When I was five years old my grandmother bought me the Little House book set, and for nearly a year my dad read me a chapter or two a night, until all the books had been read. I still love these books and every fall I re-discover them.
Although I loved the show I can't remember too many similarites between the books and the TV, other than some of the characters. In the books there were no Garveys, no Albert, no James and Cassandra BUT I understand that these characters were added to the show for an interesting cast. I liked the fact that they made Mrs. Oleson like her horrible daughter Nellie, but if you had read the books you would remember that Mrs. Oleson wasn't too bad, although I think she should've knocked some sense into Nellie. :-) Other characters that are left out of the show are Mary Power and Cap Garland (who was one of my favourites from the books). It would've been cool to see Nellie try to worm her way into Almanzo's heart like she did in the books. I don't remember a plot line like that. I do remember some woman that liked Almanzo in the TV show, and Laura humiliated her somehow, I think she didn't sew a dress properly and if fell of the woman? I can't remember clearly. I read in a biography that Willie went blind from a firecracker - that would've made a good story! I still loved the show though. My favourite episodes are when Laura steals the jewel box from Nellie, and she had the nightmares about jail, and when Nellie pretends to be crippled and Laura pushes her down a hill in her wheelchair. I remember the one where Carrie fell in the mine, that one made me cry.
