One of the most beloved collections of children’s books out there is the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In reviewing a DVD sent from Dean Butler with Legacy Documentaries called Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls, it was interesting to see how these books almost didn’t make it to publication at all!
The Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder DVD has a total run time of 75 minutes. There’s a mixture of actors reenacting Laura’s life story and photos of her and her family. It includes a few extras, such as trailers of accompanying DVDs called “Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura” and “Pa’s Fiddle: The Music of America”, as well as a Documentary Director’s Diary feature.
The DVD retails for $24.95 and is great for all ages. If you or your child have listened to or read even one of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, you’ll surely be intrigued by the woman behind the stories!
I used the video as a tie-in to our nightly reading of Ms. Wilder’s books. We are on the second book in the series, and it was fun telling the kids that the stories are loosely based on the author’s own actual experiences on the frontier. They have always been amazed that she lived so long ago and that we still read her stories today. The DVD helped me to explain in further detail, as well as provide them with some visual evidence of her life and the story behind the story!
My children were also surprised that publishing houses gave her a hard time and didn’t accept all of her work on the first try. They saw how she never gave up, kept trying, and wasn’t afraid to revise her writing to get a better end result. This is a great life lesson, and helps me now and in the future when it comes time to writing revisions.
I love biographies, so this DVD was such a treat for me. I enjoyed hearing about Laura’s family dynamic with her parents and siblings, and her spouse and daughter. Now, when I read some of her books, I see the heart behind the words and have really been appreciating the thought and hard work behind the text.
If you’re interested in seeing what other families thought about this documentary, or you want to see what folks thought of Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura, you’ll want to visit other Crew Review posts by clicking below.
I did receive a complimentary review copy of this DVD. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.