All about The First Four Years Audiobook
The First Four Years is an autobiographical audiobook by Laura Ingalls Wilder, published in 1971 and commonly considered the last of nine audiobooks in the Little House series. The series had initially concluded at eight children’s novels following Wilder to mature age and her marriage with Almanzo Wilder.
It is not clear whether Wilder intended this first draft to be a ninth audiobook in the Little House Audiobook series, or possibly a standalone novel for adults. Much of the material is more for an adult audience than anything in her Little House audiobooks. She seems to have written the extent first draft sometime around 1940, and then apparently lost interest in the project.
Plot Summary
Laura Ingalls Wilder is beginning life with her new husband, Almanzo, in their own little house. Laura is a young pioneer wife now and must work hard with Almanzo, farming the land around their home on the South Dakota prairie. Soon their baby daughter, Rose, is born, and the young family must face the hardships and triumphs encountered by so many American pioneers.
And so Laura Ingalls Wilder’s adventure as a little pioneer girl ends, and her new life as a pioneer wife and mother begins. The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers and listeners as both a unique glimpse into America’s frontier past and a heartwarming, unforgettable story.
Audiobook Review
This is a wonderful audiobook. The First Four Years Audiobook is valuable because it gives us a vivid picture of the REAL hardships faced by a young couple in the first years of their marriage It does depict struggles and disappointments along with the joys of daily living in a different time and culture.
There are lessons to be treasured here on the truth that life is an obstacle course for each person who inhabits this world, and every generation is presented with a varying and unique assortment of predicaments that create something called “HISTORY”.
I loved visualizing Laura ‘s world and her challenges along with the simple pleasures she enjoyed like wildflowers, her hand made storage kitchen cabinet, and the one seat sleigh or ‘cutter’ that provided winter transportation across the prairie in harsh winter weather.
As a girl, I remember walking to the local library and checking out this series of books. In hindsight, I believe that they created a lifelong passion for history and a fascination for learning about the challenges of previous generations. Her books provide cherished vivid escape even still.
Those who are interested in Laura’s life might also enjoy the memoirs of Flora Lewis “Larkrise To Candleford”.
Download and Listen
By: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Narrated by: Cherry Jones
Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
The First Four Years: Little House #9 by Laura Ingalls Wilder, narrated by the amazing and talented Cherry Jones, is now available on EZ Audiobook For Soul.
You may love to listen to all Laura Ingalls Wilder AudioBook Collection with Little House Audiobook Series:
- Little House, Book 1 – Little House in the Big Woods Audiobook
- Little House, Book 2 – Farmer Boy Audiobook
- Little House, Book 3 – Little House on the Prairie Audiobook
- Little House, Book 4 – On the Banks of Plum Creek Audiobook
- Little House, Book 5 – By the Shores of Silver Lake Audiobook
- Little House, Book 6 – The Long Winter Audiobook
- Little House, Book 7 – Little Town on the Prairie Audiobook
- Little House, Book 8 – These Happy Golden Years Audiobook
- Little House, Book 9 – The First Four Years Audiobook
- Little House, Revisited – Caroline Audiobook by Sarah Miller