TOO GOOD TO BE ALTOGETHER LOST: REDISCOVERING LAURA INGALLS WILDER'S LITTLE HOUSE BOOKS by Pamela Hill Smith will be released on July 1, 2025, by University of Nebraska Press.
Fans of Laura Ingalls and the Little House series will enjoy TOO GOOD TO BE ALTOGETHER LOST. The Little House series were my favorite books when I was a kid, and I read them more times than I can count. As an adult, I am still fascinated by Wilder and read just about every book that’s published about her. In recent years, Wilder has been vilified for including scenes in her novel that, judged by today’s standards, are considered racist. Because of this, some of her novels have been banned. Her contributions to children’s and young adult literature have been discredited and ignored. Pamela Hill Smith does not shy away from those disputed situations. Instead of maligning Wilder or twisting the facts, Smith puts those scenes into the historical context of the time period during which the novels are set. It was so nice to read a scholarly work about Wilder that is once again in support of the woman and her works.
Throughout TOO GOOD TO BE ALTOGETHER LOST, Smith examines Wilder’s original Pioneer Girl manuscript that was meant to be a non-fiction story about her childhood and compares it to what was eventually published as the nine novels in the Little House series. She also breaks down each novel with detailed explanations of what is so unique and revolutionary about these novels. Reading the Little House series today, we might not see them as breakthrough novels in children’s or young adult literature. But, when the books were published back in the 1930s and 1940s, Wilder was redefining children’s and young adult literature. Despite objections from her daughter and publisher, Wilder stayed true to her vision and included stories/situations that were not typically included in children’s stories. Relying on her personal experiences, Wilder created the fictional Laura Ingalls as a character that her readers could grow and mature alongside as they read the series. I know that I did. The Little House series was a big part of my childhood, and it was heartwarming to read Hill’s arguments on why these novels continue to be relevant for today’s young readers. As the title suggests, Wilder’s stories are TOO GOOD TO BE ALTOGETHER LOST.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.