Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Little House on the Prairie

The last time I read Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, it was required reading when I was in 5th grade. Since that was about 22 years ago, I retained absolutely nothing that I read in this book, and honestly if I did, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up again.

This book and most of the others in the series follow the Ingalls family and their journey to settle in the American West. In the beginning of the book, Laura’s father, Charles Ingalls, decides to move his family from the comfort of their little town. Why, you may ask? Because he feels the town is getting too overcrowded. He packs the family up without even asking them if they’d like to risk their lives heading to Kansas, because well, they’re womenfolk, and off they go.

Little House on the Prairie has gotten a lot of well-deserved criticism over the last decade or so and for good reason. I could not get over how blatantly racist this book is towards the Native Americans. Laura and her father are decidedly more interested in the Native Americans that live near their house, but Ma and other settlers are disgustingly prejudiced. At one point, it is reiterated twice in the book that “The only good Indian is a dead Indian”. I could not believe my eyes. Remember, this was required reading when I was 11 in 2001.

The Native Americans are described using horrible stereotypes: Laura says they are completely naked save for some loincloths, are smelly because they do not clean the animals skins they are wearing, and are shown to take the Ingalls’ things such as their furs, food, and tobacco. More than once, they are referred to as savages.

Now, I understand this book was written during the 1930s. However, the time period does not justify racism. One scene absolutely disgusted me where Laura sees a Native American tribe leaving their camp. Her father has promised her that she would see a papoose (a Native American baby). As the tribe is leaving, she finally sees a baby and proceeds to beg her father to kidnap it so she could keep it. I understand that Laura is only five or six in the book, but I hated every second of this scene. Especially because Pa and Ma don’t explain to her that babies are toys and shouldn’t belong to anyone. Nope. Ma just goes on to be even more racist.

Even their dog, Jack, is racist. When the Native Americans come around, Jack is fierce and Laura says he is just not happy anymore. I may have rolled my eyes a lot.

Aside from the blatant racism, the narrative is just boring. There is no plot. Just a series of events that happen to a family. It’s not that I have a problem with that because a lot of family sagas are events that happen to a family. Mrs. Ingalls-Wilder’s prose is simple and basic. Plus, everything was Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie and Jack…for everything. Apparently, commas didn’t exist in 1935. And building. So much house building. There was a whole chapter just about door building.

I was planning to read the whole series but I just cannot subject myself to the torture.

This is one middle grade/children’s classic that needs a review to see whether it really deserves the title of classic.

Content Warnings

bookrecsanddnfs's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

decembermagpie's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Content Warnings

gaycornbread420's review against another edition

Go to review page

Content Warnings

More...