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The First Four Years
Laura Ingalls Wilder Book Review

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Plot Summary of The First Four Years
"As the story begins Laura Ingalls has just married Manly Wilder. Both of them are on cloud nine as they prepare to settle into married life and their small homestead on the prairie. Although Manly is set on being a farmer Laura advises him against it, saying that she fears poverty and being taken advantage of by the store owners. Manly makes a deal with Laura - he will farm for three years, at which time Laura will decided if farming is going well for the family. If not, Manly will choose another profession. Although both Laura and Manly see all the wonderful aspects of the prairie, neither of them is prepared for the hard times that will strike during their first year together as a married couple. Together they will face destroyed crops, illness, cash flow problems and the ravages of fire. As they welcome a baby daughter into the world both Laura and Manly wonder if their family will be able to survive the unpredictability of prairie life."
Sandra Calhoune, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The First Four Years
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 19th century
Life of a profession: - farmer
Is this an adult or child's book? - Age 11-14
Job/Profession/Status story Yes
Exploring into the wild Yes
kind of story - colonizing/settling in new area

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - teacher
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - natural phenomena

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest
Prairie? Yes

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to The First Four Years
Little House In The Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Footsteps in the Snow by Carol Matas
Little Farm In The Ozarks by Roger Lea MacBride
Little House on Rocky Ridge by Roger Lea MacBride
Little Town At the Crossroads by Maria D. Wilkes


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Laura Ingalls Wilder Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
sandra Calhoune  

SCHOLARS:
Ashley Abbott  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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