This is written in the style of the original books and includes illustrations that are a bit idealized. It does give a good view of how we lived out West in the latter part of the 19th C., especially the tough times such as homes burned down, crops lost, and cold weather. I believe her daughter Rose had more to do with getting Ms. Wilder to write her books than Ms. Gormley credits her for. There are times when the value of money is shown, as when they buy a decent property to farm for $400 and when she makes two bits a day, cash money. This is quite accurate. (My mom's stepdad earned four bits a day in Centralia, Washington in 1898, the summer he turned 16; he said he found a better paying job pretty soon. The last sentence is quite lovely: 'scrawled in a child's handwriting, "I love you Laura."'

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