Ma brought out two long strips of brown wrapping-paper that she had saved. She folded them, and she showed Mary and Laura how to cut tiny bits out of the folded paper with the scissors. When each unfolded her paper, there was a row of stars. Ma spread the paper on the shelves behind the stove. The stars hung over the edges of the...
At first the splashes of cream showed thick and smooth....After a long time, they began to look grainy. Then Ma churned more slowly, and on the dash there began to appear tiny grains of yellow butter. — Little House in the Big WoodsIn Little House in the Big Woods, Laura recalls how she and Mary would help Ma make homemade butter. Not...
Mary was bigger than Laura, and she had a rag doll named Nettie. Laura had only a corncob wrapped in a handkerchief, but it was a good doll. It was named Susan. It wasn’t Susan’s fault that she was only a corncob. —Little House in the Big WoodsIn Little House in the Big Woods we learn about Susan, Laura’s homemade doll created from a...
“Laura felt a warmth inside her. It was very small, but it was strong. It was steady, like a tiny light in the dark, and it burned very low but no winds could make it flicker because it would not give up.” —The Long WinterNothing says “pioneer living” quite like making your own beeswax candles. If you’ve never made them before, dipped...
Everything from the little house was in the wagon except the beds and tables and chairs. They did not need to take these, because Pa could always make new ones. —Little House on the PrairieI’m not sure what it is, but there’s just something about covered wagons that naturally draws children in. With a real fabric roof and turning...