#by the shores of silver lake

Synopsis: 

By the Shores of Silver Lake was written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1939. It is the fifth book in the Little House series. This series chronicles Laura and her family’s life as American pioneers. This book is about when they moved to Dakota territory. Pa originally gets a job in a railway company and that’s why they move out there. However, Ma wants them to finally settle down, so Pa eventually claims some land for a homestead and starts to help build the town of De Smet. 

Storyline: 

This one was so good! Maybe my favorite of my re-reads so far. This one felt more exciting and had such a feel of the wild west about it. We get to see the Ingall’s girls take a train for the first time, see what it’s like to live in a railroad camp, see Laura explore the wide open unsettled prairies, read a bit about the lawlessness of the wild west and watch the family finally find their homestead. I enjoyed reading about all of that thoroughly. 

Setting: 

The setting of De Smet, South Dakota was fabulous. Laura Ingalls Wilder does such a fantastic job of describing the places she’s lived. The lake, the scenery in the winter, the open prairie, the railroad camp, it’s all described wonderfully. 

Characters:

Laura was finally a bit older in this one ( I believe about 12 at the beginning) so I felt like the perspective seemed a bit different. More turned to the outer world. This is the book where Mary goes blind, which she seemed to handle so well and calmly! Laura had to describe the world around them for Mary and be her eyes in this one. This meant the descriptions got so beautiful! Carrie got older of course, so in this one she did more things with Laura. Grace is the new baby introduced in this book. I forget whether Ma had anymore children, but I guess we’ll see! Pa has to tame his adventurous spirit a bit in this one, so he can carve out a settled life for his daughters instead of constantly moving west. Laura shares his longing to keep exploring, but Ma wants them to have a settled life and to be able to go to school. I take it the family will probably stay in De Smet for the remaining books. 

Did I Like it?:

Yes! This was my favorite re-read of the Little House books so far. Such a fun one filled with the spirt and beauty of the wild west. Can’t wait to continue re-reading the series! 

Do I Recommend it?:

Yes! If you’re wondering whether to continue reading the series, the answer is yes! It will be well worth your time. If you haven’t read this series I recommend it if you would like a first hand account of American pioneers and people living in the wild west. 

~Katie 

“The sun sank. A ball of pulsing, liquid light, it sank in clouds of crimson and silver. Cold purple shadows rose in the east, crept slowly across the prairie, then rose in heights on heights of darkness from which the stars swung low and bright. The wind, which all day long had blown strongly, dropped low with the sun and went whispering among the tall grasses. The earth seemed to lie breathing softly under the summer night.”

- By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“There was really almost no difference in the flowers and grasses. But there was something else here that was not anywhere else. It was an enormous stillness that made you feel still. And when you were still, you could feel great stillness coming closer.”

-By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder