On The Banks Of Plum Creek (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
Plum Creek, Minnesota 1874. Nachdem Familie Ingalls ihre Farm im auf Indianergebiet auf Anordnung des Staates verlassen musste (Laura in der Prärie), zieht die siebenjährige Laura mit ihrer Familie wieder in Richtung Osten. Die Ingalls lassen sich zunächst in einem unterirdischen Erdhaus am Ufer von Plum Creek nieder, das Pa gegen die Pferde der Familie eintauscht. Hier beginnt für Laura und ihre Schwester Mary eine neue spannende Zeit, denn zum ersten Mal besuchen die beiden eine Schule und lernen Kinder wie die verwöhnte Nellie Oleson kennen.Dieser dritte Band der Reihe, der 1937 erschien (der der vierte, wenn man die amerikanische Zählung nimmt, die den Band „Farmer Boy“ als Band 3 zählt, den es auf Deutsch nur in der Übersetzung aus dem 50er Jahren aus dem Trauner Verlag gibt) schließt fast nahtlos an Band 2 (Laura in der Prärie) an. Wieder einmal beginnt die Familie ganz von vorne, und das Leben bleibt hart, etwas, das in diesem Band nicht mehr verklärt wird, denn Laura ist mit ihren sieben Jahren verständiger geworden und sieht nicht mehr nur die schönen Seiten des Lebens, sondern erkennt auch die Gefahren. Die Personen dieses Romans sind den meisten Lesern wohl aus der Fernsehserie bekannt, besonders Nellie Olsen. Anders als in der Serie, sind diese anderen Personen aber nur Nebenfiguren und tauchen nur in wenigen Kapiteln auf. Meist leben Laura, Mary und Carrie auf der Farm und gehen selten zur Schule, weil sie daheim benötigt werden, oder weil die Heuschreckenplage oder die Hitze es unmöglich machen, das Haus zu verlassen. Dieser Band erzählt zwei Jahre aus Lauras ereignisreichem Leben. Sie kämpft gegen Heuschrecken und Blizzards und übernimmt langsam Verantwortung, und das ist es, was das Buch besonders macht. Obwohl Mary und Laura erst sieben bis 10 Jahre alt sind, werden sie ernst genommen, sie bekommen Aufgaben und werden auch mal alleine zuhause gelassen. Ihre Eltern vertrauen ihnen und sehen sie als eigenständige, verantwortungsbewusste Menschen an, auch wenn die beiden auch mal was anstellen. Wie anders ist doch das Leben heutiger Kinder, die kaum mehr eigenständig handeln dürfen und schon gar keine Verantwortung übernehmen dürfen. Laura und Mary sind stolz darauf, dass ihnen diese kleinen Aufgaben übertragen werden und wachsen daran, etwas, woran sich heutige Eltern wohl ein Beispiel nehmen sollten.Dieser Roman weicht vom tatsächlichen Leben der wahren Laura Ingalls ab. Er ist romantischer, wilder und freier als ihr Leben wirklich war. Tatsächlich besuchte sie bereits mit vier in Pepin, Wisconsin die Schule. Auch die Geburt ihre Bruders Charles und dessen Tod als Baby werden verschwiegen, das wäre für ein Kinderbuch wohl zu düster gewesen.
Good grief, as an adult and as a parent, have I grown too practical to read and completely enjoy these books? When Ma and Pa packed up the kiddos and left the Big Woods because there were too many people, less land and game to go around, I thought a little bit to myself, Um...Pa, did we think through this completely? Are you sure? Are we safe? But Pa is supposed to be an example of Great American Spirit. So, fine, we let this happen. There were some bumps in the road, but oh boy, we have some major battles for survival in Plum Creek. To the point where I wanted to grab Pa and yell, "Do you see? What can happen? With little research and no family to rely on, this new way of life you're trying out, riding high on the hog after that wheat crop comes through, can do to you? Because there's no wheat, Pa! Only grasshoppers. Listen to those freakin' Norwegians, will you? 'Grasshopper weather' isn't just some cutesy foreign term for, 'Gee, it's warm," it means that zillions of grasshoppers are going to take over the world!!! "And by the way, Caroline, Pa doesn't always know what's best, so seriously do not let him leave when it might blizzard. Because then he might get caught in it. And be outside for FOUR DAYS with nothing to eat but the children's Christmas candy."All that yelling aside, this is the reason (not Tolkien) that I want to live in a hill. With a charming creek outside. And I could skip around with my cow and my faithful dog Jack (and not my stick in the mud sister Mary) and hope my crazy, adventure-loving parents don't kill us all. Sorry, I'm yelling again.Moments I loved: Christmas. Again. It just warms my heart when they have these sweet, simple holidays but are just so truly happy to be together (and alive, cough, Charles). They go to church for one Christmas, and see an actual Christmas tree, and Laura gets a fur cape and muff that blows away Nellie Oleson's. Ma keeping the family together and strong while Charles is gone, making money to make up for their lost wheat, or when blizzards come through and he's missing. Oh, Ma, you're so tough. And Pa, when he says to Laura, "We must do the best we can, Laura, and not grumble. What must be done is best done cheerfully." Word, Pa. The next time somebody's bitchin' at me, I'm going to preach some Little House to them.
What do You think about On The Banks Of Plum Creek (2007)?
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder is an exquisite set of books that I cherished growing up. Read until they were dog-eared, this series has to be one of my childhood favorites. A story about a young girl growing up on the frontier, it was so popular they made it into a T.V. series even though the series didn't do it justice. Stories as a young girl I could relate to, the mean girl in town, fights with my sisters, and just the struggles of everyday life of any family. The love Ma and Pa had for each other showed through so much so, that even today I can still see Caroline's eye's sparkling bright blue as Pa whirled her around the dance floor. This series is a perfect example of a story well told. When you're there in Laura's life so much that you can feel her fear when in trouble, or you can taste the penny candy on Christmas, that's a story. I have no doubt this will be a children's classic for years to come. I highly recommend it. Note: Reading again with my son, what a joy to see him loving these too! We've even started watching the tv series along with the reading!ClassicsDefined.com
—midnightfaerie
wow. As other reviewers have stated - the contrast between Pa & Almanzo's father could not be greater. Reading these as an adult is rather mind-blowing. Add "as a parent" and it takes on a whole new level of "holy crap!". I simply cannot fathom doing the things that they did, nor weathering the storms that they did - quite literally. Nor putting my children in the way of harm the way that was done then (as when Pa decides to leave the whole family alone for months on end or simply days on end when he goes to town and is trapped outside in a blizzard). You would think that their awareness of the fragility of life would be even more pronounced than ours since we live in a bubble of perceived safety.After reading about the grasshopper plagues that they lived through (a miracle when you think of the impact not just on their crops, but their livestock and every other means of sustenance) I decided to look up some info on what happened and when and why it doesn't happen anymore. I discovered that they "grasshoppers" which numbered literally in the MILLIONS (likely Trillions considering the geographic area that they absolutely covered like carpeting) were "Rocky Mountain Locusts" and that they are now extinct. There are entire books written about the survivors of these plagues that occurred year after year at one point. I love this series.
—Mary Schumann
I brought out my set of Little House books for my husband to read to our four year old daughter. She loves hearing stories from these books over and over again. I had great fun rereading the first four books again! (I think we are going to stop at On the Banks of Plum Creek for now. As I was previewing the fifth book, By the Shores of Silver Lake I thought some story lines might be too mature for our four year old.)From my childhood readings, I distinctly remember the grasshoppers coming and destroying the crops, along with the vivid descriptions of how quickly a blizzard would blow in. One my of favorite stories was when Pa got caught in a blizzard walking home from town. He fell in a small hollow and was trapped in a cave of snow for days. This cave of snow saved him from freezing to death. He stayed alive by eating some of the Christmas treats he had bought in town, including the Christmas candy. When he finally arrived home, safe and sound, the snow cave being only yards from the house, Laura and Mary are so relieved that they do not mind not having their Christmas candy. '"Well," Pa said, "we'll have a big wheat crop next year, and you girls won't have to wait till next Christmas for candy."'At least Pa had not eaten the oysters, and there was oyster stew for Christmas dinner.Discussing this book was also fun for my husband and me. We are fascinated with history and how people used to live and the skills they needed to survived. On the Banks of Plum Creek is not just for children, but is entertaining for adults, too.
—Ginny Marie
