Showing posts with label favorite books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorite books. Show all posts

Explore the World and Wander around with Laura Ingalls Wilder





Have you ever heard of Laura Ingalls Wilder?
Or perhaps, Little House on the Prairie TV series?

I bet many of us have, at some point of time, heard or read or watched this series. 
Truly my favorite!
During this pandemic, I keep coming back to my favorite books to comfort me during this trying time.
And Laura Ingalls Wilder books bring a lot of joy to me and my family! I have the complete series and I always bring them wherever we go, different countries and cities. 
I like these books because it inspires me to be an adventurous person.
It ignites my dreams to be the world explorer, a globetrotter.
It makes me believe that no matter how hard life is, there will always be ways to move forward and succeed.
It also teaches me to be brave, strong, bold, and honest to myself.
Not to mention the love and the bond of the wonderful family that we have to keep inside our heart.
You can find some delicious traditional recipes as well here!
And the delight of witnessing the breakthrough that changed lives, like the use of train and more agricultural technology at that time, can be enjoyed as well.
See, so many beautiful thing you can definitely  learn and cherish thanks to Laura.

Bicara tentang buku, saya punya list panjang buku-buku yang begitu saya sukai.
Begitu saya sukai hingga rasanya saya terus menerus membacanya sejak saya masih sekolah hingga kini punya dua orang anak :).
Karena buku-buku ini menginspirasi saya.
Membantu saya mengawali mimpi indah menjadi seorang penjelajah dunia.
Meneguhkan jiwa untuk terus berjuang dan semangat meraih mimpi.
Membumikan hati untuk selalu berusaha dan percaya pada skenario indah-Nya.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Terus terang, saya begitu suka dengan buku-buku ini sampai kemana pun saya pergi, pindah dari satu negara ke negara lain untuk menjalankan tugas, mereka pun selalu saya bawa. Ada beberapa buku koleksi yang benar - benar selalu ikut ke mana pun saya pergi. no matter how tattered the books are karena sudah berjuta -juta kali dibaca (maafkan lebay). Salah satunya adalah seri Laura Ingalls Wilder

Ada yang ingat dengan buku ini?
Atau mungkin serial TV yang terinspirasi dari seri buku cerita kehidupan si kecil Laura hingga ia besar dan menikah dengan Almanzo Wilder, yang berjudul Little House in the Prairie

Saya bahkan masih ingat klip pembukanya yang menampilkan padang rumput asri menghijau dan bunga -bunga. Wajah dan suara Michael Langdon yang menjadi Pa Charles Ingalls dan Melissa Gilbert yang menjadi Laura Ingalls masih terbayang nyata. Bahkan ikal rambut dan kenakalan Nelly Oleson, yang menjadi 'musuh' Laura di masa kecil sering membuat saya geram. Ini benar - benar serial TV favorit masa kecil yang legendaris! Nontonnya pun masih di saluran TVRI atau Televisi Republik Indonesia, satu - satunya kanal TV saatku kecil!

Buat generasi millennials, mungkin jarang sekali yang tahu tentang buku ini. Karena memang buku pertamanya diterbitkan tahun 1960an (atau bahkan lebih lama lagi?) kalau tidak salah, dengan text copyright untuk buku pertama yang berjudul Little House in the Big Woods dikeluarkan tahun 1932. Yes, you read it right, 1932. Sudah lama sekali ya.


Laura Ingalls Wilder


Tapi jangan salah. Pengalaman keluarga Wilders, yang terdiri dari Pa Charles, Ma Caroline, Marry, Laura, dan Carry, yang kemudian bertambah dengan Grace Ingalls si bungsu, masih sangat menarik dan relevan untuk dibaca. Keluarga Ingalls adalah pionier di Amerika Serikat yang hidup di akhir tahun 1800an dan Cerita kehidupan para pionir di Amerika Serikat, yang mengerjakan semua secara mandiri most of the time, dan harus kreatif mengatasi berbagai tantangan dalam hidup. Mereka mengalami banyak cobaan, mulai dari panen yang gagal, penyakit keras yang membuat saudara Laura, Mary, buta, kerugian bertani dan beternak, hidup di tengah hutan belantara, serta hidup berpindah - pindah dari hutan, tepi sungai, pinggir danau, sampai kota yang dirintis bersama - sama. Tanpa listrik, tanpa gawai, tanpa segala kenikmatan dan kenyamanan hidup yang kita nikmati sekarang. but they do have a great and colorful life indeed! Laura juga mengajarkan saya untuk menghargai segala kemudahan dan berkah-Nya. Sekecil apapun itu. And this sense of gratitude really helps me get through even my darkest days.

Little House series have 7 books, entitled:
  • Little House in the Big Woods
  • Farmer Boy
  • Little House on the Prairie
  • On the Banks of Plum Creek
  • By the Shores of Silver Lake
  • The Long Winter
  • Little Town on the Prairie
  • These Happy Golden Years
Besides these 7 main books, I also have the other 2, On the Way Home and the First Four years, where Laura told us the tough and challenging life she and Almanzo had with so many unfortunate events, but still they both embraced it. 

If you ask me which one is my favorite, I cannot answer that! I simply read all of them again and again and there are so many memorable 'scenes' or events from each book, like when Laura and her family joined the dance at her Grandpa's house after the snow sugar, or when Laura got Charlotte, her paper doll, or when Laura certified as one of the youngest teacher and married Almanzo. Or the excitement when Laura, Mary and Carrie, together with Ma, took the train ride for the first time, or when Ma slapped big brown bear unintentionally and also slapped the Indians who were trespassing. I can feel the joy and happiness whenever Pa Charles is playing his fiddle to the upbeat songs. I can see the beauty of the wilderness from Laura's eyes and the joy playing under the sun, embracing the nature. I learn that life is not always nice and sweet, but you will always get your family by your side. I sincerely hope such values will prevail.

Oya, saya sempat menulis 5 Awesome Books for your Teens  and obviously the Laura Ingalls series is part of it! Here's some excerpt from my previous post:

"How I grew up with Laura, Mary, Carry, Grace, Pa, Ma and Jack!
To those born around the same years as I do, Little House on the Prairie or Laura Ingalls Wilder series must ring a bell. Beautifully telling us the stories and adventures of the pioneering family in the early years of the US independence, Laura and her family shared some wonderful family values that they held dear despite the tough and harsh journey they have to go through as they moved around from the Big Woods to DeSmet, where they finally resided.

I wept with them when the whole family was sick and Mary ended up blind or when Charlotte, Laura’s doll was found wasted on the mud by some spoiled girl.
I shared the joy when Laura became a teacher at the very young age and when they discovered a lovely swimming spot by the Plum Creek.
And I was curious when they started making snow sugar or smoked beef from Pa’s game.
I also enjoyed reading the Farmer Boy, Laura’s dearest husband's childhood story.

My kids showed similar fascination as I introduced that adventurous life of Laura and her family.  I hope they managed to read the complete stories."

So I do hope you enjoy this lovely series of books and learn so many valuable lessons in life from it. While we have some times at home during this pandemic, book will definitely help you enjoy the confinement.

One more thing. If I got a chance to visit the US again, I would love to go to Missouri or Wisconsin to see Laura's home and museums :). Wish us luck yaaaa.

Stay safe, happy and healthy everyone.

5 Awesome Books for your Teens


Who loves reading books here?
I do!
And I try to make sure that my family loves them too.

I do have a big collection of books and I have to admit that I do bring them wherever we are moving. So you can imagine those boxes of books I have from places we’ve lived before. When we were in NYC, books were so easy to find and some of the are super cheap, as we can definitely but the second-hand or preloved ones. No wonder we brought back 10 big boxes of books to add to our collection.

And now, allow me to share 5 awesome books for your teens.

Being a mom of 2 teenagers (one is teenager-to-be actually), I’m trying to make sure that they have good quality reading materials at home. Let’s find out what’s on our list.

Harry Potter series

J.K Rowling’s fantastic works are definitely on top of the list!

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley are three teenagers with out-of-this-world lifetime experience that makes you want to enroll to Hogward School of magic right away. We’re not the only ones being spellbound by their adventures as millions of people are joining the band.

I spent my university years reading the complete series of this book and I keep them all. From the Philosopher’s Stone to Deathly Hollow, I passionately read the stories page by page, trying to relive those scenes in my head, until the movies were out.

Now my kids develop the same habit or reading and bring Potter’s books here and there.

I have the complete collections in English, Bahasa Indonesia and the pictorial series now, although it is only up to the 3rd book, the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The kids enjoy the magical world filled with wizards, creatures and unthinkable imaginations! They also learn many good (and bad) attitudes as well as family values and determination from these books. Have fun exploring the other side and have a magical journey!



Percy Jackson series

Rick Riordan’s wild imagination about the life of demigods ,- that is the children of Gods and humans,- in Half-Blood (now you know why they name it like that) Camp is really fascinating. They do live like us humans and among us as well, but they get this bonus of attracting and engaging monsters (luckily we can not see them thanks to the ‘mist’) who are trying to destroy the world or simply being revengeful. So say hi to centaurs, satyr, nymphs, wind spirits, ghouls, cyclops and of course, the gods and goddesses! Not only that we learn about the names, the characters, the history and myths, as well as those interesting lives of Greek Gods and their complicated affairs (believe me, they ARE complicated), but we also learn about courage, friendship, leadership, perseverance, loyalty and good hearts.

We started reading this as the first book, the Lightning Thief, was listed in Bo’s reading list on the 6th Grade. They even had a special tour to the Met museum, especially the ancient Greek section, to find some artifacts and figures mentioned in the book. It was really fun! I guess starting from there we got hooked by Jackson and friends’ adventures. We now collect and all the complete series, with the final battle of the Last Olympian takes place in New York City!

Riordan has written so many interesting series including the continuation of Percy Jackson’s adventures with the Roman Gods, then another adventure with the Egyptian Gods. Really interesting!

Laura Ingalls series

How I grew up with Laura, Mary, Carry, Grace, Pa, Ma and Jack!
To those born around the same years as I do, Little House on the Prairie or Laura Ingalls Wilder series must ring a bell. Beautifully telling us the stories and adventures of the pioneering family in the early years of the US independence, Laura and her family shared some wonderful family values that they held dear despite the tough and harsh journey they have to go through as they moved around from the Big Woods to DeSmet, where they finally resided.

I wept with them when the whole family was sick and Mary ended up blind or when Charlotte, Laura’s doll was found wasted on the mud by some spoiled girl.
I shared the joy when Laura became a teacher at the very young age and when they diacovered a lovely swimming spot aby the Plum Creek.
And I was curious when they started making snow sugar or smoked beef from Pa’s game.
I also enjoyed reading the Farmer Boy, Laura’s dearest husband childhood story.

My kids showed similar fascination as I introduced that adventurous life of Laura and her family.  I hope they managed to read the complete stories.

The Land of Stories series

Now this is another series you should not miss!
What a twisted plots of all those legendary and classic fairy tales we know since we were kids!
Chris Colfer is a darling genius!
Remember him from Glee TV series? 
Never thought he is a super talented writer as well.

Again we embarked on the journey of this series from Bo’s reading list in the 5th grade. Fascinated by the first book, the Wishing spell, we now have the complete series as well, up to the 6th book. And reading these series is super fun, as it completely changes our perspectives about all those traditional characters in the fairy tales. I don’t wanna spill the beans but apparently villains are not always that bad! So go get the book and prove it yourself ;).

Diary of the Wimpy Kids

I guess this book is famous enough, at least at the US, as I have seen many of the school students reading it at quite a young age. The adventures of Greg Heffley and his brothers, Rodrick and Manny, as well as his best friend, Rowley, are Hilarious. This book is more like an elementary student diary and I like the fact that Jeff Kinney, the author, put so many interesting sketches and hand writing notes in the book. 

Bo et Obi enjoy all those mischievous adventures, but at the end of the day there will be good messages highlighted from all those events. I do enjoy reading it as well so we can diacuss further about the stories and what the kids learn from the stories afterwards. It was certainly a fun experience.

There are so many incredible books out there that you kids may or will definitely enjoy.
Those books will be great gifts as well!
Now...Tell us about your favorite book or books!
What makes you love them?


Let me take you to a ride...

Laura Ingalls Widers..

Does it ring a bell?

Buat temen-temen yang seusiaku, mungkin masih ingat serial TV jaman dulu kala waktu baru ada TVRI aja..

Judulnya Little House ..atau lengkapnya, Little House on the Prairie :). 

Yang mainnya Mellissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls and Michael Landon as Pa Ingalls. Terus ada Nelly, teman Laura yang jahat karena suka iri dan pamer. Bener ngg sih? hehehe

Mereka hidupnya berpetualang dari satu tempat ke tempat lain di Amerika Serikat. Pioneering kalau kata orang sono, karena mereka bukan hanya sekedar berpetualang, tapi bertualang dan juga menjadi penduduk pertama dan membuka kota untuk pertama kalinya. 

Kebayang ngg sih...keliling negara naik kereta buggy (ehm itu namanya kereta buggy yah :) ) yang ditarik sepasang kuda, mengikuti jejak di padang rumput, membangun rumah sendiri dari kayu, lalu bekerja sama membangun jalur kereta dan mendirikan sekolah plus kota? Well, that's the story of Laura...

And many more for sure...karena Laura juga bercerita bagaimana ia dibesarkan oleh kedua orang tuanya. Belajar menjadi perempuan yang serba bisa..mulai dari memasak, menjahit, membersihkan rumah, berkebun, mengasuh adik, mengerjakan pekerjaan di ladang, memerah susu hingga membuat perabotan rumah sendiri namun tetap belajar, sekolah dan akhirnya menjadi guru...

Dengan rinci, Laura menceritakan hari-harinya sejak kecil hingga menikah dan memiliki satu orang anak dalam 9 seri bukunya yang kondang...


The first one...


Little house in the Big Woods
Farmer Boy
Little house on the prairie
On the banks of Plum Creek
The Long Winter
Little town in the prairie
These happy golden years
The first four year

aku suka bangeeet edisi ini :)..



Teman-sudah ada yang baca?

Dulu, saya dapet warisan buku seri tulisan Laura Ingalls dalam bahasa Indonesia dari salah seorang wa saya. Lengkap, tebitan Balau Pustaka, diterjemahkan oleh pak Djoko Lelono. Precious collections, indeed.

Sayangnya, setelah saya pergi ke sana ke mari dan beberapa kali pindah, ternyata buku-buku koleksi saya ini tidak ada yang mengurus :(. Apalagi mama pun sempat pindah rumah saat saya sedang tidak berada di Indonesia. Walhasil, hanya tersisa 3 buku saja, Musim Dingin yang Panjang, Anak Petani, dan Kota Kecil di Padang Rumput. Coba...6 buku udah ilang ajaaah hiks..

Walhasil, once I arrived in NY, I directly try to find them again. And I made it...I found it! I found this website here where I can look and shop for those beautiful books..for cheap price! And here I am, buying 14 books in one go hehehe...Yaaay.. 
Truly highlight of the day.. Amidst my never-ending-reports at the office, my favorite books have finally arriveeed..And not just Laura lho :)

Laura Ingalls et Roald Dahl.. oh yeaaaah :D..




I just love them...their books have pretty much colored my younger days and taught me a lot :). Seriously, I learn about sisterhood, home cooking, traveling, friendship so many more from those pages. I guess I build my passion for travelling and exploring the world from Laura as well :D..And Roald? oh the world of possibilities....how imagination becomes borderless with his stories :). I will share that on the next posting I guess :).


Well, I really love reading and I found solace in reading good, nutritious books since kids. I 
certainly hope my kids will love reading too..


How about you?