Little House in the Big Woods (Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers, Inc. 1972)
Author：Laura Elisabeth Ingalls Wilder
Translator: Onchi Mioko
Illustrator: Garth Williams
The Laura series by Fukuinkan had exciting illustrations and were very interesting, and I read them over and over again when I was in elementary school.
I was inspired to read the books after watching the NHK TV drama “Little House on the Prairie” (produced by NBC in the U.S.). It was fascinating to see the opening scene of the drama, with Laura running across the prairie with her bonnet around her neck during the theme song.
That was a time when we could watch good programs on TV even if we didn’t have a subscription service.
The Little House in the Big Woods drew me into life in the woods. It is hard to forget that: on the day they butchered a pig, Laura received a pig’s tail, roasted it and ate it, and played by making a balloon out of pig’s bladder. Christmas was a special event and the candies were shiny gifts.
Every detail of life is tasteful, clean, well organized, and pleasantly contrived (decorating handmade shelve with paper cutouts, shaping butter with a flower mold, etc.)
When I went to the U.S. to study, I was surprised to see people big house doors or toilet seats were sold at IKEA near D.C. It was amazing that locals tied them exposed in the back of their cars and were going home. That was indeed a spirit of “Do it yourself”. I thought the origins of Laura’s world were still alive where people made everything by themselves, including the houses, food, meat, and clothing.
The transition from the pioneer days of the 1870s, in which the child Laura lived, to the intensely capitalist state, GAFAM, and the polarizing America seems surprising. But I think it is also true that the prairie world can be clearly seen still behind the United States today.
(Finish reading:15/12/2023)
