#145 in Children’s books
These Happy Golden Years
- 304
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Our view
Laura grows up in “These Happy Golden Years”, the tender, quietly romantic courtship volume of the “Little House” books. Still in her teens, she teaches school and is courted by Almanzo Wilder, and for some readers that patient romance is the heart of the book. Others find it a little stiff by today’s standards. It is the eighth book of nine and covers the years 1882 to 1885.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
These Happy Golden Years is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1943, the eighth of nine books in her Little House series – although it originally ended it. It is based on her later adolescence near De Smet, South Dakota, featuring her short time as a teacher, beginning at age 15, and her courtship with Almanzo Wilder. It spans the time period from 1882 to 1885, when they marry.
Reading order · Little House on the Prairie
Full order & progress →- Little House in the Big WoodsStart here
7.97.9 / 10 - Farmer Boy
7.97.9 / 10 - Little House on the Prairie
7.97.9 / 10 - On the Banks of Plum Creek
7.97.9 / 10 - By the Shores of Silver Lake
7.77.7 / 10 - The Long Winter
7.97.9 / 10 - Little Town on the Prairie
7.87.8 / 10 - These Happy Golden YearsThis book
7.87.8 / 10 - The First Four Years
7.67.6 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.6 across 108 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 42% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Children’s books average of 7.9. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.5 | 16 | 15% |
| Hardcover | 7.6 | 92 | 85% |
Frequently asked
What age is These Happy Golden Years for?
These Happy Golden Years sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 304 pages — longer than 74% of the ranked books in Children’s books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Children’s books — with scores between 7.7 and 7.8, closest to this book.
