Little House

I've been looking for a good chapter book to read to Caley, one that encourages the right characteristics, isn't too scary, and has some pictures. We were reading "Henry Huggins" but every time we read it I got a sour taste in my mouth. Especially for Caley, who's only 4, Henry isn't really the kind of role model I think she needs right now. He's was always trying to make money and there was a lot of competition between him and his neighbor friends. I remember reading those books in grade school, so maybe they'll be more appropriate for her in a few years.
So we tried reading "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, and more importantly, so does Caley. The narrative is simple and the values mirror what I hope to encourage in Caley, a strong love for family and working together. I have literally had this book in my personal library since I was a little girl and I have never read it. I don't think it was even assigned while I was in school. The topics are ones I wouldn't even think about, but for Laura were a part of daily life. So far we have read about "Butcherin' Time" in which Ma makes head cheese from a pig head and Laura and Mary play with the bladder as a ball, in-depth description of how Pa cleans his gun every evening, churning butter, and the simplicity of Christmas.

I know a lot of the content may be hard for Caley to really understand, but I also know that this book and the others in this series are ones we can read over and over, each time delving deeper and bringing in other subjects as part of her schooling. I can already think of many projects and subjects to research and we've only read 80 pages in the first of 6-7 books.