Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression

To me this well written book was so enjoyable from beginning to the end; it is the way it was and I almost found myself envying this family. It took me back to basics and a time I remembered so well and identified with their way of life.

Mildred had both, the high spirits, and the hard times of the depression. This book has a great spirit of adventure, and gives fascinating details of how an extended family survived and thrived during a very difficult decade. Get your notebooks out; you may want to copy "how-to's".

But, don't stop at the factual and helpful details, as the author's resilience is the real lesson here.

The book was a very good price and it arrived on time and in perfect condition. I had already read the book and bought this one to give to my daughter for her birthday. It is very "light" but interesting and educational reading.

I bought this book because it is about children who grew up during the depression and I was born towards the end of the depression, not in Iowa but in Maryland. It is interesting to read of their experiences and to compare them with my own.

Disappointed. Don't waste $30 bucks on it. My grandparents on both sides were rural farmers and their lives, if written about by a competent writer, would garner a compilation of much more interesting events. I may bypass donating "Little Heathens" to the local nursing home and instead let it earn its worth as part of a nickel and dime book sale event.

I had this recommended to me and read many of the reviews before buying. But no where did I find anyone who mentioned the bad language. In fact, there's a whole chapter, listing the words that were said and by whom. Also, I guess I expected the book to be one about survival but the author's family was obviously well-to-do. My parents grew up on farms in big families during the Depression but their lifestyles were obviously much different. I didn't see any cornbread and buttermilk suppers. Also, much of their daily lives were built around the church, something the author has little use for. It's probably the area of the country they were raised in but I read this book, planning to pass it along to the four "girls" still living (2 in their 90s) but I'm afraid it's a little too "high spirited." It frankly sometimes read almost like it was being copied from a notebook and the author wanted to make certain she included everything that was expected in a book like this. A few times the book was entertaining but other times I was left wondering if some of these things really happened or they were just included to "spice" up the book. I sure would have liked to have known the names of the "Big Kids" and "Little Kids", their anonymity leaving the reader wondering. I can't recommend this to my 91 year old mother or my 13 year old grandson because of the language and of the cavalier attitude toward churches, both something that some people take seriously.

I found this book difficult to read. It was so mundane it would quickly put me to sleep. If you are interested in what it was like growing up in the mid west - what their daily routine was like- this is the book for you. It too tedious to keep my attention.

I delved into this book with great anticipation. The author is only a few years younger than my mother and the area she writes about in rural Iowa is just 50 miles east of where my grandfather was born. It brought back a lot of memories for me as I am sure it will for many other readers.

There were many things to like in this book that combines anecdotes from the 1930s with recipes and how to do things the old way. I enjoyed the anecdotes and would have enjoyed the book if it had been sprinkled with less of the recipes and more of the stories from the 1930s--stories which ranged from poignant to laugh-out-loud funny. Her stories range from such events as box socials (and giving a complete explanation of what one is for those who may not know) to how to gather honey from bees (and what happens if you do it the wrong way). She tells of how hard work it was it was back in the day, but does recall there was time for a bit of leisure as well.

At once a memoir, a how-to book, and a cookbook, Kalish tells her story with enthusiasm but with a bit of pompousness that was a bit unnecessary. She acts as if she was the only person ever to know how to do some of these things described and that her way was the only way. Heck, I am 25 years younger than she is and I can remember doing many of the same things at my grandparents' farm in North Dakota two decades later, and even do some of these same things today. Although the subtitle mentions "hard times" it is clear that due to help from her grandparents and a self-sufficient farm, Kalish and her siblings never really went without anything on her farm during the depression so anyone who is reading this book and expects it to be a true hardship tale best look elsewhere. It is a great look down memory lane for those from Kalish's generation who I am sure will enjoy reading and reminiscing about another time and place. It seems though that most of the time the author is writing for an audience who hasn't lived through any of these events, remembers none of these times (stoking an old wood fire, splitting wood,making head cheese, butchering a chicken, making May Day baskets). That said, it is quick interesting read but recommended with reservations as although a memoir, how-to book and cookbook, it doesn't completely succeed at any of these.

"Little Heathens" is Mildred Armstrong Kalish's memoir about growing up on a farm in Iowa during the Great Depression. This may not seem like a topic everyone would be drawn in by, but Kalish's portrait of a rural childhood, even if from a different era, is something that all readers can appreciate. This book is full of wondrous stories and fantastic reminiscences about the golden days of childhood.

Like many memoirs, events are not necessarily told from start to finish, but are rather grouped into various topics. Kalish devotes an entire chapter to cooking and the recipes her family created, ones she shares with the readers, while devoting other chapters to farm animals and chores and school. The author also offers wisdom gained over the years, like how to get rid of pimples and draw splinters out or how to soothe bee stings and other home remedies. Kalish touches on a wide range of subjects with a graceful sense of humor and eager honesty.

Reading "Little Heathens" is like enjoying a meandering conversation with a grandparent. Kalish lovingly recreates the world of her youth to show how much has changed, and perhaps not for the better. The final chapter is devoted to a quick summary of what happened in Kalish's life as she became a teenager and married later on. I enjoyed her writing so much I would've liked to have learned about these events in greater detail.

I picked this book up when I was searching for something to remind me again of how my grandparents grew up and to sooth the weariness that the "entitlement" attitude of this generation has caused. It was an enlightening and enjoyable read. It brings much deserved respect to those who lived during the Great Depression and beyond. My own grandmother married and started her family of 15 kids during this time in history and my mother is a prime example of a child raised by that generation - wise with money, frugal. and little debt. This book was simply an account of Mildred Armstrong Kalish's life growing up in the mid-west during one of the most devastating times in US history.

One anecdote in a flood of memorable stories stands out in "Little Heathens." The Urmeys (her grandparents) were not poor, not Okies or Arkies, not tenants or sharecroppers. They owned four debt-free farms in eastern Iowa (painfully acquired, one for each daughter), over a thousand acres. Sometime in the `30s, when Millie was in third grade, the Ipana toothpaste company provided samples of toothpaste to the Garrison school, along with printed pictures of a modern bathroom, which Kalish recalls, they all happily colored, though none had even seen, let alone used indoor plumbing.

Few people today understand how laborious and restricted life was in the countryside before World War II. Relatively prosperous Iowans with some education (the Urmey girls usually taught in one-room schoolhouses until they married) seldom traveled more than 10 miles, did not enjoy indoor plumbing, and -- during the Depression, which began in 1922 in rural America -- virtually dropped out of the money economy.

In the South, things were much worse.

It turned out not to matter that the Urmeys were examples of the hard-working pioneer settler way of life. "Grandpa and Grandma never quite made it into the 20th century." The irresponsibility and incompetence of the financial classes nearly wrecked them. Kalish comments that her grandparents were land-rich and cash-poor, and terrified of losing their land in a tax sale.

Commodity prices collapsed in `22. The overall economy seemed to be expanding, but the rural economy crashed and stayed crashed. There was nothing farmers could do, alone or even in alliances to restrict production so as to praise prices. Farmers with debt were wiped out. It is no wonder that Grandpa Urmey believed in three things: hard work, the Methodist church and Franklin Roosevelt.

There is a well-financed campaign under way in 2010 to rewrite the history of the Depression in favor of free market ideology. Here, through the eyes of a child,. is the refutation of those lies.

However, "Little Heathens" is not an economic screed. (Such a screed has been written, by Linda Flowers in "Throwed Away.") It is more like "Life with Father" or "I Remember Mama" or any of the numerous other American reminiscences of family life, only much franker.

As a Little Kid, Millie observed but did not entirely understand the sex, scatology and scandals around her. Late in life, she lays it out, without squeamishness or reticence.

The book is organized by themes: religion, cooking, medical matters, laundry. The chapter on laundry will be an eyeopener for most readers.

Millie describes her mother as overwhelmed. Her dad was missing, run off or driven off, amid rumors of prison and bootlegging. Thus, Millie and her brothers and sister were less constricted than the other kids. "Free range farm children," she calls herself and her sister and brothers.

Yet thanks to uncles and aunts, neighbors, older kids and even teachers, they learned a great deal, from how to rob a bumblebee nest to treating toothache. "I know of no comparable body of knowledge that young people today possess."

Yet one thing they did not learn. "We had no acceptable way to show affection toward people."

I am reminded of a remark I read from a younger woman recently: "My father never told me he loved me. Only now do I realize that `Do you want to learn how to change the oil is the car?' was how he said it." "Little Heathens" is an extended riff on that thought.

I am just old enough to remember a time when everyone's parents or grandparents had grown up during the depression. Today, anyone old enough to have actually remembered the Crash of '29 would be in the late 80s or 90s, and few children have had the privilege of hearing first-person accounts of what it was like to grow up then, when self-reliance was more than just a slogan. But luckily we have Mildred Kalish to tell us what it was like.

If you grew up in the city- and most of us have- food is something that came from the grocery store, but for Kalish and her family, food was something you grew, gathered or hunted. There were vegetables to be planted, tilled, and harvested; chickens to be reared, killed, plucked and jointed, and rabbits and pheasants to be hunted and skinned. All these tasks were part of farm life, even for the youngest.. Can you image one of today's 12 year olds being asked to skin a rabbit? Not very likely!

Kalish gives us a rich portrait of her family as well. SHe was raised by a single mother, who was generous and kind; stern grandparents, who found themselves helping to support several of their children thankls to the depression; and an assortment of curious relatives, like old Aunt Agnes, whom everyone agreed was "half a bubble off plumb." Kalish's family were largely people who were not given to demonstrations of affection, but they cared deeply for one another, and were always there for each other. Kalish's mother and grandparents supported her literary aspirations, despite the cost,, and helped her to attend college, and eventually become a professor of English.

All in all, this is a delightful and entertaining read, and a wonderful glimpse into a time that few alive today can still remember.

If you're looking for a followup read to Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books and/or Ralph Moody's Little Britches series, look no further than Mildred Armstrong Kalish's Little Heathens. It's early 20th-century, not 19th, but Kalish's book includes all the stuff your dear child loved about Laura Ingalls Wilder and more. There's less of a storyline--more short chapters on individual topics of farm and family life--than the Wilder books, but it's amazing. You'll love it.

It's only a few years old so it's not yet on (m)any booklists for young people, but it should be!

Now, there are at least three things to be aware of if you might be reading this with or to your child: Little Heathens includes (a) a discussion of the profanity she heard from grownups, (b) the shocking death of a family dog and (c) a very very oblique reference to an abortion in a sequence where she's describing the talk she would overhear from her aunts while they were gathered together cooking big family meals. The line ("I heard she did it with a lead pencil") is buried amongst a number of other overheard phrases so it can't be understood in context, but I feel like I should mention it.

All that said, this is one of the most delightful books you could ever hope for your child to read.

And her applesauce cake recipe is divine!

LITTLE HEATHENS by Mildred Armstrong Kalish is one of the best memoirs I've read in a long time because it brought back so many memories. I didn't grown up on a farm, but in small town in Kentucky; a generation later yet the customs, frugality, and experiences were the same.
In town we kept chickens and had a large Victory garden. To this day I seldom eat store bought green beans, okra, or turnips. We canned; freezers weren't available until after WWII. Ice came on a wagon for the icebox when a summer treat was a small chunk to savor in the shade. Milk was delivered to the door and in the spring it sometimes tasted of onions.
I laughed when reading the descriptions of gathering black walnuts & hickory nuts in the fall, hulling, curing, and picking them.
We carved pistols and used inner tube ammunition until we were caught. Our careful work was disposed of in the coal stove.
Visit a time of what might now be your great-grandmother's era in this fun book.
Nash Black, author of CARDS OF DEATH.

My wife read all nine volumes of the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. 1867) to our children, but if that's a stretch for your busy schedule, then Mildred Kalish's (b. 1922) best seller is a fine substitute. Kalish does for the Depression years what Wilder did for the American frontier, which is to give a nostalgic but realistic first person account of a place and time that is now lost to most people. Except for her epilogue, Kalish recounts her early childhood years on her grandparents' 240-acre farm in rural Iowa. As you would expect, her people epitomized the thrift, self-reliance, industry and independence of a family for whom "land was plentiful but money was almost non-existent." Individual chapters describe farm life, daily chores, a typical Thanksgiving that took two weeks to prepare, church life, wash day, the farm windmill, the outhouse, food (complete with many recipes), and more. As a young girl Kalish could skin a rabbit, butcher a live chicken, and fry a snapping turtle. But there were limits. She was not allowed to see her uncle wield a sledge hammer to slay a hog or use the butcher knife to severe its head.

Kalish acknowledges that not all people loved those years like she does even today. Her sister Avis refuses to talk about it at all. Nor does she gloss over negative aspects of her upbringing. She lived with her mother's parents because when she was about five her father was banished forever from the family and community for some unspoken misdeed, and his name was, quite literally, never mentioned again in her presence. She doesn't even know when he died. Her people were stern and emotionally reserved. They could be proud and moralistic. Any and all talk about sex education was strictly forbidden. Still, Kalish describes her upbringing as a "gift" for which she remains grateful, and in her telling it's easy to see why. A dozen or so original photos enhance the reading. The New York Times named this memoir one of the "Ten Best Books of 2007."

Imagine that you are having a delighful conversation with your grandma, sitting before a cozy fire, while she feeds you warm applesauce cake fresh from the oven. She tells stories of how the Little Kids and the Big Kids got together one Fourth of July and practically blew themselves and the house up by stuffing explosives down a lead pipe. She tells you how Old Man Mealhouse tricked the outhouse tippers one dark Hallowe'en with messy consequences, and how during cold winter nights she snuggled up with a small raccoon sleeping under her chin, another one at her feet. Warm, tender barefoot days of summer, gathering walnuts in fall, eating ripe tomatoes straight off the vine, and putting a good meal on the table. Does it get any better than that?

No, and yes. It wasn't all fun and games for Millie Kalish growing up on a farm in Iowa during the Great Depression. Millie's family suffered back-breaking labor, freezing winters, and a heart-breaking infant mortality rate. There was no electricity and no indoor plumbing. Doctors were scarce and money even scarcer. But the down-to-earth frankness with which Millie talks about their hardships never leaves you feeling depressed. If anything, the fortitude with which these hardy Iowans met their difficulties was inspiring.

Are those days gone for good? Millie asks that plaintive question several times, wondering if anyone out there remembers box socials and May baskets. I don't, but I can personally attest to the fact that farm life has not changed all that much in most of the world. And, if you were raised in one of the more remote rural areas, you will understand the meaning of the phrase "everybody pulls together." There are still places where the strawberries are flavor-packed and luscious (my garden), where nature is close at hand, and where wildly careening down a swollen stream is the epitome of fun. All those things still exist. But what may indeed be lost is "a sense of security, a sense of belonging in the world." Even for those people still living on farms, still growing their own food and putting it on the table, there is a feeling of displacement. The world is (too much) with us, but not in ways that encourage a sense of security and belonging. And that, truly, is a terrible loss.

For months, I passed the shelf at the book store on which this book sat. I mean, I picked it up occasionally, I read the blurb on the back, and then I would stare at the front as if waiting for a sign to buy it. Finally, I would set it back on the shelf from whence it came. It might look like a deliciously interesting piece of literature, but it had the distinct smell of a history book in disguise. Everyone knows the books of which I speak, the ones that lure you in with the promises of a rich and colorful glimpse at history and then turn out to be nothing more than a glorified textbook. Yeah those books. Well, I was determined not to have another one of "those books" polluting my bookshelf. So, I took a stand and refused to buy it, until the day I gave in and bought it. What can I say? I have an addiction.

Once the book was purchased reading it became my number one priority. After all, I wanted to prove to myself that no matter how seductive the book seemed to be, it was really a textbook knock off. I read the whole book front to back, and from it I drew two conclusions. Number one: I was absolutely right the book was a deliciously interesting piece of nonfiction literature. Number two: a little bit of simple goes a long, long way.

Mildred Armstrong Kalish, a retired English professor, is the person responsible for this well-written, vividly colorful account of the Great Depression. She writes from her own experience of being a child and growing up on a farm, an Iowa farm nonetheless, during the Great Depression. Talk about interesting, this book is a mind blower. Anyone who has ever wished that life was a little bit simpler, a little bit friendlier, or little bit more carefree needs to buy this book and read it.

Chapter by chapter, this book sucks you in and takes you back to times long passed and forgotten. This book will teach you how to catch a raccoon and turn it into a pet, tell you about customs that have long since died out, like the gifting and receiving of "May Baskets," and even let you in on why there were two toilet seats in the outhouse instead of one. You'll get directions on how to build a "Never-Fail" fire, how to get the most out of an egg, and how to get rid of a boil using a beet.

The book provides a small wealth of recipes for the home cook. I've made several of them and they have all been delicious. My favorite is the recipe for "Cabbage Salad," although it is more like a coleslaw; I made it for New Years and everybody loved it. A couple examples of other recipes offered are Corn Oysters and Applesauce Cake.

The book provides more than a glimpse at what it was like to do laundry back then, the amount of work that went into keeping a farm, and how leisure time was spent by everyone from the children to the men. The book also provides a variety of common home remedies, from curing a cough to curing blood poisoning.

Each chapter of the book provides a window to a specific aspect of life during the Great Depression. Separated, the chapters are amazing, astounding, and delightful; together, they join seamlessly to provide an uplifting account of life during a difficult and trying time. The book is rich and colorful in its detail and story-telling yet still maintains its historical integrity. It is the perfect novel. If you could only read one novel this year, I would highly advise reading this one. This book will remain at the very top of my bookshelf forever. Happy Reading!!

I had a feeling when I looked over the cover and liner notes of "Little Heathens" that I was in for a special treat. Luckily, my instinct was right. I am so glad I read this book. My wife and son read it right after me and also enjoyed it.

The book has the feel of a beloved relative talking about the "old days", except that the story is told with the literary sure hand of a retired English professor. Not only is Mildred Kalish's style wonderfully readable, I found her choices of subjects to be interesting.

I did sort of skim over the recipes in the book, but there was one that caught my eye: the "apple cream pie". My wife baked it the other night, and it is pretty darn good. Beware though: there are a lot of apples in it!

I think the value in this book are the lessons it teaches, and how it teaches those lessons without being preachy or judgemental about the current state of society. The values are some we could use more of today: self-reliance, respect for our family, the satisfaction of hard work, and bearing our trials with dignity. Sadly, when Ms. Kalish's generation have all passed away, these values are in danger of becoming some sort of antiquated curiosity. This book can also be therapeutic, allowing us to put the annoyances and challenges of life today in proper perspective. Maybe it's not so bad after all that the line at Starbuck's is long. Maybe our kids can learn that there are other ways to have fun than video games and text messaging. Maybe we can all just slow down a little, and be happy with what we have.

The most telling passage is at the very end. She could have complained about the hard times, the poverty, and the back-breaking farm work. Instead, she is grateful. A lesson for us all.

Highly recommended.

This book honours a time, place and way of life that unfortunately is lost to most of us today. This book is a joy to read, allowing one to live vicariously the happy childhood that Ms. Kalish so joyously shares.

Family is the central focal point. It is, in fact the importance of family ties that drive the entire book. Each story stresses the bonds that hold family together through the thick and inevitable thin of farm life and the Great Depression.

It was the love and commitment of family that made each experience, each memory so ingrained and important to Mildred, as a child and sustained her throughout her life.

It is both a pleasure and a privilege to read this book. While not an easy life given the hardship of the times, it was a beautiful life. That Ms. Kalish immortalizes this time and life makes it all the more special. The way of life, the innocence and true simple pleasures may be gone. But thanks to Mildred Armstrong Kalish they will remain in hearts and minds. The spirit remains in this beautiful memoir.

It would be a mistake to read this book through the lens of nostalgia. Certainly the childhood Kalish describes is very appealing, particularly her commentaries on how her family fostered thrift and independence. It's always tempting to think that the past is somehow a better place. However few of us, I suspect, would wish to return to a time when a failed marriage could mark a woman for life (and Kalish is clear about the effect of this on her mother) or when one measure of a woman's worth was the degree of shine on her windowpanes (and Kalish is clear about her disdain for that particular preoccupation). It's also important to remember that this memoir is just one view of the Depression years; Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" (1939), which is based on his firsthand observations of California migrants, tells a very different story. I'm a teacher, and I read this book with a group of high school seniors, for whom the book was a revelation, particularly in its descriptions of how little Kalish's family relied on purchased goods and how much she and her siblings relied on imagination, not expensive sports equipment, in creating their own fun. For them (and for me) the book is interesting not because it evokes a better time and place but because it suggests that life on a Depression-era Iowa farm might teach us a few things relevant to our present circumstances, economic ones included.

I found this book tedious and I couldn't finish it. The most interesting item is the fact that the writer's paternal grandfather kicked his son-in-law out of the family, permanently, very early on. She never saw her father again. Didn't know when he died. This is covered in about two sentences. Granted it may be that this is all she was ever told (vague allusions to bootlegging). She and mom and sisters lived with the grandparents from then on, under their stern influence. So this is about being raised during the Depression with the unquestioning and rigid mores of the 1890s or 1900s! Practically back to the Puritans in other words (kidding). Maybe it affects the prose. There's a lack of imagination.

A much better read on this topic (growing up during the depression, in Minnesota in this case) is Samuel Hynes's THE GROWING SEASONS. Five stars.

"I have had the good fortune to have absorbed the events that transpired during my childhood years into my very being, as if no boundary exists between then and now, as if the past has not really past."

The epiphany above is the secret to the pleasure of reading Mildred Kalish's "Little Heathens". Kalish is able to recount the routines and rhythms of Depression era farm life with such precision that it hovers in the mind's eye like a nostalgic dream.

What made the farmhouse hum back then was a serious devotion to doing each task well. It was a life that required hard work and "elbow grease", but the rewards were sharpened senses and enjoyment of a close-knit family and oneness with Nature. Martha Stewart and her "Good Things" philosophy pale by comparison.

Still, without admitting to irony, Kalish confesses that she was fortunate to escape this plain, P. Buckley-Moss picture of simplicity to pursue her adult life. Times change, but hard-won wisdom remains.

My father grew up on a farm in Illinois during the years this book describes. He would have been one of the Big Kids in the book. Dad had five younger siblings, and this book helped me to see their lives through Professor Kalish's eyes. Dad wasn't as good an observer as Professor Kalish is, and these details weren't always part of his stories. But I recognize bits and pieces of everything in the book, in part from having visited my aunt and uncle's Illinois farm in the early 1950s when I was young. They didn't have indoor plumbing or central heating either.

Even if I didn't have that connection to the subject, this book would have attracted my attention as a wonderful way to create a bridge between my parent's generation and what my children experience. I intend to give a copy to each child for a Thanksgiving present.

I especially enjoyed the descriptions of how everything was done before our labor-saving appliances and plumbing arrived. I was intrigued by the home remedies, and I was fascinated by the recipes. I can remember watching one of my aunts follow some of these recipes.

The thrift described in the book I can remember from my parents who would reuse everything, any number of times in different ways. My children can't understand why I do the same thing.

I think this book will be a great awakening to those who don't realize that you can have a great time without spending any money and while working quite hard.

Appreciate your family and count your blessings!

As a small-city Iowan whose parents were a ten years older than the author, I can understand why people in the Depression were so economically conservative.

I can also understand that Garrison, Iowa, which I visited when its defunct brick-yard became a pottery in the 1970's, probably had no movie-theater. But Vinton, a county-seat just a few miles away must have had one or two and also had a wider variety of social activities, even in the 1930's. It is was also the seat of the Iowa Sight-saving Institute for the Blind, well known as a pioneer in teaching Braille. Didn't the family ever go to Vinton?

And the author's grandfather had acquired four farms, one for each daughter, and drove out to visit them in a Buick. Grandfather and grandmother Urmy also lived in a large two-story house in town. In contrast to the Urmys, many farmers drove a Ford or Chevy, and had a much smaller house, or even rented the farm they worked, getting only half the value of the harvest. A photo of the large Urmy family tombstone also shows that this family were prosperous. My impression is that the social and economic status of the Urmy family was probably quite high in this rural area, and so it is difficult to see why such extraordinary methods of saving everything down to the inner scrapings of eggs was held in such high esteem. Surely eggs were sold regularly - every Iowa farm sold eggs to a dealer in those days, and usually the mother of the family kept her "egg money" for special occasions.
What I am saying is that this family was extraordinarily conservative even for the 1930's, much more conservative than they had to be. Also, the 1930's were a period of protests against low farm prices. Milk was dumped, corn was burned. There is no hint of any of this taking place, and I suppose a ten year old child wouldn't have heard of these things. But the wider world of what was going on was available through the radio and newspapers in the 1930's, and if some awareness of that wider world had been included as the author grew into her teens, a more believable story of the maturation of a young woman might have been told. I also find it strange that the central drama of the book, the loss of the father, is mentioned but then is virtually ignored, when it explains so much of the straightened circumstances of the author and her family. Kindly Grandpa Urmy becomes the father. This is really be the underlying theme of the book, and the Great Depression and the need to conserve is really a backdrop and a metaphor for it.

I was really expecting this to be interesting. As it is, I would have given it two stars, except that I feel it has value as a social history. This is the sort of thing that would be a treasure for a family, and belongs in Iowan history collections. I don't really understand why it was published, let alone so well received. My opinion of of the New York Times's literary taste was not enhanced.

This is occasionally interesting, but at times fragments into a mishmash of scattered reminisces, and was at times so boring that only the fact that I was reading it for a book club kept me going. I also found the author's smug self-satisfaction off-putting. Does the frugal upbringing of which she so frequently boasts explain why she drove a basic, economical car like a Cadillac? Armstrong never does deal with the disconnect between her happy memories of the past, and the fact that she ran from that life as fast as she could. I often wondered as I read this if she is very disappointed in her children and grandchildren, as she tells us about her uplifting childhood that is so different from "kids today". Perhaps that explains a nostalgia for a life she didn't care to live as an adult. Otherwise, I guess she is just a nostalgia bore, like so many people, wanting to see a golden age in the past that apparently wasn't all that pleasant at the time.

What a pleasure to read this rich, energetic, charming memoir of the author's childhood on an Iowa farm during the Depression. She shares practical accounts of how things were done (the boiling and cleaning of the pig's head! Churning butter, setting a good fire, and much more) as well as personal stories of family issues and her own feelings. The last chapter "catching up" readers on the rest of the author's life was the perfect ending. Really enjoyed this.

While the author's descriptions of life on a Midwestern farm during the Depression is vivid and interesting, I found myself repeatedly wondering what the "plot" was. Kalish's chapters tended to be collections of anecdotes centered around various subjects, from religion to farm chores to school, and felt more like nostalgic ramblings than a book. Although as a person of the 21st century I was interested in her recipes for home remedies (for just about any ailment you could think of) and the ingenius ways the frugal family found to recycle and reuse various items, I felt that perhaps Kalish's recollections might have been better suited to magazine articles or even a collection of short stories. As it was, I ended up losing interest about halfway through and just skimming to the end.

Mildred Armstrong Kalish is a retired English Professor who has much wisdom to offer in "Little Heathens". She wrote this book because she deemed it important to share, with the reading public, the great memories and the lifelong lessons she learned growing up on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression.

For someone like me, the information I have about the depression era of the 1930's is comprised of facts from history books and periodicals, along with personal accounts from older family members and others who are quick to share what life was like during these times of economic uncertainty. The information offered by grandparents and some of my older aunts and uncles reflects a time that was difficult, but also a time that people came together as a family and took care of each other. When I heard about this book, I was curious about its contents. Would it be similar to the tales often told by older individuals who survived this bleak period in American history? Or, would it offer a fresh take on the situation and present a different overall assessment of this troublesome era?

I fully expected this book to offer the typical gloomy account of the depression era 1930's but I am happy to report that the author didn't write the book in this manner. She doesn't speak in blissful, optimistic terms about the Great Depression and her life was by no means without its share of tough times. But Kalish had a different overall experience. Her family was tightly knit and completely self- sufficient. No one worried too much about unemployment or looking for ways to earn a living. The farm took care of everything necessary for survival and even though the work was physically demanding and the days were long, there was never any serious worry about having enough food to eat or a warm bed to sleep in at night. Everything was taken care of, and each family member had specific responsibilities for maintaining the household.

This book offers many different lessons about life and chief among them is the recurring theme about self- sufficiency. Most of us live a very different lifestyle from the one described in this book and we would be completely helpless if forced to survive without electricity, grocery stores, computers, cell phones, and most other modern- day conveniences. Kalish describes over and over again in this book her experiences on the farm and how she and her family learned to live with what they had. Not only did she and her siblings know the basics of growing food, making clothing, etc., they also learned different cures for common illnesses and unique and creative ways to have fun.

What I enjoy best about this book is the author's sense of optimism and pride. She doesn't speak of the Great Depression as a time of economic difficulties and strife, but rather as a time when she and her extended family worked as a cohesive team: an organized unit fully trained and ready to tackle any obstacle that stood in the way of survival. Kalish speaks with fondness when she describes one of her aunt's influences when it came to cooking or the fascinating experience of milking a cow. She describes her life as challenging, but also as entertaining and full of learning experiences.

Overall, "Little Heathens" is an optimistic, honest, "feel- good" type of book that will appeal mainly to those who grew up during the Great Depression and who can relate directly to its many words of infinite wisdom. For the rest of us, this book is still enjoyable and valuable for the many life lessons contained within. Mildred Armstrong Kalish learned to be a survivor, and these instincts certainly were responsible for her future success as an educator. She and her various family members have many things to be grateful for and chief among them was the strong family bonds and the spirit of togetherness that made everything possible. It makes for a satisfying read and a refreshing change from the stories of gloom and doom so commonly associated with this era in American history.

"Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression" is one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time. Just the title made me suspect the book would be enjoyable, but I identified greatly with it as it reminded me of my growing up on an Iowa farm in the 1950's. While we had running water, indoor plumbing, and the team of horses were gone by the time I was nine, the labor, seasons, and lifestyle had not changed. We still had gardening, canning, butchering, baking, and meals to prepare for harvest help. In retrospect, I would not give up those years for anything. The work ethic and family oriented goals were invaluable.

A five Star book for me!
Even tho' I was born in SD in '42, I could relate to many of the chapters, but ours was a much less difficult time.
I have sent copies of the book to 2 cousins and a close friend from Iowa who needed a good laugh to help him through some tough times. This book will definitely "take you away" and give you the therapy of many good laughs. You will also count your blessings that we live in this age.
I compared it to Laura Ingalls Wilder books... with the tough times... except the Iowans were surrounded by generations of family in the same location; rather than a family alone moving from state to state enduring those hardships. What a heartwarming wonderfully written book that you just want to share with all, and hope that it brings them as many laughs and as much food for thought as you got while reading it.

This book is really special. Although it chronicles life on an Iowa farm during the great Depression, it speaks to how many of our grandparents lived and worked. I loved the descriptions of maiden aunts, cooking, funny sayings, descriptions of how children spent their days and how they grew to know what was important in life. I am not that old and I still think that a return to some of the values discussed such as hard work, self sufficiency, and emphasis on education, and family life would benefit us all. The book is funny, and not at all heavy handed... it comes across as being entertaining and engaging. I wish the author would write another. It is a quick read but is also a book that could be read aloud because each chapter could stand alone as a wonderful vignette.

I absolutely loved this book! What an amazing story of family in a much simpler time. She has painted such a vivid picture of their life that I felt as if I were right there living it with them! And...she included a few recipes! I think everyone should read this so they can appreciate a simple life, simple time that didn't come easy to those living it! Superb read!! I would give this 10 stars if I could!

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but I was left disappointed. The New York Times rated this as one of their best non-fiction books of 2007, and I have to say that I am not sure why. It was like a real-life Little House on the Prairie, without all the covered wagons and moving from place to place, but not as interesting. Much of the chores were the same- milking, threshing, even making head-cheese. Even though this book takes place much later than the Little House books, the lifestyle it describes will be very familiar to readers of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The writing was clunkier than I expected- much of the book ended up being a laundry list of chores and every-day occurances. While I got a great picture of what every-day life was like on the farm, I did not feel that I got to know the author at all. She does talk a little bit about her insecurities growing up, and her experiences after the farm, but only just a little bit.

One big positive of this book is that it is very cheerful and upbeat. The author is able to look at a very difficult time both economically and personally with a lot of warmth and fondness. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Laura Ingalls Wilder books (because for its clunky and sometimes boring style, it isn't a long book and goes fast) or anyone who wishes to visit/revisit this time in a way that is nostalgically cheerful, which is unusual for the time period.

This is an entrancing memoir of days now long gone, but vivid in the minds of those who lived them. While I lived on an Iowa farm in western Iowa rather than eastern Iowa, and was a boy, and was about six years younger than the author, this book recalled so much of what it was like that reading it was sn unmitigated delight. The author recognizes "the all-too-human tendency to gloss over the bad and glorify, or at least magnify, the good" when recalling one's childhood, but it sure makes greater reading to read of one's appreciated childhood than it does to read of one who looks back thereon in bitterness. Thus this book beats, e.g., Angela's Ashes by a mile in enjoyable reading.

My parents both grew up during the Depression. I was their last child and a late-comer. I heard them talk a lot about what transpired during that time, but this book really brought their experiences to life for me. Although Millie's family were filthy rich compared to my mother's (also named Millie)! I was disappointed, though, not to learn what became of the various family members, how they lived out the rest of their lives, whether Millie's Mom ever remarried, and what happened to her father. Did she ever reunite with him?

All in all, I love this book and it's a definite keeper for my home library. And, by the way, I thought Millie was pretty in her photos.

Even though I am a 42-year-old city girl, this book resonated with me. Ms. Kalish writes with gratifying specificity of "the little things that make up a life." You'll wonder how her generation had enough energy to do the endless work it took to survive on a family farm. I'd recommend her story to anyone who is interested in what daily life was like in another era.

But here's what moved me to write this review: Ms. Kalish's recipe for Apple Cream Pie! It is an odd, open-faced creation with big chunks of apples and heavy cream poured on top. I've been baking apple pies from scratch all my life, but people keep telling me this is the best one I have ever made. Don't miss her recipe for pie crust, either. Her vegetable-oil crust is not only healthier and much easier than traditional pie crusts, but addictively delicate and crisp. When she tells you, in her intro to the recipe, that you'll never bother making any other type of crust again, she's not lying. I intend to try all the other recipes in this book. How generous of Ms. Kalish to share her time-tested gems with the world.

I started reading this book at a friends house. I liked it so much, I bought a copy, so I could finish reading it. What a wonderful book! Reading about how people coped during this time is eyeopening. I recommend it to anyone interested in the depression. The recipes and tips are amazing. Great read!!!

If you are looking for a Great Depression story fraught with misery, this is not the book for you - instead perhaps consider "The Grapes of Wrath." Kalish spent her childhood, and we're talking single digit years, living the frugal Iowa farm life to the maximum. This book is a hodgepodge or characters, events, recipes, and home remedies that all come together to form a picture of what it was like for one family during a particularly difficult time in American history.

I was expecting tales of unthinkable sacrifice and tumbleweeds blowing across the barren land, and while there was plenty of sacrifice and hard work, Kalish looks back fondly on her childhood, reveling in these memories and reflecting on how her upbringing influenced her adult life. This book was actually enjoyable to read and I found myself laughing at the stories being told. Imagine that, laughter during the Great Depression. I never got the sense that Kalish feels as though she missed out on childhood filled with frivolity, and that gratified satisfaction is refreshing.

If you are from the Midwest or have family from the Midwest (especially Iowa), I can say with confidence that it would be a safe bet to pick up a copy of this book. It gave me new appreciation for the luxuries in my life and new meaning to the idea of "letting nothing go to waste." What continues to amaze me is that Kalish did all of this without asking for pity or taking me on a "woe is me" guilt trip, and as a reader, I am grateful.

I read this book when it first came out, loaned by my library. A year later, I want to re-read it and knew it was a keeper, so I bought it through the store. Even if only
for the recipes, one should own this book, but I have now re-read it three times for memories and prose as rich as fresh cream from Millie's Iowa farm. Millie is
a great role model in another way: how old was she when she first published a book???? Thank you, Millie.

Mildred Armstrong Kalish provides a deep look back to growing up on a farm in Iowa during the Depression. Ms. Kalish's family of seven lived a frugal lifestyle in which three generations resided in the home with the only missing person being her exiled father although why she was not sure. Her cousins lived on nearby farms so the extended family was nearby to help if needed.

The key to this superb discerning memoir is Ms. Kalish avoids acrimony and sugared (except when grandpa bought some) nostalgia to provide a vivid picture of a bygone era in which an extended family was there to raise the children with positive values. Life on the farm during harsh economic conditions was fun to a preadolescent Mildred although some chores were simply work. With black and white pictures to enhance the era and "farm food" recipes that were not microwave, LITTLE HEATHENS is a well written winner providing a powerful look at the 1930s in the Midwest. Ms. Kalish showcases how different life was back then from today when for instance the three Klausner brothers live in Georgia, New Jersey and Texas respectively and outhouses is a Three Stooges' joke.

Harriet Klausner

I'm quickly finishing up this review so I can finally return it to the library. I've checked it out multiple times and this is my third renewal this time around checking it out! Mildred Kalish's quirky yet delightful sense of humor turns basic depression era facts into grandmotherly fun recollections.

So much great information and tips for realized what tight REALLY means! I learn something new every time I reread.

Times were much different then. Some things I remember hearing similar stories from my mother and grandmother. Others reminded me of my own years living in a small community in southern Illinois. Some tales made me laugh out loud.

I've read this and reread it and I love it. I'm surprised there aren't more reviews of this wonderful slice of life of a girl growing up half the year in a town and the other half in the country on her grandparent's farm in the early 20th century.

My father grew up in North Dakota during the "Dirty Thirties" (a phrase I've never heard anywhere but from his family but it fits). He and his father were both great storytellers and their stories caused me to be quite fascinated with that time and place in history. This book was great for filling me in on a girl's perspective on Midwest farm life in the 1930's. I'm so glad she wrote the book--her generation is dying and with each death, so many memories die. At least what Ms. Kalish wrote here won't die.

Little Heathens offers a loving but realistic portrait of a "hearty-handshake Methodist" family that gave its members a remarkable legacy of kinship, kindness, and remembered pleasures. Recounted in a luminous narrative filled with tenderness and humor, Kalish's memoir of her childhood shows how the right stuff can make even the bleakest of times seem like "quite a romp."

Little Heathens consists of the memories of the early life of Mildred, who as a young girl during the Great Depression lived along with her siblings and mother on a farm in rural Iowa with her strict but loving grandparents. And what a colorful life it was! My grandmother recently passed away and hearing these stories reminded me of the stories she used to tell me of her childhood during this time. I now know how very important it is to keep a record of one's memories. It gentley seals the people you love in time. It is our legacy, our history. The events in this book, the recipes, the words of wisdom are all priceless. Mildred pulls us into the 1930's with her and weaves a magical journey of self-discovery while teaching us the values of family and self-reliance. A facsinating and unforgettable read.

Little Heathens is a charming, salt-of-the-earth memoir by retired English professor Mildred Armstrong Kalish that is kindly generous with more tales of high spirits than of hard times. Still, growing up on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression was no comfort by most measures.

Listening to this audiobook reminded me of my own grandmother, the fourteenth of fourteen siblings, who also grew up during 1930's in the nearby state of Missouri. And according to her, modest as ever, stories from her childhood are of little interest to anyone. After learning about Kalish's blessed life, I respectfully disagree.

Little Heathens was a page turner! Mildred Kalish's story of her childhood made me realize, as a teacher, how the simple things in life are crucial to a child's overall development. In an age of high tech devices, we are truly missing the mark on what children need as tools for life's hardships. Hard work, discipline and an overall appreciation for our environment. Mildred Kalish articulated so well what was expected of her, the learning that took place and the resulting closeness she and her family members had. How the togetherness in completing daily chores with her siblings added to her well being. Loved the recipes and household tips! I now yearn for a day in her past!

i think the book could have gone through one more review period/editing, but for the most part it was full of entertaining stories. i dont want to pick it apart for its redundancies, but sometimes the author got carried away with using certain manners of speech, puns, etc. over and over again. also, there was a random chapter full of recipes that didnt seem to fit in with the rest of the narratives.

i dont know if this book would make my top 10 list for the year, but maybe the new york times looks for qualities that i dont appreciate as much.

Unless you want to read someone else's grandma's diary, pass on this one. It's entertaining if you are interested in the midwest during the depression (from one person's perspective) but I just couldn't finish it.

Mildred's unaffected prose, camera lens eye and splendid memory took me right back to splendid years and lessons on the farm. Though more than 15 years behind her, I remember well the children of depression she describes - persevering good people with good values. I miss them along with the sounds of meadowlarks and roosters, smells of fresh hay in the barn, going barefoot, and as she delightfully shared, falling asleep on sheets sun and wind dried on a clothes line. As you can appreciate from this book, the work and trials involved with farm living then were cheap tuition for an incredible education and bonding with God's marvelous creation.

Little Heathens by Millie Kalish is a wonderful book about the author's life on an Iowa farm in the 1930's. She makes the setting and times come alive and I especially enjoyed getting a glimpse of my parent's generation and what their childhood might have been like.

The values she was taught as a child enabled her to become a member of the armed forces, go to college and become a college professor. Her family offered love and support to its members in times that were very challenging. This proves that it doesn't take a lot of money to become a succesful member of society as an adult.

Some of the remedys for first aid I remember hearing from my parents and their siblings.

It is truly worth your time to buy and read.

Although I didn't grow up in Iowa, I was born during the Depression years and grew up on a quasi farm; and many of the stories told here brought back some very poignant memories for me. Like the author, we were pretty poor in material things but very wealthy in things that matter - love, loyalty, appreciation for things we did have and the necessity for making our own fun instead of relying on expensive toys, dedication to family, etc. This book, while somewhat simple and easy to read, is a wonderful story and provides lessons of real value, reminding us that money and material do not translate into happiness; but, rather, those things come from within and are much of our own making!

Thoroughly enjoyable.

I have a friend who grew up in a similar way in Colorado. I keep wanting to send her the book and yet days have gone by with it wrapped up and ready to go and I just cant bring myself to put it in the mailbox. I guess that says something.

I find her stories spot on. I am a bit younger and grew up on a farm in Illinois, but the anecdotes are similar. She did jog my memory about similar things that happened to me. I think she did a good job of capturing the main characters in her life. How about those grandparents? A happy day was when you could recycle old clothing three times. My only complaint was the writing. I expected much more since she had been a teacher of writing. I just found her style so flat and droning. She had some funny stories, but they just weren't told with much verve.

Certainly not an earth shaking book, but interesting and fun. After I read it for a book club, I bought this copy for my mother, who is the same generation and spent a great deal of time being raised by her older sister and brother in law on their farm in Illinois. She loved it.

When I see old farmhouses that are falling down out in the country, I sometimes wonder about the families who may have lived there. Now I can picture not only the hard lives they may have had there, but also the good times. She gave a pretty complete picture of those times.

This is a wonderful book that describes rural life in the 30's in Iowa. Great stories of how they lived then. Lots of recipes, home remedies, and wonderful stories! I especially liked the home remedies for removing warts. Very weird! I highly recommend it!

Millie is a gem. She has an amazing ability to recall and write about the details of her early life that most of us have long forgotten. But when you read her words and you happened to have some farm experience in your past, it all comes back -- wow, what a trip.

Thank you Millie for taking the time and effort to share your stories.
I'm going to pick this book for our book club and bake one of your pies for dessert.

What a delicious book! Certainly one my top ten ever.

DP

This book was a veryveryvery good summer read. Mildred Armstrong Kalish recounts her years on an Iowa farm, when times were hard and money was scarce. The joy of hard work on a farm. The descriptions of the food for large family dinners makes your mouth water. The work to make the meal is amazing. I could feel the hot summer nights, reminding me of my own childhood. Filled with stories of a large country family that has grown close out of the Depression, this book is filled with cousins, aunts, uncles, grampas and grammas, the rural community is splendidly interwoven.

If you have never been on a farm and wonder what life was like when we had no videogames, cell phones, etc., you can do no better than to read this book. Having grown up on a farm in north central Iowa, I can tell you that this story is absolutely true and many of us miss it terribly! Iowans have very strong commitments, to life, to education, to religion, and to a life of independence. Few Americans can claim to living a life that is full. We are all missing something. In this book, you find real people living full, rich lives and they are much the better for it. Read this book and you will understand America much better!

I didn't want to put this lovely book down and was bummed when it ended. Perhaps if Kalish had had to live year-round with her grandparents, it would have been spirit-crushing -- and it would have been a different story. But having summer and fall off each year apparently gave her enough distance to develop real love and respect for them. What I found most moving: as repressive and difficult as Kalish's childhood was, she never whines. Instead we meet a warm and thoughtful human being.

The author has covered in wonderful detail and realism the challenges, learning and pleasures of being young and poor in rural America during a time of national despair. For those who remember that time and those places, her honestly-written story and pithy anecdotes on everything from school to chores to church and hand-me-downs will evoke memories good and bad of having been somewhere near there and having done something like that- or at least knowing someone who did. For those who have no direct memory of those times and circumstances, Little Heathens offers an entertaining and useful understanding of how millions of Americans survived and grew with spirit, integrity, humor, determination and the values that underlie our subsequent accomplishments.

This is a wonderful story. I have loved reading this book and was sad when it ended. This book has given me questions to ask parents and grandparents and has helped me learn so much about them. I enjoyed the recipes and can't wait to start trying them out!

One of my favorite books of the last few years. From the recipes like my grandmother used to make, to the stories of making do with what you had, it was a trip through a time few can remember. It contains lessons for all of us to recall and to teach our children in these times we are living in. It was like being wrapped in a warm, cozy quilt by a crackling fire. Thanks for reminding us that you can still enjoy life when times are hard. I was thrilled when it was chosen as one of the Ten Best Books of 2007 by The New York Times.

I also grew up in very rural Iowa in the early 1950s and my childhood was very much the same described in LITTLE HEATHENS. Anyone that wants to know about farm life will learn a lot from reading this book. There are also a lot of old saying explained. I liked the book so much that I bought 2 more to send to my brothers.

Ms Kalish's book was wonderful. If you like history you will like this book. It really personalizes and brings to life a time in American history that was difficult on so many different social groups. This book doesn't make broad sweeping statements about anywhere else, just Iowa farm country and small towns, which is exactly what the author knows. I gave this book to my mom as soon as I was finished. She lived through the depression and really related to lots of passages in this book.

I loved this book my Mom grew up on a farm and told similar stories.The home remedies are great and creative sometimes. The book makes me yearn for simpler times when fun could be had by tipping over outhouses.

This is a lovely little book written by a woman who shares her memories of childhood in a delightful way. Those readers with parents or grandparents who lived during these years in the country or small town will have heard many of these same stories and smile at the remembrances. It was such a different life and a different way of child rearing than we babyboomers experienced. I loved the characters. This book is a nice, relaxing tale of America "way back when".

NOTE: The readers' children might not enjoy reading nor having their parents read this book.....it might make a parent demand more from their child!

This book will remind you of things you may have forgotten. Your Grandmother may have mentioned some of these things to you or you may have been too young to remember but reading this book is a trip through history and/or memory lane and you catch yourself saying, "Oh, thats how they did that".And "Wow, we have it EASY." Reading this book should make you very grateful for what you have if you aren't already grateful.

This book was one of the best "feel good" books I've read in a long time. For someone my age, it helped me relive the "good times" in my life growing up on a farm. For someone younger it will help them understand where their parents and grandparents came from and got their values.

MW

This book was a disappointment. There were some good moments but overall the whole thing felt very thin-- strangely lacking in analysis and perspective. Nearly every chapter ends with a rhetorical question whose only purpose is to demonstrate how wonderful things were "back then." For example the chapter about gardening ends this way "Do you need to be told, that with the addition of a marrow bone, Mama produced a magnificent soup. ..? Need I add that I adopted this final gathering routine right down to making a great soup in my own gardening days?" Unfortunately, by this point in the book, Kalish certainly doesn't need to tell us these things. This rhetorical strategy was exceedingly annoying throughout.

Yes, Kalish succeeds in describing how hard everyone worked back then, and that there were advantages to living so close to the natural world (her penultimate chapter on the family pets is one of the best). But too much of the book takes on the tone of a cranky old relative spinning out only half-believable stories in a scolding tone. She often asks the reader "Can you imagine children of today doing such a task?" Of course the only possible answer Kalish can imagine is No.

There are no other real characters in this book other than Kalish herself. Early on she writes about a charming maiden aunt named Belle, but other than Belle nobody else comes to life. Her brothers and sisters, even her mother are strangely flat--we are given no sense of them at all. Skip this one, and go rent a few episodes of the Waltons instead. You'll get more character development, better writing, and fewer lectures.

I read aloud so many parts of this great book to my husband that he just had to read the whole thing for himself - brought back many, many memories - funny how hard times can be remembered so favorably! We highly recommend anyone reading "Little Heathens" who grew up on a farm, in the country or in a small town, or wish they had. Kudos to the author!!

Some of the mysteries of why and how I was reared have been explained in a way my parents, especially my mother, could never articulate! I wish I'd had this book when I was struggling in my Racism and Discrimination class to write my own cultural history. I actually told the prof that a white girl from a Nebraska farm didn't really have any culture, but Little Heathens nailed my cultural background--the culture of Depression era farmers and their families.

A charming book, I am just a year younger than the author and grew up on a farm in Ohio. My regret (and may have to reread the book to do it) is that I didn't underline all the things that I remember and that pertained to my life so it would mean more to my children and grandchildren.

I guess I was expecting more "High Spirits" as promised on the book's cover than there were. All that being said, it is a very sweet book, full of love and a nostalgia for days that have passed, but then that is the way with memoirs. The way of life may have passed, but that is not always a bad thing. This was the Depression, after all. But as far as reminding us of how far family values have deteriorated, this is a first rate account. For that we can all feel nostalgia.

This is like listening to your grandma (or that old lady in the Titanic movie) telling in a gentle, slow-cadenced voice, about the "old days." Among the topics covered: thrift, medicine, chores, farm food, gathering food, and wash day. The book starts off mildly entertaining, but just like grandma (or grandpa), it gets long-winded. You start to feel bored and restless and wonder how much more you can sit through before you make the move for your coat. You might decide that the next time she repeats, "waste not, want not," you'll excuse yourself and head for the door. But if you stick with this book through the dragging middle, you get to the best parts, the chapters called "animal tales," "racoons and other critters," and "me." She tells how the kids in the family tamed racoons (the racoons slept in bed with them!) . The middle part drags in part because of obsolete practices that she describes. It's hard to picture what she's talking about when she tells of the oat shocking procedure, the mechanics of their laundry routine, and the windmill. Parts of these sections read like how-to manuals, including how to prepare various meals. Her chapter called "me" is the best, as it has the most human interest, telling a little bit about how she went to college, joined the coast guard, got married, etc. What is ridiculous is that she puts this chapter as an epilogue! Like she's so modest, she can't have a place in the book, it has to be tagged at the end? Like, here's a tiny bit about little ol' me if you care to know...Yeah, thanks, that's why I picked up this book in the first place!

I just saw this Author at our local library. She was a doll and I wish I could sit down with her and chat all afternoon! The book was from the heart genuine and easy to read. I wish I could click my heals and travel back to life when it was simple and honest and people were REAL...<sigh> What a neat time to grow up in...READ IT and dream!

Great little book! For those of us in the more "mature" range, we can easily relate to the events in this book. For those in the younger age brackets, maybe it will help them relate better to us while they take a hit to the funny bone. An enjoyable read and the recipes are a neat addition.

My mother who grew up on a farm in Missouri and lived through the depression on up through 2004 told me stories of growing up on a farm and I found this woman's experiencies much like some of the stories my mom told me. Liked the book very much.

This book was so comforting to read. I'd fix a cupof tea, grab the book and go hide in a quiet room to read. With all the hardships she faced on the farm, I still am envious. What a wonderful way to remember your childhood. I'd recommend this to anyone!

I ordered this book for my mother-in-law as she was raised on a farm in Wisconsin. She thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and it brought back many memories of her life on the farm. She indicated that people nowadays do not appreciate life or hard work as they did growing up on a farm.

I really enjoyed this little book so much. My aunt loaned hers to me, and after reading it, I bought a copy for my mother because I knew she would enjoy reading about the life and stories of this author.

Enjoyed the book after it was recommended by my stepson. Even though I may not agree with her religious beliefs, the book was a stroll down memory lane and quite enjoyable. I purchased it for a cousin living in Iowa.

Cute book but either the author isnt clearly rememberimg her facts or she made them up. in the introduction she states her ancestors moved to IA in 1846 and hunted pheasant on their farm, one problem, pheasant weren't intoduced to the US until 1881 and that was in Oregon. Secondly, in the telling of the preparation of Thanksgiving dinner in 1930 she has some issues. They sent someone out to the garden to pick sage? In IA? Average high temperature in Cedar Rapids at Thanksgiving is in the lo 20s, sage was long killed by then. And hardy souls those boys in the picture, waiting to be called for supper, must be what with sitting outside with short sleeved shirts on and it being 20 degrees out. That's as far as i could stand to read, I'm sure there are plenty more errors beyond this point. Cute, but should be told that it's a novel and not non-fiction.

I know everyone loved this book. The New York Times Book Review named it one of the 10 best books of 2007. I just don't get it. There are chapters on frugality and outhouse pranks and nut gathering. Cold winters and back-breaking chores abound, but none of it held my interest. Despite the slimness of the volume, I struggled to finish. This memoir reads like an disjointed collection of encyclopedia entries pertaining to country life rather than a living, breathing experience.

This book was very disappointing. I had read reviews that lauded its descriptions of the Great Depression. Instead, it was a tedious recounting of all the ways life was different then than now. ("We put the wash in the bucket...Then we brought a larger bucket in from the barn. Then we turned the door knob...Then the Big Kids filled the large bucket with hot water...).

We can appreciate that life was different 70+ years ago, as it will be different 70 years from today. But I wanted to know what it felt like when no one had money, when a great war was approaching, when people were leaving their homes for greener pastures.

I'll have to find a different book.