SPOILERS!!!
I enjoyed the book and how Laura takes us all throughout the year in her family.
At Christmas the family receive the visit of Aunt Eliza, Uncle Peter and their cousins. They have a good time, and Santa brings Laura a doll. Before that, Laura had a corncob with painted eyes. So the doll was the best gift she could have.
In another chapter Laura tells us how she hates Sundays because it is the day when work is banned, and they can't even play. Laura complains to her father, and he tells her about the time when she was a boy, and he and his brothers worked on a sledge, but when they finished, they couldn't use it because it was Sunday. His father read the bible to them, and when the man fell asleep, the boys sneaked out of the house and decided to use the sledge for just one ride. Then they came across a pig which got on the sledge and they couldn't avoid it. The pig's squeals brought their father out of the house, and then they had their punishment.
Charles usually went to town to trade hides for things in the store. He was expected that night, but he did not appear. Caroline told Laura that they needed to milk the cow, so Laura should hold the lantern. Then when they got to the stable, they found the cow outside, and Caroline found a bear. Caroline acted quickly and took Laura and ran to the house. The next day Charles was at home, and he told the girls that on his way back he found a bear in his way, and he tried to scare him away to no avail. So he decided to hit him with a big branch, and then he discovered that it was no bear, but a big stump. Laura told him about the bear in the stable, and he told her that she and her mother had been very brave.
Around spring the family went to stay with grandpa and grandma and there was a dance where the aunts, uncles, and cousins all have a lot of fun.
In summer it was time to get visits from the family and the neighbours, and they also visited. They even went to see the town for the first time, and Laura was so impressed with the store that she could not even speak.
In harvest Charles's brother, Henry, helped him, and he helped him back. The family went to Uncle Henry's. Henry's son, Charley, was a boy of twelve, and his father requested he help him and Charles. Yet, the boy was lazy, and instead of helping he hid some tools and play tricks. Whene he was walking to the house, twice he screamed, and when Henry and Charles ran to him, the boy was laughing and saying that he had tricked them. Then the third time they heard him, they saw him jump up and down, but they ignored him. Yet, when the screams persisted, they went to him, and they realised that the boy had been attacked by bees after he stepped on their nest. On the way back home Charles said that the boy deserved that lesson for being such a liar.
I really enjoyed this simple book but which showed us a hard but uncomplicated way of life.
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