differences between the Ingalls family and the Wilder family are considerable, and give some good food for thought during reading. I have to throw out there that I really love the descriptions of food in this book. Laura is certainly known (in my opinion) for her talent in description, but she does an especially good job with the descriptions of the Wilder family's meals. This book is pure food porn. The first night I started the book, I wanted some buttered popcorn, apples, and warm cider--and it goes on and on. I have a couple of other thoughts about this book, but I'll post about them tomorrow, so as not to get too long winded here.   |
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,378
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Oct 27, 2014 14:22:04 GMT
BTT
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Post by grammyj64 on Oct 27, 2014 16:54:26 GMT
I had never heard LH in the Big Woods discussed in such a literary way, not even in my children's literature course in library school. I really feel like I missed out by not ever having a discussion about how important this book really was. I also appreciated her comment in Week 5 about how none of the big name authors of that era still have a following, while Laura does. And another comment that really hit home with me was how Laura was able to tell how the character Laura felt about something (like the boy getting stung by the bees) without getting preachy about it. I know these comments are from Week 5, but I couldn't find that thread after I finished listening to the lectures.
It truly is a different task to write for children without talking down to them or being didactic. In my 6 years as a church librarian, I have found many adult Christian writers who have tried to write for children, and most of them make the mistake of trying to tell the child how to think. They could take some lessons from Laura.
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Oct 27, 2014 17:27:20 GMT
Watching the videos right now, and I'm bored out of my mind by the discussion of the history of the various children's book awards!
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,213 
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Post by mimima on Oct 28, 2014 0:41:00 GMT
Really, Coalie? I thought that was really interesting and finally getting away from reading her book verbatim. I really enjoyed this series of lectures, just finished listening to them - I am reading through the materials now.
As a kid, I didn't think that I connected to Farmer Boy, but when I re-read it earlier this year, I discovered that I definitely must have read it more than I remembered as my copy was missing the cover.
I find it interesting that this was the second book published, as I recall it being third in the order of the boxed set I had as a kid.
Also, I had never seen the original illustrations - I liked that Pa's father and his brothers with the pig was one of the few scenes that both had illustrated - that was very cool to see.
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,378
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Oct 28, 2014 4:58:21 GMT
I had never heard LH in the Big Woods discussed in such a literary way, not even in my children's literature course in library school. I really feel like I missed out by not ever having a discussion about how important this book really was. I also appreciated her comment in Week 5 about how none of the big name authors of that era still have a following, while Laura does. I also had never thought about this, either, but it is true! Mimima, I also recall that Farmer Boy was the third book in the set. I see now why we read it after Little House in the Big Woods, and feel that it fits best into the series this way. As soon as I post this, I'm off to bed to finish Farmer Boy. I have just watched the first two lectures for this week. I enjoyed the comparison/contrast between the two books, though I will pettily admit that Hill's swallowing throughout the second video really got to me. A couple of things I've been thinking about-- (and I posted about one of these in the forums): I don't understand why Laura chose to portray Almanzo's sister Eliza Jane in such a negative light in her books. Not so much in Farmer Boy, but in the later books (specifically, Little Town on the Prairie. I wonder how Almanzo and perhaps E.J. herself may have felt about that (though I thought I read somewhere that Eliza Jane had died before the books were published). Why wouldn't she just have created a character or a composite character instead of throwing her sister-in-law under the bus? I also found the oral language of the Wilder family rather interesting and a bit different than in the other books (as least as much as I can remember). I noticed the use of the verb "be". "Be you having a good time, son?", and "Look at yourself in the glass! You're dirtier than I be!". The scene in Farmer Boy where Almanzo's family was sitting by the stove, eating popcorn, cider, and apples reminded me of something I read in On the Way Home, where Rose mentioned how her own family would sit together, enjoying popcorn, while Laura read aloud to them. Rose commented on her father's love for popcorn, and how he would study each kernel before he ate it. Almanzo in Farmer Boy does the same thing. Obviously a detail that was not fictionalized for the book. I took a quick look at the website for the Wilder family home in Malone, NY. The photographs are worth a look. Almanzo's boyhood home still stands (I wonder if it was red at the time? I would probably think not, but who knows?). The barns were not standing, but have been rebuilt as they would have been at the time. Seeing the layout gave me a better sense of Laura's description of the Wilder farm. It obviously was a pretty sophisticated operation in its time. |
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Oct 28, 2014 13:04:19 GMT
I agree with getting away from being read the book, but I thought all that was just totally off-topic. I'm interested in LIW, RWL, and their process in writing the book. Sure, let's talk about things they revised and how their books compare to each other. But, I am not interested in such a deep discussion of the internal politics and history of children's publishing. I think we'd covered enough of that previously.
Yes!! I thought that was very odd, and I suppose it must've been correct to the time/place or she wouldn't have written it that way, but I think that's one thing that made the book feel very different.
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tuesdaysgone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,832
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Post by tuesdaysgone on Oct 28, 2014 21:37:20 GMT
I agree with Jili: now that we are in discussions/lectures on the books themselves, I'm enjoying the course even more. I was able to use some of the information about "Little House in the Big Woods" with my book club last week (i.e. we talked about how/why the story was orgazined by seasons and discussed point of view). I never liked Little House as much as the books that followed, but I have a better appreciation for it now. (Although I still relate better to the young adult Laura rather than the very little Laura)
When I read "Farmer Boy" as a girl, I didn't enjoy it that much. It was much better as I read again with an adult eye. I'm listening to one of the "Farmer Boy" lectures now and learning a lot. I never saw the parallels before between the first two books.
Actually looking forward to the lectures this week.
Thanks again Jili for keeping this thread up each week. I enjoy hearing what others are gaining from the class.
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,213
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Post by mimima on Oct 28, 2014 22:07:44 GMT
I agree with getting away from being read the book, but I thought all that was just totally off-topic. I'm interested in LIW, RWL, and their process in writing the book. Sure, let's talk about things they revised and how their books compare to each other. But, I am not interested in such a deep discussion of the internal politics and history of children's publishing. I think we'd covered enough of that previously. That makes sense. I guess what attracted me to that section was the history of publishing for children, and of the awards and what other books were written at the same time, and what awards were granted and to what books. I do admit to not being very interested in who was whose publisher so much  |
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,378
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Oct 30, 2014 3:21:40 GMT
I guess what attracted me to that section was the history of publishing for children, and of the awards and what other books were written at the same time, and what awards were granted and to what books. I do admit to not being very interested in who was whose publisher so much This interests me, too. I just watched part 2 of the 'Perspectives on Children's Literature' videos tonight, and I did think it was a good discussion. I had never heard of The White Stag. I enjoy what I do for a living, but I am pretty sure that I missed my calling. I should have gone with my instincts and become a librarian. |
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