Pioneer Girl Manuscript: LIW Reading Challenge

Last year, my cousin was reading about how I enjoy the Little House series and related items when I participated in the Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge last year.  She asked me if I would be interested in reading the Pioneer Girl manuscript by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Without hesitation, I told her I'd love to read it.  Upon my dad's next visit, he gave me an unbound, two hundred page document typed by LIW (not an original copy).  It was double spaced, complete with spelling errors and words xxx'd out. I am so grateful to my cousin for sharing!

Last year I began reading the Pioneer Girl.  Unfortunately at that time I still had a fussy girl who wanted to be held most of the day, though she had mostly stopped screaming.  It was not the time to read an unbound manuscript.  So with this year's Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge, I finished the second half of the manuscript.

Pioneer Girl was not really a rough draft of any of the Little House books.  Instead, it was more like LIW's fond-and not so fond- memories of growing up and all of the Little House books abridged into one lengthy journal.  The books often elaborate more on the details, and of course the dialogue.   Most of the stories she wrote of made it into her books, but remember, they are considered historical fiction.  I found the manuscript to be rather fascinating, but not because of the eloquent writing.  (It was just writing, though I believe some of the passages did make it into the books with little to no editing.)  I enjoyed it because I knew it was fact-or at least to the best of her memory.  A few stories were too harsh to put in the books there were written for young readers, but I appreciated reading them.

My biggest surprise was to learn that during The Long Winter, the Ingalls family actually housed a man, his wife, and child because they had no where else to go.  The man promised to pay them back (and did), but because they were boarders, they did none of the work.  Remember the grinding and hay twisting that could never stop, let alone caring for the animals?  The Ingalls family also gave up some of their food for the woman because she was nursing, but the husband never did.

I can imagine some people might be quite surprised that Pa and some other fellows took the law into their own hands.  I was not.  It was a different time, and a place without law in the land.

Laura was certainly a shy girl, though very intelligent.  Her writing, even in rough form was very much like her writing in the books.  She is rather factual instead of emotional.  I am grateful to have been able to read Pioneer Girl, the unedited version of Little House!

If you have been reading here for long, you might remember that my daughter chose a Little House birthday party last year.  In case you are wondering if my daughter still likes the Little House books, she received the set for her sixth birthday in October.  She is now on the fourth book!  I am actually encouraging her to read a different chapter book when she completes this one for a bit of variety.  :)


You might be interested in our other Little House Party Ideas.  Any of these could be used to just have a book-related pioneer activity.
~ Little House Birthday Party 
~ Little House Party Invitation
~ Little House Book Activities
~ Little House Dress, Apron, and Bonnet
~ Little House Mercantile Store
~ Felt Costume Braids/Laura Ingalls Costume
~ Little House Birthday Party Food

 You might be interested in my Little House Party Pinterest board for other ideas.

For more more Laura Ingalls Wilder books, check out the LIW Reading Challenge hosted by Barbara at Stray Thoughts!

~ Annette {This Simple Mom}