The Railway Children vs Little House in the Big Woods

The Railway Children

Edith Nesbit

1900

Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this charming edition of The Railway Children. When Father is taken away unexpectedly, Roberta, Peter, Phyllis and their mother have to leave their comfortable life in London to go and live in a small cottage in the country. The children seek solace in the nearby railway station, and make friends with Perks the Porter and the Station Master himself. Each day, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis run down the field to the railway track and wave at the passing London train, sending their love to Father. Little do they know that the kindly old gentleman passenger who waves back holds the key to their father's disappearance. One of the best-loved classics of all time, with a wonderful introduction by Jacqueline Wilson.

Little House in the Big Woods

Laura Ingalls Wilder

1932

"Little House in the Big Woods" is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published by Harper in 1932. It was Wilder's first book published and it inaugurated her Little House series. It is based on memories of her early childhood in the Big Woods near Pepin, Wisconsin, in the early 1870s. Based on a 2007 online poll, the U.S. National Education Association named the novel one of its ""Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children"". In 2012, it was ranked number 19 among all-time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal – the first of three Little House books in the Top 100.