The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

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The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published 1940) is a great tale of endurance and survival for the Ingalls family, pioneers in the brand new city of De Smet in the Dakota territory. During this historic winter, frequent blizzards lasting 3 or 4 days crippled towns and halted railway traffic, which means that De Smet went without train supplies from the East for more than six months. For a new town with few supplies and newbies still building up their resources, this was debilitating.

Laura and her family face starvation as well as the freezing cold as they struggle to deal with the frequent storms and lack of supplies. Laura’s father, always resourceful, helps them survive with his wits and careful preparation. Because the settlers are all so very new to the area, they have not yet had a very large, successful harvest; they are all in the same boat.

picture from the actual LONG WINTER, see Wikipedia

It is a boring winter for the family, and toward the end, it did seem to drag, since the family had figured out how to survive and they were just going through the same thing every day. The eventual arrival of the train was amusing (since their Christmas treats and gifts were all aboard), and the end result was satisfying as the family once again had enough to eat.

Unlike previous books, which are strictly from the perspective of the Ingalls family, in this book some of the story is told from the perspective of Royal and Almanzo Wilder. (As the author’s last name indicates, Almanzo Wilder will become Laura’s husband in the future.) The Wilder’s were instrumental in helping the town avoid starvation, so their story was important. My daughter (age 9) did not like that it went to their perspective, but I felt it still worked very well in propelling the story forward.

I love that the book is based on a true story. I enjoyed the survival aspects. I can’t say it’s a favorite, though. Not sure why, other than the monotony and the sad aspect of a family and town essentially starving!

The Long Winter was awarded a Newbery Honor in 1941. I rate it “REALLY GOOD” and say “KEEP IT AND READ IT.”

Newbery rating scale: FANTASTIC | REALLY GOOD | PRETTY GOOD | OKAY | BLAH
What to do with this Newbery: KEEP IT AND READ IT | MAYBE IF YOU HAVE TIME | DON’T BOTHER

Reviewed on January 21, 2025

About the author 

Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid is a homeschooling, stay-at-home mother seeking to make the journey of life-long learning fun by reading lots of good books. Rebecca Reads provides reviews of children's literature she has enjoyed with her children; nonfiction that enhances understanding of educational philosophies, history and more; and classical literature that Rebecca enjoys reading.

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