Have a Lovely Weekend.
What are you up to this weekend? Now that I’m done with The Sopranos, I’ve gotten back into reading at bedtime. My current book is Rental House by Weike Wang, and her writing is hilarious, insightful, and spare in a way that propels you forward. What are you reading/watching/eating right now? Hope you have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web…
Wow, this Valentine’s shop is gorgeous — especially this ring.
This colorful apartment in Germany is a book lover’s dream. (Big Salad)
What it feels like to audition for SNL.
Eating the ‘family meal’ at Angie Mar’s restaurant. “Restaurants are staffed, by and large, with immigrants. Some are legal; some are undocumented… Even if we as diners don’t often get to sit at the table during family meal, we’re part of that family, too. And we owe it to our brothers and sisters to protect them however we can in this year and the next and the one after that too.” Loved this essay, definitely worth reading.
A list of immigrant rights to share with family, friends, and neighbors.
How cozy is this Cornish cottage?
Netflix is making a Little House on the Prairie reboot.
A cottage-cheese taste test. (Cottage cheese and cantaloupe is my trusty diner order.)
Fyi, it’s cool now to wear tights with open-toed shoes.
Remember my friend Abbey Nova of garden makeover fame? She just launched a newsletter. One of her first finds was this print, which I immediately ordered for my sister’s birthday, haha.
Finally, three reader comments:
Says Emily O. on how to make a charm bracelet: “My youngest recently shared with family that they are nonbinary. My mom later pulled them aside and said, ‘When Emily was your age, she wanted to go only by ‘Em’ so I bought her this ‘M’ charm. Now it’s yours, as a reminder that we will always call the people we love exactly what they want to be called.’”
Says Anna on four fun things: “I am re-listening to The Book of Delights audiobook by Ross Gay, and it’s getting me through the winter. After each chapter, I always notice random delights. Last weekend, I was at a state park getting ready to hike, when I saw a woman saddling her horse. The horse turned its head her way, and she kissed it softly on the nose, like you would a dog or kitty. Reassuring, warm, a true delight!”
Says Kathleen on my chocolate-y birthday party: “It took me a second to recognize this feeling — it’s how I felt looking at my older sister’s prom pictures back in the day! You look so happy, so beautiful, and so perfectly feted. Happy birthday to my virtual big sister.”
(Photo by Celia Catalino/Stocksy.)
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Comments
132 commentsThat sounds like a lovely weekend plan! 📚 I hope you had a wonderful, relaxing time! Did you add a little self-care, too?
Thank you for posting about the blatant fascism of the Trump administration. I really appreciate you and your editorial team for not being afraid to say the truth. These are really scary times. We can’t be silent.
ditto
I just finished watching How I Met Your Mother this weekend and absolutely LOVED it. Now I need to start the new season of the Bachelor before I get spoilers!
Thank you for linking to Afikomen!! An independent family owned bookstore where I used to work 💜💜
Please take five minutes every day to call your democratic senators and ask them to act now. This website offers a script for every call/every issue. https://indivisible.org/resources Thank you for doing your part if you are living in the United States.
I didn’t know that charm necklaces existed until the post this week and now I keep spotting them!! Makes me smile everytime.
This weekend I finished Cadwell Turnbull’s NO GODS, NO MONSTERS, which came out in 2021 but feels like it was written for this moment in particular. It explores what would happen if “monsters” (defined here as everything from werewolves to witches) existed as actual minorities in our world: Would we use them, or fear them, or protect them? The allegories here are made very explicit, and there’s everything from protest marches and awkward allyship to powerful, secretive groups that thrive on the general public’s tendency to act like nothing is wrong, even in the face of existential threats (sound familiar?). This NPR review from when it came out is spoiler-free and very good. “If Monsters Were Real, This Book Knows What You’d Really Do – Nothing” https://www.npr.org/2021/09/05/1031846954/no-gods-no-monsters-review-cadwell-turnbull
Some current reads: The Cliffs – I read it on a lucky day (7 day) find from the library and REALLY enjoyed it. I thought it would be a fluff, and the amount I ended up learning about various decades including the Native American experience – whoa. It actually made me want to read MORE in the same vein, which led to devouring ‘Go as a River’ and listening to ‘Indigenous Ingenuity’ – SO interesting. I have definitely been realizing and re-examining how I think and feel about land ownership and the ‘this is my land’ ideation…thank goodness for stories that teach us! I have had re-reading little house on my list for a long time and been collecting them from little free libraries – I read them over and over as a kid, and am only now, reading these comments and recalling some of the phrases, questioning them. Thanks for teaching me, other readers, and I cannot wait to read Louise Erdich, as mentioned by many of you!
Erdrich’s Birchbark House series is a beautiful YA series that is very much in the vein of Little House, but from an indigenous perspective. So good! :)
I highly recommend the biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Prairie Fires, if you enjoyed the books. I reread the entire series and then read the biography and found it fun and valuable—and definitely made me more aware of many of the racist viewpoints than I was reading them alone as a child.
Watching: All Creatures Great and Small on PBS…the perfect remedy for these scary times…cute animals, beautiful English countryside, great characters….what’s not to love? Reading: Just finished reading The Heart of Winter by Jonathan Evison…a beautiful, thoughtful , lovely story of a long marriage of a quirky couple, and The Lost Story, by Meg Shaffer…a modern fairy tale with a Narnia feel!
First off, the charm bracelet comment made me tear up. What a wonderful comment on acceptance. Secondly, I’m watching the French show, Astrid, on PBS Passport. It’s amazing! I cannot recommend it enough. Funny, touching, and mind expanding about the neuro-diverse world. They are releasing a British version called Prudence sometime in the near future and I cannot wait! It is so good!
Currently reading the instructions and content on the app 5 Calls and building up the courage to call my representatives. Clicking on petitions and emailing isn’t going to do it.
Way to go, Deb! It’s important that our voices are heard. I called my senators and representative today, and I’ve been contacting all like-minded friends and have been encouraging them to not only do the same but to also pass on the information to anyone who they think will also call. We MUST let our representatives know, in one loud, strong voice, that congress and only congress should be saying where tax money goes.
Thanks for posting this! I’ve been feeling nervous about calling my representatives too, and it looks like 5 Calls clearly lists the most pressing issues and instructs you on whom to call and what to say. I’m committing to start calling tomorrow on my lunch break, so thank you! And hopefully more CoJ readers will see this and feel inspired as well.
Yes, I’ve started calling even though I generally loathe making phone calls. I figure doing it sweaty and nervous is fine. Not doing it at all? NOT OKAY.
Thank you! It’s SO IMPORTANT to make our voices heard. We should all be doing this! And action really is the antidote to anxiety. My kids and I followed the suggestion of another comment here and emailed a thank you note to Bishop Budde. I also am following SO many resisters in my IG feed and then DMing them thanking them for being brave, promising to be brave too, and telling them we can NEVER stop. We need solidarity!!! We have to act.
Emily O’s comment! I am currently doing a research project trying to capture these exact intergenerational family dynamics for LGBQ+ people. If you’re interested, you can learn more here: https://nsffamilyresearch.com/
Can I ask why you have left out the T, Emily?
I’ve been watching the TV show “Burn Notice” with my dad right now. It is pretty good but honestly a little intense! I am definitely a sitcom girl, so I actually just finished watching New Girl for the first time which is for sure a new favorite, and I will be rewatching at some point!
Books I finished in January: “Fire Weather – A True Story From A Hotter World” by John Vaillant. “Lamb In His Bosom” by Caroline Miller. “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett. (Ugh). “Stolen Focus – Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again” by Johann Hari. “The Bridge at San Luis Rey” – Thornton Wilder. “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” – by Anne Bronte. “What Does It Feel Like?” by Sophie Kinsella Currently reading: “Custodians of Wonder – Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive” by Eliot Stein. After this book, I plan to read something by Toni Morrison or James Baldwin (or both) in honor of Black History Month.
Wonderful list, Sam!
does anyone remember a snippet of a book that was posted that described something to the sentiment of “I may have forgotten what is beautiful” and then described seeing two men leaning against a wall smoking and how they were struck by the beauty of it? I’m doing an awful job describing because I think it lives in my head a bit differently than what it is, but the main sentiment of wondering if they had forgotten what is beautiful because so many things about life were striking them as beautiful. Could someone point me to that? Thanks!
Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson! I just finished this beautiful book, highly recommend.
I think it’s from Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. “I really can’t tell what’s beautiful anymore. I passed two young fellows on the street the other day. I know who they are, they work at the garage. They’re not churchgoing, either one of them, just decent rascally young fellows who have to be joking all the time, and there they were, propped against the garage wall in the sunshine, lighting up their cigarettes. They’re always so black with grease and so strong with gasoline I don’t know why they don’t catch fire themselves. They were passing remarks back and forth the way they do and laughing that wicked way they have. And it seemed beautiful to me.”
It was from Gilead, I believe, by Marilynne Robinson. Such a beautiful book.
Natalie! I don’t, but you really described it so beautifully that I am now intrigued and really hope somebody knows the answer. I want this book to stick it on my white clean wall like the only picture that matters so that I know what to focus on.
I think that might be in Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.
Reading this literary “missed connection” may be the best start to my week ever!
I JUST read this page last night! This is such a beautifully written book and I am savoring every word. I actually had to put it down because it was too much, in the best way!
My Brilliant Friend (streaming on Max) is a MUST watch. Everyone I know who has seen the first season agrees it deserves so much more attention that it has gotten. After reading this article below and seeing so many women on the subway reading the books by Elena Ferrante, I started watching with my husband a few years ago. Since then so many of our friends and our whole family have become obsessed. There are four seasons and the final season came out not too long ago. https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/my-brilliant-friend-best-tv-shows-ever-made
It’s so well done! I loved the book and was skeptical about the series being good enough to measure up but it rises to the occasion.
Thank you for the reading recommendation, Anna! I am trying to have a more positive mindset in my day-to-day life and something that I have been concentrating on are little delights. Cannot wait to read this book!
To everyone for whom Little House was part of your childhood, do yourself a favor and read Prairie Fire, the biography of Wilder. It’s superbly written and FASCINATING. I devoured it like a novel. It examines the racism in the books and even things like Pa’s mental health. Her upbringing was even more grim than the books portray – at one point her family was so poor that another family offered to purchase little Laura as a kind of indentured servant. I was also surprised to learn that her daughter was a very successful author. Anyway – check it out.
Seconding this. And if you can get your hands on a copy of Pioneer Girl, do it. It’s the original manuscript and it’s way darker than the books ended up being.
Seconding this! I loved the Little House books (and have re-read them more times than I can count, including out loud to my sons starting when they were 3 and 5!). I also devoured Prairie Fire when it came out, and I will probably read it again. And I generally struggle to absorbed in non-fiction.
Lorraine, is the book you are referring to Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser?
I have done some deeper digging too on Laura’s and came to the same realization – her charming pioneer life was not nearly as sweet as she portrayed. Pa was dragging his family all over to satisfy his own wanderlust…. while deeply harming his family.
Yes, Prairie Fires was amazing, and now I want to read it again!
crying at Emily O’s story!
I took my kids to the Lunar New Year Festival at Lincoln Center today where they tried calligraphy, stamping and watched traditional dances and a lion dance. We went to Le Botaniste for a vegan lunch- my kids loved the brownie with the vanilla cashew cream, they made me order 2 bowls of it and scraped both clean. I’m about to on a Fabrique and Breads Bakery run to get my bread and babka fix for the month. Hoping to read a few chapters of The Great Divide (so good, about the Panama Canal) and catch a few episodes of The Bear.
The babka from Breads is the best! look forward to getting some this month!
Thank you for ALL of these things. Thank you for not editing and twisting your content to try to keep all people happy all the time. Things are so crucial right now, yours is a voice that many people listen to. Keeping your heart in the voice that is COJ, means so much. Thank you.
Joining in these thanks!
Yes yes YES.
<3 <3 <3
Thank you for the ACLU link which I have added, along with others, to my Canvas course site. I teach majors biology at a community college designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). After the election I spoke to several of my wonderful, intelligent, hardworking (one or two jobs in addition to full-time school as STEM majors), students who dream about becoming successful so they can give their parents a better life. They are devastated and frightened. The new semester begins on Monday, and it feels surreal that, along with lab safety instructions, I will be talking to students about what to do if ICE raids our classroom.
I just read Prarie Lotus by Linda Sue Park and it is a perfect follow up to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. The author loved the Wilder books growing up but as a Korean American adult woman realized how problematic they were and wrote this book in response. It’s about a Chinese American girl growing up in the Little House on the Prairie setting and address racism, sexism, etc. It’s fictional and middle grade reading level but I think it’s a perfect companion or replacement to the Little House on the Prairie books.
What I’m reading… Where do I begin ? Just read 2 earlier books by Alison Espach, author of The Wedding People, and wow. I loved The Wedding People and her 2 earlier books Notes On Your Sudden Disappearance and The Adults ( her first ) were just as good if not better. The Adults blew me away. I laughed out loud at parts. Also just finished Same as it Ever Was by Claire Lombardo, which was good also. Currently reading Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg (featured here !)and loving it !! Happy Winter Reading everyone ! Although in my mind Spring is almost here and with it Porch Reading Season ! :) P.S. watching The Sopranos for the first time!
And CMG—I won’t repeat terms here, but slurs abound and Pa takes part in a minstrel show, among other things.
Love the 50 phrases we got from SNL article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/31/arts/television/-saturday-night-live-skit-catchphrases-quotes.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tk4.uBdV.nYSrtJJpMT0d&smid=url-share
I am reading Tana French’s mystery, The Hunter, watching Bad Sisters and a documentary/series called Cosmosis about the UFO phenomenon, and eating roasted Japanese sweet potatoes with a fresh chard salad.
Claire – you sound so amazing!
Thank you for the Substack post on Angie Mar’s restaurant family meal. I imagined the impact on restaurants but it was very helpful to read a perspective from someone who knows the industry. If anyone here knows a similar effort being done by Acompañmientos in the SF Bay Area, please post? Thank you
The combination of all three chosen comments for this week’s post pulled me into a deep sob. Touching the beauty of the world during these dark days is the most nourishing gift. Thank you.
Daisy cottage cheese is so fantastic! I live in rural Ohio and we have a Daisy factory in our town. I love to feel like I’m supporting our local factory AND getting to enjoy great cottage cheese!
ME TOO!!!
Something to watch: Rogue Heroes. WWII daredevil-type unit. Wow!
Happy Weekend, COJ Team! Thanks for picking my Reader Comment as one of the top 3 this week. Talk about delights! I am off to find glimmers aplenty this week. Hope everyone here has a wonderful weekend.
Just downloaded ME, MYSELF, MOTHER, a first published novel by Yvonne Barlow with the request for “review, review, review good bad or indifferent “….a nerve wracking request from my annual vacation British friend, but I’m going to tackle it. All I know for now is that James is looking for his mother who tried to kill herself and him a few weeks after he was born.
Currently re-reading the Fourth Wing series and it is getting me SO excited for the new third book in the series, Onyx Storm. It’s the fastest-selling adult novel in 20 years! So badass.
Jumping into Feb with a finale of Blue Man Group, NYC. Grinning with blue tinted lips at the ready. sans poncho. Lunch w my niece now living and working nearby. Starting flower seeds today. Peanut chicken for dinner. 🙏 prayers for difficulties far & near and dear.
I remember learning that Laura’s daughter Rose was quite an interesting character in her own right! A quick google search confirms that she was not a typical woman of her time, for sure. Also, that instagram link is indeed absolutely chilling. It has been a long and painful January.
I teach at a school of mostly 1st generation and immigrant kids and the atmosphere is so real. Our district sent an email out when our lunatic president said ICE could come get kids at school. They gave us a script and a plan of action. It was terrifying to know this is what our American reality is now. Our principal made an announcement the morning after the email was sent to assure our students that they are safe and that we will protect them. Then another staff member got on and made the announcement in Spanish. It was sobering. Looking for all the glimmers in this dark season. 💗
WOW! Emily O, what an amazing mom you have. The hot discussion topic between me and my adult sisters is what my parents are going to say when my niece comes out to them, if she should, how we can support her. Obviously it’s her choice and for now she’s choosing not to because she doesn’t think they will be supportive (which is excruciating! I want to shake them!). You are so lucky to have family support.
For technophiles: I live abroad in a country where books are heavily censored and hence rely on my kindle. Is there any way to download books from non-Amazon shops to my kindle? I don’t like to read on a phone/ipad. Thanks!
Sarah, I’ve purchased several books from Haymarket Books. I download them to my laptop and then email them to my kindle. There might be a better way to do this (I’m not a technophile :) but it works for me!
I think Calibre might do what you’re looking for. I’ve been doing some (brief) research on this and keep seeing it mentioned as an e-book management tool.
Many larger US libraries use a program called Libby and you can download books, magazines, audiobooks and comic books to your kindle and kindle fire…for free! You will be required to register online for an international e-library card. You’ll have to research which libraries offer international e-cards but here is a link to the New York Public Library for international applications. Best of luck to you. Information is power! https://legacycatalog.nypl.org/selfreg/patonsite
Emily’s comment is so heartwarming. Your child is blessed to have a supportive grandparent ( family). We were told a few years ago that my nephew is gay and my elderly mum didn’t blink. She has accepted his partner as another grandchild. I wish this for all.
Currently reading Little Women, but I also recently finished Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart (of Shuggie Bain fame). It was beautiful. Full discloure: it’s a heavy read, so maybe not for everyone while the world around us feels so bleak. But if you are someone who can stomach some heartache, Stuart’s writing is a delight–so tender and vivid. A lighthearted read I also recommend would be Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders!
Still think of young mungo!!! So dire at times but so beautiful !
That Instagram post…we are living in dark times indeed.
Yes, chilling indeed. I also watched Mike Figueroa of The Humanist Report on you tube, a segment entitled These Fascists Thought They Were Being Cute doing Musk’s “straight arm salute”. He talks about end stage capitalism and how we may have ended up in this terrible place.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-trump-column-read.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uE4.P08s.3ehg2zRv4h4N&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
The Little House Series is The Glass Castle. It feels very different when you read it that way.
When you read about the history of Little House it’s illuminating and terrifying. It was essentially propaganda from a highly pro-capitalist group that sought to get rid of unions and workers rights. The book, The Big Myth explains it much better than I can. It’s dense, but my god is it educational – especially in these times.
Totally agree with you!
I see what you are saying.
Thank you. Love an Amazon-less list and even more these important lights in these dark times.
Agree. If we are constantly going to be talking about how dark these times are, we have to put our money where are mouths our.
Cheers to this!
Yes, I also noticed and appreciated the link to an online bookstore and no Amazon. Thank you COJ, you are such a light. Cheers!!!
My thoughts exactly. :)
Yes, it is noticed and appreciated! Thanks, Jo!
Happy Birthday Joanna and Lucy!
I have just started to watch the American Manhunt- O J Simpson documentary on Netflix…I delayed watching this thinking what else is left to know, but it looks like a lot of evidence was not presented to the jury.
That cottage is so cozy! I love a cottage.
Joanna and Team – I wanted to acknowledge and thank you for switching links to Bookshop.org and choosing people over profits at Cup of Jo. I know that your business must rely heavily on affiliate links to keep the lights on and imagine this does have an impact on your bottom line – and yet, you show us time and time again how to lead with our values, even when it’s not the easy choice. I admire you so much.
Hear hear!
Same. THANK YOU!
Yes! Agree! It is noticed and appreciated 👏👏
Yes, thanks from me too. This is a really important and meaningful choice, and it does not go unnoticed!
Was so happy to see this too!
Yes! We see you Jo.
Thank you for these links! So many of them were exactly what I needed today. How to get involved. How to be excited. How to connect. PS: I ended up sending several of the links to friends and family. Cottage cheese, Angie Mar, etc. for the win!
I just completed my end of month billing, paid my taxes, am eating dinner with home made pesto, and now I cannot wait to binge the remainder of the Foundation series for the rest of the night since my Saturday appointment cancelled! YAY! I read in bed every night, just a few pages to put me to sleep, and I’ve just started Birnham Wood. It’s too soon to say if I can recommend it but I’m hoping it will be good!
Emily O.’s comment, such a sweet reminder of the love and acceptance that I fiercely hope will one day be the norm. As a mom of a gender diverse little one living in a state that just passed a bill banning trans health care for kids, these stories are healing. ❤️🩹
Please know that there are so many of us that think about families like yours during these times and hold you in our hearts without knowing you. Hoping you find peace and joy in these troublesome times and hugs to your little one.
Emily’s mom’s comment to her grandchild made me teary. What a great grandma and human.
A note on the immigrant rights – the call has been going out in indigenous communities to carry our tribal IDs, too. There’s a lot of very valid fear that these raids will target reservations/communities. Anyone brown. Stay safe and stay vocal American friends. Chris LaTray has a good roundup and refutation of the idea that it couldn’t happen here: https://open.substack.com/pub/chrislatray/p/keep-a-copy-of-your-tribal-identification Spoiler, it’s happened, and in very recent memory.
Emily O. my eyes are crying thinking of how warm that sounds!! The generosity of kindness always gets me. Cheers to your child! Xo
Good Culture knows they are the best … that stuff is expensive!!!! :’)
Emily O’s mom is a gem. If only everyone had such a thoughtful, kind, supportive and loving presence in their lives.
I am just watching the Sopranos for the first time now, so excited! I have also been really enjoying Severance season 2. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!
Have anyone read Little House on the Prairie recently??? I was listening to the audio book and had to turn the volume down for fear my neighbours would think I was a raging racist. Holy crap. It is NOT subtle. (I am not American and was equally shocked when I travelled to Utah and saw how history is explained there. It was the most extreme culture shock I have experienced, more than any other country).
When I picked up the Little House series to read to my kiddo at bedtime, once I got into them I was shocked by how racist Ma was, how terrible Pa could be, and how the book talked about Native Americans. I did one of those very on the fly, changing all the words, skipping over parts…as I was reading aloud to my kid. Who (at 4 years old) didn’t really notice I was doing that. I put them in a box and moved on to other bedtime stories. A couple years later when he could read, he pulled them out and we had many conversations about the text and what different people in the books said and did. It was good to talk about it out in the open.
My sister was reading that to her pandemic first grade pandemic pod back in 2020 and had to stop because she ran out of patience trying to substitute the language and omit passages! I am curious how/if Netflix will deviate from source material!
There used to be an award for Children’s Literature named after Laura Ingalls Wilder, but because of her overt racism towards native Americans it was changed. I believe she said “the only good Indian is a dead Indian” multiple times. Still interesting books for some people but definitely need to engage in a deeper discussion with the kids when you read them.
I read these books as a child and I’m so curious as to what you found to be so racist. I read them in the 70’s and of course our thinking has changed so much-but I really don’t remember anything shocking. Hope you’ll share.
My daughter and I are reading them together. We are constantly stopping to chat about all the racism. It’s been a very eye opening experience for her. And helpful for me to have the format to force the conversation.
Well Utah is definitely not the place to learn history haha they are truly their own world.
Yes my daughter loves them and I read them aloud and have to edit so.much. The overt racism is shocking. A show reboot is exactly what the Ballerina Farm adjacent trad wives are rabid for. But oh jeez I will probably watch it 🫣
Yes, when I became a mom I thought I’d read them to my daughter. I found a set at a thrift store and once I re-read them I realized I would never read them to my kids. There’s a whole podcast, Wilder, about loving them as a kid and seeing the darkness as an adult.
I’m reading the series with my 8 year old and 4 year old right now. We have lots and lots of conversations about them. I think it’s helping my 8 year old become a critical reader/thinker and not just believe that a viewpoint is okay bc it’s in a book. I’m also reading Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians…by Anton Treuer. Highly recommend!
I loved that series as a kid, but only read three or four with my daughter before halting; they did make for good discussion, but I didn’t want to finish all of them with her. May I suggest an even better and much more beautiful series: The Birchbark Girl by Louise Erdrich. There are five books and my son and I read them last year. They are soulful and delightful—a much better alternative to The Little House series.
Yes omg. Racism, glorification of colonization and the genocide of Indigenous people in the so-called U.S. – these books are not just cozy quaint nostalgia.
I have found it beneficial to read these books to my kids to spark these discussions. Of course the age of the child is important when reading books with troubling content too! These old books are not what my kids are picking up and reading on their own. There are also other books like Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park and the Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich that offer other perspectives.
School librarian entering the comments! If you loved the Little House series but have set them aside for one of many excellent reasons, I recommend reading The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (strong native communities and life), Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park (Asian American pioneer representation), or One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome (African American pioneers, and it just won a Coretta Scott King award!) I also strongly recommend Everything You Wanted To Know About Indians But Were Too Afraid To Ask, Young Readers Edition by Anton Treuer.
The Birchbark House series by Louise Erdrich is a beautiful series that takes place in a similar place and time but centers an Indigenous family. I read both with my kids and had great conversations. Also, thanks for including some stories and resources about the immigration cruelty happening now. A family we know is facing separation, as the dad has been detained by ICE leaving his wife and 4 kids devastated and afraid. We all need to take care of our people as this restaurant demonstrates so beautifully.
Cat, Laura actually says, “No matter what Mr. Scott said, Pa did not believe that the only good Indian was a dead Indian.” So, yes, she does technically say those words, and Laura was indoubtedly racist by today’s standards. When asked to take the part of “the Indian” in a town debate about who was treated worse by the US government, Native Americans or African Americans, her response was so good that it was published in the Missouri Ruralist. Her contemporaries would have been in disbelief to hear that future generations would call her racist. I do understand the difficulty with her books, since they’re for children.
I know! I remember thinking the books were cozy when I was growing up. I also grew up in MN and visited the sites in MN, WI and SD as a kid. I always remember the scene in a later book where Pa and the men in DeSmet? Are trying to entertain the town people and have this whole minstrel show situation. Then, I got a copy of Little House in The Big Woods and realized that Pa mentions “hunting Indians” along with forest creatures. Also, I’ve read that Rose Wilder was anti- New Deal and the books are all about self reliance as propaganda. Anyway, here is a PBS link about the legacy: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/what-should-be-done-about-racist-depictions-in-the-little-house-books/16587/
You might like the Ojibwe series instead: ‘The Birchbark House’ by Louise Erdrich… one of my favourite authors. It’s kind of a counter narrative to ‘The Little House’ narrative. Then read everything else Erdrich has written!
Yes! I started the audiobooks with my daughter and had to stop! Holy wow. Horribly offensive—and I’m shocked (or is like to be) that it didn’t flag as such when it was read to me in the 90s.
I would love more recommendations about where to learn about the broader Little House on the Prairie history, problems, etc. I didn’t grow up learning American history but we are reading these with our kids now and I’d love to be able to have more nuanced conversations.
so many unfortunate moments like these in children’s lit. i remember trying to read enid blyton books to my kiddo. talk about story lines and choices from the past not holding up…even roald dahl needs occasional editing on the fly as you go if you’re reading out loud..
I loved these books SO much as a kid and was sad to flip through them as an adult— my perspective has certainly changed 🫣 I have read that The Birchbark House series by Louise Erdrich is a better choice as it centers the Native American experience. I am a huge fan of Erdrich’s writing, and I think I’ll be trying her series with my 6 yo daughter pretty soon!
Have you actually read the books? I have several times- she does NOT say the only good indian is a dead indian, one of their neighbors Mrs. Bell says it and Ma repeats and Pa actually goes on this whole thing about how that is wrong? and Laura agrees that it is wrong. Also the dr. who treats them when they all get scarlet fever is black and they are very grateful for his help. and Pa acknowledges that he wasnt supposed to be on Indian land and pushes back againt the uncle who said he wouldnt have moved. Its is a book from that time period of course but. these books have positive elements of American culture more than the negative and american culture is not all negative. For a more multicultural perspective Prairie Lotus is a good read and i do hope that the show runners use that as source material as well. L M montgomery is much more racist and still beloved. If you are looking for nonracist literature you are going to hae to stop reading b/c as a non christian “heathen” brown woman, people still say ignorant things ALL the time. My kids loved the littel house books b/c they know she didnt know any better and the liberal white bubble they live in- people say ignorant racist stuff ALL the time. its laughable that you all think you are any better than your forebears b/c you are really not.
It can be useful to revisit books from the past and understand more about the values of those times – but it is often pretty shocking.
For anyone who wants to revisit Little House on the Prairie or read it to their kids for the first time, I would highly recommend also reading Louise Erdrich’s Birchbark House series (or maybe just reading it instead). They are about a little Anishinaabe girl that lives on an island in Lake Superior and how her life changes as white settlers start to encroach on her home. The whole series is absolutely beautiful and haunting and a window into a history very different than in Little House. People talk about them as an American Indian version of the Little House books, but they are really so much more. My kids love them. https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-birchbark-house-louise-erdrich/17373791?ean=9780063064164&next=t&next=t
A few years ago, I was feeling extremely nostalgic and put on Pocahontas. I was obsessed with that movie as a kid, but oh my god I had to turn it off almost immediately. I don’t remember the overt racism in Little House books, it’s gotta be 20 years since I read them last, but I’m not surprised.