Little House Life Hacks: Lessons for the Modern Pioneer from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Prairie by Angie Bailey

Little House Life Hacks: Lessons for the Modern Pioneer from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Prairie Reviews

• 
  Denice Langley

  I've been reading the Little House books with my 10 yr old niece. She and I read this book together and she had some wonderful reactions. The book is very entertaining, it's not meant to be an educational tool, just a fun and entertaining read for those of us who grew up with the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. If you have read the books, you'll love this book.
• 
  Lori Holuta

  A few months back, I started noticing the hashtag #tradwife in various social medias. I became curious about what others considered to be a "traditional" wife and where this rediscovered ideal might intersect with my own experiences in cooking from scratch, growing and preserving much of our food, making what I can for the home rather than buying, nurturing my friendships and community groups... and I soon realized that the intersections weren't strong.
  
  These new 'tradwives' seem focused on housecleaning, dressing in ruffled housedresses, not working outside the home, and submission to husbands. I have no problem with women choosing this sort of lifestyle, but I'm concerned that the values being adopted may only go skin-deep.
  
  Yes, I'm getting to the book. Bear with me a bit longer. Having grown up in a traditional values home, my experience with my 'tradwife' mom included so much more. She volunteered to lead my Camp Fire Girls group. She was an active member of the PTA. She opened our home to to the public as a voting station during national elections. On a more personal level, she made my friends feel welcome and cared for whenever they visited, and never hesitated to help out a neighbor in need.
  
  Little House Life Hacks is filled with gentle, homespun advice based on fictional characters, to be sure, but these particular characters stand as examples of how very real people were back in 'the day'.
  
  Authors Angie Bailey and Susie Shubert take a deep-dive into the actions, ethics, and habits of the characters and unpack them for a modern audience. These 'life hacks' are sorted into ten sections. You may think that some of them don't apply to your lifestyle. I know there's a few that don't match my life, but I still found them interesting, and having read them I might have a better capacity to understand and empathize with friends and neighbors who hold those values. The sections are:
  
  Hack Your Family Life
  Hack Your Community Life
  Hack Your Faith
  Hack Your Romantic Life
  Hack Your Friendships
  Hack Your Work Life
  Hack Your Self-Care
  Hack Your Resourcefulness
  Hack Your Sustainability
  Hack Your Gratitude
  
  Finally, even though I've been taught to never judge a book by its cover - Let's talk about the construction of the book! It's smaller than most hardbacks at 5-1/2" x 7-1/2", a size that fits neatly into my hands as I read. It's a true hardback with stitched binding, and nicely patterned endpapers inside each cover. The pages are thick white paper, perfect for the blue highlight color used throughout the book. Small illustrations and a lavish use of font styles really make the book feel special. The book is also available for Kindle. Pre-order now for a delivery date of August 22, 2023.
• 
  Cheryl Malandrinos

  Who knew Little House on the Prairie and the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder held so much wisdom for today's world?
  
  If we look around us, there is a whole movement to get back to the simpler things and ways of living. Trad wives are trending on social media. Some national retailers plan to close on Easter Sunday so their employees can spend time with family and friends. While the quest for work-life balance has been with us since the 70s, the pandemic made us rethink what was important to us, and there has been a post-pandemic push to implement a four-day work week and a renewed focus on health and well-being.
  
  As the blurb for Angie Bailey and Susie Shubert's book Little House Life Hacks states, the authors have compiled "the most crucial takeaways from that world, practical enough to work for pioneering stock and updated for today’s evolving world." With a good dose of humor, historical tidbits, and cherished moments from the Little House on the Prairie television show, Bailey and Shubert share timeless teachings that offer sage advice to modern families.
  
  There is so much to love and enjoy in Little House Life Hacks. The entire book design is a testament to the pioneering world. From the artwork by Lauren Mortimer to the carefully selected quotes from the show and books to the color scheme. Even the hardcover book's size is a mere 1/4" shy of my Harper & Row Little House books.
  
  After the authors' note, which talks about how the pandemic found them streaming episodes of Little House on the Prairie and how it led to this joint project, you'll find the authors' goals and hopes for readers of their book, followed by an introduction to the Ingalls family and their neighbors. The book is then broken down into nine separate hacks, with multiple sub-hacks that tie into the subject of the main one. Each sub-hack ends with an "Unpack the Hack" discussion to give the reader an action step or steps.
  
  Little House Life Hacks is an engaging and funny read. The authors did a fine job of accomplishing their goals. I look forward to implementing some of their suggestions and found how they incorporated moments from the show endearing. Fans of Wilder, her work, and the shows based on them, are going to enjoy adding this book to their collection.
• 
  Janilyn Kocher

  A cutesy, kitschy offshoot, capitalizing on the fame of the Little House in the Prairie show, and very little of the books.
  The book is based mostly on the television series, with a few sprinkles of facts and quotes from Laura Ingalls Wilder and others.
  The authors provide solutions for problems faced in the show and also in real life.
  This is another pandemic effect: they wrote it while the world languished.
  I doubt if anyone over the age of 35 would gravitate toward the book, but it’s out there.
  Thanks to Running Press and NetGalley for the early read.
• 
  Jurene

  Apart from nostalgia and a few positivity/self-help messages, I find this to be kind of a bore and unnecessary. It may be due it being based largely off of the show and less off of the actual books. There is a lot of baseless/foundationless moralistic ideas that I find to be shallow and lacking the essential "why?"
  
  It's a bit of nostalgia, and the illustrations are silly. Good for a skim, but not an in-depth read.
• 
  Kimberly

  I LOVED THIS BOOK! It will stay on my shelves for years to come! Loved the illustrations! This was just awesome for someone who is a Little House lover like me! Must have for Laura Ingles Wilder fans!
• 
  Melissa

  I wanted a little more Little House books and less referencing to the show. And, truly some of these "life hacks" were just modern day expectations about how to approach life "better" when you have access.
• 
  Julene Vrieze

  DNF - I was disappointed this was focused so closely on episodes of the tv series rather than the books. Also, no flow to the writing, very choppy. I’m sad I didn’t enjoy it more.