Review of the Little House Cook Book

Homeschooling allows us to bring learning to life, and few resources manage to combine history, literature, and practical life skills as beautifully as this remarkable Little House–inspired cookbook. This is my review of the Little House Cook Book.

Catch Up! If you haven’t read all about our first week on the prairie, I would encourage you to go and read my Little House in the Big woods post. This covers everything we did from making nightdresses, to prairie cooking and making button strings. It also gives you a good idea of everything we achieved with our own little house on the prairie renovations!

Cooking Up History: A Review of the Homeschool Treasure Little House Cook Book

This is such a great book, with over 230 pages. Not only is it full of tasty recipes but also full to the brim of information about Laura’s times. In fact the first chapter is entirely devoted to the foods found during the years that the Little House books were set in. Likewise the second chapter introduces its readers to the kitchens and utensils of the 1800’s. The rest of the book contains the recipes of Mrs Ingalls.

From the very first chapter, this book establishes itself as far more than a simple recipe collection. It sets the historical stage, immersing children (and parents!) in pioneer life through food, tools, and everyday routines. For homeschooling families studying American history, westward expansion, or classic literature, this makes an ideal spine or enrichment resource.

Check out week two! Last week we focused on Farmer Boy. This is the second book in the Little House on the Prairie book set. During the week we did lots of prairie cooking (hasty pudding, making a sour dough starter and some prairie bread) and also made some button lamps, a prairie ladder, and some peg hooks. Gary and the little ones did some gardening in our prairie garden and we tried to make some more of our rag rug.

A Beloved and Well-Used Homeschool Resource

Our copy has become rather dog-eared over the past few weeks. That tells you pretty much all you need to know! It is a huge hit with my two older girls who pour over it, carefully planning their next culinary delight. This kind of enthusiasm is gold in homeschooling, when children voluntarily engage, learning happens naturally.

This is indeed a cookery book but it might be more accurately described as a cook’s book because it contains so much more than mere recipes. There are quotes galore from Laura Ingalls’ original Little House series (ensuring the authenticity of each recipe), as well as lots of historical tidbits to whet not only your gastric appetite but also your educational one, leaving you wanting a little bit more.

Those historical snippets often spark wonderful rabbit trails. In our home, this has led to us all looking up various websites to find answers to the inevitable questions that come up. This is exactly the kind of curiosity-driven learning most homeschool parents strive for.

Learning Beyond the Page (and the Plate!)

One of the joys of this book is how seamlessly it fits into a Charlotte Mason–style or literature-based homeschool. Food becomes a gateway to deeper discussions about daily life in the 1800s, resourcefulness, seasonal eating, and regional differences.

This is a jewel of a book and every recipe has turned out well, even though we are using ingredients which are unfamiliar here in the UK, such as corn meal. That unfamiliarity has actually added to the educational value, giving us opportunities to discuss agriculture, trade, and geography.

As far as our study has gone, this book has proved invaluable and we would not be having nearly as much fun without it. Of all my reviews so far, this would probably be the book I would recommend buying if you had limited resources.

Check out week three! Last week we focused on The Little House on the Prairie. This is the third book in the Little House on the Prairie book set. During the week we did some of prairie cooking (soda biscuits) and also made some curtains, hay sticks and a hammock net. Gary and the little ones did some gardening in our prairie garden and we tried to make some more of our rag rug.

Hands-On Homeschool Activities to Go With the Book

Here are some practical, engaging ways to extend the learning:

1. Pioneer Cooking Day

Choose a recipe and cook it using minimal modern conveniences. Discuss how long tasks would have taken in Laura’s time.

2. Kitchen History Comparison

Have your children compare an 1800s kitchen with a modern one. Draw or label diagrams of both.

3. Ingredient Research Project

Research unfamiliar ingredients like corn meal. Where does it come from? Why was it important to pioneers?

4. Literary Connections

Read the Little House passage quoted in the recipe, then discuss how food fits into the scene or story.

5. Math & Measurement Practice

Convert recipes, double quantities, or compare historical measurements with modern ones.

Reflection Questions for Students

1. How did food shape daily life for the Ingalls family?
2. What challenges did pioneer families face when cooking meals?
3. Why do you think certain ingredients were so important in the 1800s?
4. How does cooking from history help you better understand the Little House books?
5. What modern conveniences do you appreciate more after using this book?

Review Little House Cook Book: Final Thoughts for Homeschool Parents

If you’re looking for a homeschool resource that blends literature, history, life skills, and joyful family learning, this book is hard to beat. It encourages curiosity, invites discussion, and, best of all, creates meaningful memories around the table.

 For more activities please do visit my MEGA Little House on the Prairie Unit Study page, which contains all ten weeks of our summer building our own Little House on the Prairie!