Many of us grew up following the adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder. We read the series, or watched the TV show, or both.
Christmas in the Big Woods is a picture book based on one of the chapters in The Little House in the Big Woods. I love being able to share this story, and others in the My First Little House Books series, with children who are too young for the chapter books. The illustrations are inspired by the Garth Williams illustrations in the original books. And while the characters look exactly like how I’d pictured them, they are quite close.
The first page shows a log cabin with snow up to the windows. The story tells of a busy Christmas, but a much simpler one than we have today. Ma bakes bread, apple pies, and cookies. Laura and her sister Mary get to lick the spoon. Pa makes molasses candy by pouring hot sugar and molasses syrup into the snow.
An aunt and uncle come to visit along with several cousins. The little cabin is crowded. The children play in the snow. On Christmas Eve, the children hang their stockings. In the morning they find a stick of striped peppermint candy and a pair of bright red mittens. Laura also gets a rag doll. The other girls already have a doll. For breakfast Ma makes each child a pancake shaped like a little gingerbread man.
This is a short, simple story. I am amazed that children who got only a stick of candy and a pair of mittens would be “so happy they could hardly speak”. The story is a nice reminder that Christmas is about more than gifts.
I have tried to make the molasses candy twice. It didn’t set up either time and it didn’t taste very good. The pancake men aren’t that hard to do. It just takes a little practice, and even if they aren’t perfect they make the kids very happy. It’s a fun way of bringing the book to life.
Also See:
The Little House on the Prairie series — Laura Ingalls Wilder
Christmas Tree Memories – Aliki
A Doll’s Christmas – Tasha Tudor