"Little House" - A Heartwarming Book Series about Simplicity and Family

We are reading the Little House series currently. We just finished "On the Banks of Plum Creek" this morning. The kids and I really enjoyed it. I grew up watching the "Little House on the Prairie" series. So it was an important moment when the kids met Nellie Olsen in the book. My children and I were most touched by the loss of Charlotte in this book. Poor Charlotte, Laura's doll. It was so sad when Laura found her frozen in the ice and torn up. Both my daughter and I had tears streaming down our cheeks.
We are reading the books in sequence, so after reading "Farmer Boy," we spent some time talking about the different families - Almonzo's and Laura's. It seemed to take a bit longer to get through "Farmer Boy." I was surprised when the kids pointed out that Almonzo's family had 2 boys to help their Pa with the chores, whereas Laura's family had none. Laura's Pa did all of that work on his own.
Of course I have a fondness for this series as I grew up watching it. I love the simplicity of life in the books. I love that families are close and they work hard to help one another and help the family. I can hear that when I am reading....I get a good sense of it and so do my children. They do go off to school in this book but they also spend a lot of time at home studying (secondary to the weather), home with family, and helping Mom with the chores. My daugther couldn't believe it when in each of these books, the children were left alone to mind the house and sometimes a younger sibling, while the parents took a long walk to town or went away overnight. One such incidence Mary was nearly 9 and Laura nearly 8. I had trouble accepting it myself! My daughter and I spent some time talking about it....if she felt she could manage the house. She did not. I also love the simplicity of their play. They had a few precious things to play with....I wouldn't even call them toys - some paper dolls and rag dolls and a corn cob doll. They played games using their imaginations and played outside all day when the weather was warm. There weren't so many "things" and the things they did have held a special value to them. I feel it when I read to my children and they feel it too. It's heartwarming and a special series to read together as a family and discuss.