Little House on the Prairie reading order

A plan for the whole series

9 volumes, 2,635 pages, about 50 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 9 weeks.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 4, “On the Banks of Plum Creek” (by 52%). Plan your break after volume 3, before the series plans it for you.

Stages

3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around January 15, 2027, 13 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 117 habout 3 weeksby November 20, 2026

   • 1. Little House in the Big Woods1932 · 228 pages · 4 h
   • 2. Farmer Boy1933 · 372 pages · 7 h
   • 3. Little House on the Prairie1935 · 309 pages · 6 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by November 29, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 218 habout 3 weeksby December 23, 2026

   • 4. On the Banks of Plum Creek1937 · 338 pages · 6 h
   • 5. By the Shores of Silver Lake1939 · 290 pages · 5 h
   • 6. The Long Winter1940 · 335 pages · 6 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 27, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 314 h19 daysby January 15, 2027

   • 7. Little Town on the Prairie1941 · 307 pages · 6 h
   • 8. These Happy Golden Years1943 · 304 pages · 6 h
   • 9. The First Four Years1971 · 152 pages · 3 h
6. The end of the series

   January 15, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: uneven. Scores jump by 0.3 points with no clear direction.

Best volume: Little House in the Big Woods (7.9, 377 ratings). Weakest: The First Four Years (7.6). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 3 and 4: 52%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (7.6) scores close to the series average or above it.