On my site yesterday, I posted excerpts from an
article that was a speech given by Laura Ingalls
Wilder in 1937. In that speech, Wilder talks
about what she left out of her books, things that
she did not think were appropriate for children.
She talks specifically about the Benders, a
family who ran a tavern. Turns out the Benders
were killers; their "garden" had a lot of bodies
in it. Pa and other townsmen went out looking for
the Benders. Later on, Pa would say they would
never be found. I've excerpted the relevant portions of the speech on my site:
http://tiny.cc/j5twD
Equally remarkable is that the speech was printed
in SATURDAY EVENING REVIEW in the 70s, and again
in the 80s in a biographical volume cited by a
lot of people who study (and revere) the book.
Nobody has written anything (as far as I've been
able to determine) about the Benders or Pa's
vigilantism. Those of you using LITTLE HOUSE for
critical literacy purposes may want to include
this information in your unit. Excellent example
of choices writer's make, with lot of
food-for-thought with regard to why they make such choices.
Debbie
Visit my Internet resource:
American Indians in Children's Literature
http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.info
Debbie A. Reese (Nanbé Ówîngeh)
Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Native American House, Room 2005
1204 West Nevada Street, MC-138
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Email: debreese@illinois.edu
TEL 217-265-9885
FAX 217-265-9880
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