The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a must-read American pioneer children’s novel. It is one of my favorite novels in the Little House series.

My husband, David, didn’t read the Little House books growing up and decided to read them all a few years ago. He thoroughly enjoyed them! So you are never too old to add them to your collection whether it is to read them for yourself or read them to your children.

The Long Winter

The Long Winter tells the story of the Ingalls family surviving the epic winter of 1880-1881. And I do mean surviving and I do mean epic. They nearly starved to death when the trains could not get through to De Smet, South Dakota, due to the massive amounts of snow that fell in blizzard after blizzard after blizzard.

(For a photo and more info, see The Meteorology of Little House on the Prairie.)

I know nearly starving to death doesn’t sound terribly cozy, but there is much to be gleaned from the story.

Perseverance, resourcefulness, family, and community are all significant themes in the book. There is a warmth that shines forth in The Long Winter even during the darkest of times.

I highly recommend reading The Long Winter with your children as part of the entire Little House series.