excellent - Katrina

This book is an example of both historical fiction and informational text. I think this book can fit in the informational genre because it talks about the way things really were during the times the Little House on the Prairie books were set. It makes reference to scenes from the historical fiction books and then gives facts about those items or places. For example, a comparison is made between when Laura's Pa took a trip to the general store and then explains what general stores were during that time period. The book shares how general stores sold groceries, hardware and feed, and how things were delivered there by riverboats. There are informational facts about mail delivery and the Pony Express. Each chapter has recipes and step-by-step projects. This book is also a good example of the informational genre because it provides timelines of nonfictional, verifiable facts and includes well-known facts such as when President James Garfield was assassinated but also little known facts about when peanut butter was first introduced in Missouri, the state where Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up. Media: photographs and colored pencil drawings in the style of the original Little House on the Prairie books.

Written for children, this book's activities encompass things like simple crafts and recipes as it talks about various aspects of the Little House books.

What I loved the most, however were the floor plans given of the homes, even the dugout on Plum Creek. While Laura was always very good at description, sometimes it just so nice to have it laid out for you without having to build it sentence by sentence in your brain. ( )