What was Pa’s Big Green Animal Book in Little House on the Prairie?
In the Little House series, Laura Ingalls Wilder often references a cherished book owned by her father, Charles “Pa” Ingalls, known to readers as Pa’s big green animal book. This book, sometimes called The Wonders of the Animal World in the series, was a favorite among the Ingalls family and was frequently read aloud during their quiet evenings and Sundays. The book’s real title, however, was The Polar and Tropical Worlds by Dr. Georg Hartwig, a popular scientific work of the 19th century. The original title was a mouthful and perhaps too formal for a young audience, so Laura chose to refer to it with a more child-friendly name in her books.
The first introduction of Pa’s big green animal book to readers occurs in Little House in the Big Woods, in the chapter titled “Sundays.” In this chapter, Laura describes the quiet, contemplative Sundays of the Ingalls family, where they had to sit still and occupy themselves with Bible stories or other readings. Pa’s book was a particular favorite because it was filled with exciting stories and vivid descriptions of exotic animals, such as lions, tigers, and polar bears. Laura recalls how she and her sisters would sit quietly, sometimes holding their rag dolls, while Ma read from the book:
The book was first introduced to readers in Little House in the Big Woods in the chapter Sundays.
They must sit quietly and listen while Ma read Bible stories to them, or stories about lions and tigers and white bears from Pa’s big green book, The Wonders of the Animal World. They might look at pictures, and they might hold their rag dolls nicely and talk to them. But there was nothing else they could do.
The book was more than just a source of entertainment; it was a window into distant and mysterious lands that the Ingalls family could only imagine from their small cabin in the woods.
Laura’s original manuscript, Pioneer Girl, also mentions this book, but there she refers to it by its proper title, The Polar and Tropical Worlds. In the manuscript, Laura describes how her Uncle Tom Quiner brought the book as a gift for Ma, emphasizing its importance to the family’s leisure time. Here’s how Laura described it in Pioneer Girl:
Ma read us stories out of the bible or about lions and tigers and white pears out of Pa’s big, green book “The Polar and Tropical Worlds.”
This brief mention indicates that the book was a treasured part of their family life long before the events of On the Banks of Plum Creek and The Long Winter.
In The Long Winter, the big green book makes several appearances, underscoring its significance during the harsh winter months when the family was often confined indoors due to the blizzards. Laura draws a comparison between the Big Slough near their home and the jungles described in the book, turning their bleak environment into an adventurous setting in her imagination. Later in the same book, Pa finds an unusual bird and relates it to an illustration from the book, further highlighting the connection between the family’s everyday experiences and the far-off worlds depicted in The Polar and Tropical Worlds:
“I got something to show you,” Pa said. He took his hand carefully out of his pocket. “Look here, girls, look at what I found hidden in a haystack.”
Slowly he opened his hand. In the hollow of his mitten sat a little bird. He put it gently in Mary’s hands.
“Why, it’s standing straight up!” Mary exclaimed, touching it lightly with her finger-tips.
They had never seen a bird like it. It was small, but it looked exactly like the picture of the great auk in Pa’s big green book, The Wonders of the Animal World.
The Long Winter, Chapter 5 After the Storm
One of the most evocative scenes involving the book occurs when Pa uses it to create a vivid storytelling experience for his daughters. After a long day spent twisting hay sticks to keep warm during a blizzard, Pa reads from the book, transporting the family to a hot, dangerous jungle night in Africa:
After Laura and Pa had twisted a great pile of hay sticks and stacked them by the stove, Carrie brought Pa his big green book.
“Please read about the lions, Pa,” she asked him. “We can play the wind is lions roaring.”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to have a light, Caroline,” Pa said. “This print is small.” Ma lighted the button lamp and set it by him. “Now,” he said, “this is a jungle night in Africa. The flickering light here is from our campfire. Wild animals are all around us, yowling and squealing and roaring, lions and tigers and hyenas and I guess a hippopotamus or two. They won’t come anywhere near us because they’re afraid of the fire. You hear big leaves rasping, too, and queer birds squawking. It’s a thick, black, hot night with big stars overhead. Now I’m going to read what happens.” He began to read.
The Long Winter, Chapter 22 Cold and Dark
This moment illustrates how the book served not just as a reading material, but as a source of comfort and escape during the long, dark winter nights.
In These Happy Golden Years, the big green book makes another appearance, showing its continued importance to the family. On a pleasant Sunday afternoon, both Grace and Carrie are absorbed in the animal pictures from the book, a scene that highlights how the book remained a beloved item in the Ingalls household,
In These Happy Golden Years, Laura remarked how on a pleasant Sunday afternoon, both Grace and Carrie pored over the animal pictures in the big green book.
