I loved these books growing up, & still have my copies in the basement, waiting until my daughter is old enough. There are also the "My First Little House Books" which take one little story/chapter from one of the bigger books & add illustrations (e.g., Christmas, or going to town). They are paperback & I started with those when my daughter was 2. She loves them.

Oh, how I loved those books growing up! I re-read the entire series so many times, my mom eventually made me read a *different* book in between each one. I can't wait to introduce them to my kids when they're a few years older.

I've also been reading the Little House books with my kids (ages 7 and almost-5) and find it very interesting to talk to them about these simpler times. Of course, there's also a lot of difficult stuff in there -- racism, for example, and parents spanking their kids, and even the idea that kids were expected to be silent at the dinner table. And I had a lot of trouble getting through the parts where the Indians are forced to leave their land, and this is portrayed as a GOOD thing...oy! Still, it's valuable food for thought/conversation, and my kids are really enjoying it.

Girl. I think these books are life-changing! I read the first 2 to Lydia then listened to the rest of them on audio. (Cherry Jones reads--so good!) I wrote a whole series about how the books changed my thinking: I Want To Be Wilder...http://ohamanda.com/2010/06/07/i-want-to-be-wilder-an-intro/ (ok if I link?)

Love the mental pic of being curled up with Laura and Laurel for 2 hours!

I loved these as a kid and I love reading them to mine too! I especially love the Christmas story about the shiny penny, too! We also have the books on tape that we listen to on trips. I had forgotten all the "drama" of Prairie life - chimney on fire, Pa lost in the snow storm, Jack almost drowning in the river, Mr. Edwards stuck in the well, malaria (fever and ache-u), not to mention the Indians and the wolves! Ma was one tough lady!

@Mamajoan -- agreed, definitely some tough stuff to tackle. Laurel and I actually talked quite a lot about the issues about the Indians being forced off their land... she she had a lot of questions and it ended up being really good to talk through the stuff!

Thanks Amanda, I can't wait to check out your post!

@ Mamajoan and Christine,
That's exactly the trouble I have with introducing these classics to my son; how to deal with attitudes towards "Injuns"?
I've just started to talk about people's ideas about race with my son, who is bi-racial and has very little contact with his dad or other black people.
We can't pretend these problems away, but it is so hard to tell him about such massive level unfairness, when he works so hard to deal with his emotions and treat others well!

@Jen -- I hear you... Laurel is biracial too (and I was subject to so much nastiness as a kid due to being Asian) so it's even more important for me to talk to her about these issues. We do live in a very diverse community though so get some support that way as well (e.g., via school programs etc.).

I'll keep an ear to the ground if I come across any good resources on this matter. Otherwise, if it helps, when Laurel was asking me about the issues in the Little House books (she thought it was really unfair that the Indians were being pushed off their land) I talked in really simple terms that still apply now -- that sometimes people are very afraid of the unknown and forget that people are just people... that we're all connected and have the same feelings, no matter the color of our skin. And so forth...(I also did not shy away from the fact that this stuff still happens today) She really seemed to get it.

Regardless of the merchandising angle, the American Girl books are good for this too. The Addy series gave me an opportunity to talk to my eight year old about slavery in a much more down to earth, approachable way that she seemed to relate to. They are, of course, geared for a slightly older age group. We also loved the Little House series and the abridged Little Women was good for a younger child. Another favorite (hers and mine) was The Secret Garden. So many great books to revisit!