Little House in the Big Woods

This proposal for a potential LEGO product is inspired by the children’s book, “Little House in the Big Woods” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura describes life with her Ma and Pa, older sister Mary, and baby sister Carrie, in the big woods of Wisconsin in the late 1800s. This book is the first in the "Little House on the Prairie" series that also was the basis for a television program with the same name. Because of the worldwide popularity of the television program, this LEGO project should have a wide appeal.

The books were favorites of mine when I was a child, so it was a special joy to build this project. The book's author gives richly detailed descriptions of the home, yard, and daily chores of the Ingalls family. This provides a fun activity to recreate and visualize the scenes with LEGO. There are numerous play opportunities with the variety of elements from the book. This set is a way to honor the pioneering spirit and introduce new generations to the realities of life before modern technology.

I encourage you to read, or re-read, the book and support this potential LEGO project. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Below are some of the specifics from the book that are included in this set.

• The log cabin has two rooms. The main room has a wood burning stove, a table with a red checked tablecloth, an oil lamp, and Ma’s rocking chair. The small bedroom has a fireplace, a big bed for Ma and Pa, and a small trundle bed for Mary and Laura that slides under the big bed during the day. Both beds are covered with patchwork quilts.
• The attic provides storage for food and other items. It is a cozy place for the girls to play when it is too cold to go outside. Other specific details in the house include Ma’s special platter, her china figurine, Pa’s fiddle in its case, Pa’s hunting rifle hung over the door, and some tools.
• In the yard, there are two large oak trees, one is Mary’s tree and one is Laura’s. Pa hung a swing in Laura’s tree, and she must let Mary swing on it whenever she wants.
• In the fall, Pa hunts for food to last through the winter. To preserve the meat, he builds a smokehouse from a hollow tree stump with a little roof on top and a tiny door at the bottom. Laura collects green hickory wood chips for the small fire at the bottom of the smokehouse. There is a storage space for the smoked meat attached to the house.
• Some chores must be done each day. Pa milks the cows and Ma churns butter. Mary and Laura wash dishes, feed the chickens, and collect eggs. Pa chops wood for the fireplace and stove.
• Pa uses a wagon pulled by two horses to make the long trip to town to trade furs for food, cloth, and other supplies for the family.
• There are some very funny stories about bears in the book, including one about a dead tree that looks like a bear.
• In addition to the cows, horses, and chickens, other animals include Susan, the black cat, and Jack, the brindle bulldog. They frequently hear wolves howling at night. One night, Pa helps Laura look out the window and she sees two wolves right outside the house, howling in the moonlight.
• The colors for the minifigure's clothing were chosen because in the book, Pa brings fabric for new dresses that Ma hand sews: a red dress for Laura, a blue dress for Mary, and a brown dress for herself.
• Pa has dark brown hair that can be slightly wild, and a full beard. Ma wears her brown hair in a bun at the back of her head with little wings of hair that cover her ears. Mary has long golden blond hair and Laura describes her own hair as mouse brown. Each day Ma brushes the girl’s hair and puts it into two long braids down their backs.

Thank you for reading about this project. It has 1028 pieces. Please let me know what you think in the comments. I would greatly appreciate your support to turn this proposal into a LEGO set.