I read the book Becoming Laura Ingalls. I was really excited to read this book. Growing up I read all of her books over and over. I loved the characters and the setting of the stories. I liked how realistic and funny the books were. When I found this book, telling how Laura created her book series I was super excited. I knew that her books were a work of fiction based on her own life. While she exaggerates some aspects of her life she really does a great job incorporating plains life into the story. In Becoming Laura Ingalls, they explain the history behind Laura’s parents and their travels towards the Plains. They discuss different aspects that Laura left out of her books, either for publication reasons or because she feared they did not go with her books. She didn’t start writing her books until decades later. While obviously she couldn’t recall everything from memory, this book talks about how she was Mary’s eyes (she was blind) and by doing so she observed everything much more thoroughly. This may have been a factor in her recalling so much after such a long time. I really enjoyed reading this book because it provided me with a behind the scenes profile of the making of Laura Ingalls. I wasn’t disappointed either. They didn’t destroy the image I had of her in my mind, they just clarified some things and explained how because Laura was small for much of the beginning books, that she wrote it from a smaller person’s perspective. She may not have been one hundred percent accurate but she was all heart. I think these books would be great reading for anyone, however it is great for teaching small children about the history of the plains. I never even realized how in love with the Plains I was until I realized I had been reading about them all my life. This book made me realize my appreciation for the Plains and it’s people.
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