The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said...

...to talk about Little House. Many of you have written to ask when my next Martha or Charlotte book will be published. Plans have been in flux for over a year now, but it's time to address your questions.

As I mentioned here recently, HarperCollins has launched new paperback editions of Laura's books which feature photographic covers and no longer contain the Garth Williams illustrations. (The Garth Williams art will remain in the hardcover editions and the colorized paperback editions.)

There are also going to be some changes in the other Little House series. The Martha, Charlotte, Caroline, and Rose books are being reissued in abridged editions. If you wish to read these books in their original, complete forms, you'll want to pick them up now before the unabridged editions go out of print. In at least one case ( On Top of Concord Hill, a Caroline book), the original is already out of print and is hard to find. (A reader recently told me copies are selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.)

The abridged editions of my books and the Caroline and Rose books will be released with new covers this summer. They are significantly shorter; in some cases more than a hundred pages have been cut from the original edition.

In light of these changes, I have decided not to continue writing Martha and Charlotte books. Although it is indeed strange to know that I will not tell the rest of their stories (especially the story of Martha and Lew's romance, for which I have been sowing seeds since the first books), I do not think it is such a bad thing to end my part of the story with Beyond the Heather Hills and Across the Puddingstone Dam. In both of those books, I had the opportunity to say something about what is good and true and enduring in this world. Martha glimpsed it, looking into the eyes of her infant niece. Charlotte glimpsed it in the eyes of her mother, the grown-up Martha, who endured the worst kind of loss but, through faith, managed to keep hold of—and share—her joy.

It will be difficult to say goodbye to these girls who have been to me like my own children. I have loved watching them grow. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to, in the words of Gail Godwin, "respectfully imagine" them and chronicle their stories.

As I said, my decision to leave the series has been in the works for quite some time. Meanwhile, I've been working on new projects and am quite excited about my current novel, which is about neither a Scottish lass nor a New England villager, but something completely different. Stay tuned...

Comments

[Jennifer]

Oh no. That doesn't sound good at all. I will be placing a big order at Amazon soon to complete our sets. Why the alterations?

[Christine M]

Best of luck with your new novel. Keep us posted!

[Mrs. Happy Housewife]

My daughter loves your books and I know she will be sad to hear you will not write any more of them. I understand your reasons for stopping though. It seems to me a bit like someone giving your child a nose job without your permission. Shame on the publisher for abridging the books. Haven't we been dumbed down enough yet?

[Mary G]

Oh Lissa, we will miss those books. But know that you are on to bigger, better and more fun things on your California adventure!

[Stephanie]

We'll have to hurry to replace our books. But could you explain how to tell if a current series has be abridged. The question came up in the main AO group and I seems I gave a wrong answer. Thanks.

[Love2learn Mom]

That is SO sad, Lissa.

[Jennifer]

I ordered all the books last night. I am so sad that my daughter will not have the same opportunity to read the original books to her daughters and sons. Maybe I should pick up an extra set to save for her one day. I'm so sorry.

[Jean]

If Harper Collins insists on abridging these books, why not continue to provide the option of the unabridged copies for those of us who prefer not to short our children and ourselves the full joy of reading them? However, I deeply admire your stand-- it must be difficult to imagine not writing the stories you so obviously love, but your decision demonstrates even more clearly how much you care about them! I have spent the past hour hunting down the last few not in our home!

[Mama Squirrel]

I agree with the comment about the nose job! Are today's children really so unable to read even the books as you wrote them? That's the most pathetic part about this.

[radmama]

Oh no! They are on our "to be read list" and many friends of ours have enjoyed them.

My kids rebel at abridged books: something is always missing.

:-(

[keepermom]

My daughter and I were so looking forward to the continuation of Martha's and Charlotte's stories. Why on earth would the publisher feel the need to abridge them?? They were wonderful just as they were. I guess we'll have to search out the few books we don't yet own and get them ASAP.

Anyone know if there's any way we could change HarperCollins' mind about abridging these books???

[Melissa Wiley]

Keepermom and all, thanks for your comments. No, the new books are already well underway and will be released this summer. HarperCollins spent many months looking at the series before making the decision to abridge them. My own decision to leave was made months ago, but I did not want to announce it until all the loose ends were tied up.

[Melanie]

oh, that's terrible. Ya'll will have to fight me for copies of the remaining books. Shame on HarperCollins. I'm so tired of having to search for unabridged books to read to my daughter....

[Elizabeth H]

I haven't read your books to my children yet -- they're just a little too young -- but it was a treat I was looking forward to. I'm really sad and sorry to hear this news. Good on you for being (publicly!) positive about it.

[GailV]

I get all teary-eyed whenever I read about you leaving Martha and Charlotte. Thank you for the 8 books you *did* give us. I love them for those special things you put in them (I often thing of the scene where Martha tells Charlotte that she *will* survive the loss of her brother; surely I can survive whatever life hands me).

I've been amassing copies of all the Little House books for a few months now, all the way through Rose, and just completed my sets last week. I found the Concord Hill book on Vegsource at a very decent price. Also, readers may want to check places like the various museums associated with the Little House series for some of the out of print titles.

[Tracy]

WHY abridge them? don't they think children can read things! I love books like these, especially since I have a daughter who can read very well for her age (she was at 6th grade reading level when she was in 1st grade) and it's HARD to find age appropriate material that isn't see spot. see spot run...

sigh.

whimpering now - whyyyyyyyy?

p.s. I just finished the first Martha book (my library has them all) and enjoyed it. the now 5th grader has it on her future reading list.

[Beth]

Oh, this news brought tears to my eyes. I am so sorry (and angry!) that they are going to be abridged! I get quite hot under the collar when books are dumbed down for children. **sigh**

I understand your decision completely. Best wishes to you on your new writing ventures!

[Helene]

It looks like The Road from Roxbury is already out of print. Amazon and every other site where I looked doesn't have it. :(

[Jeannine]

My heart is heavy for you, Lissa. This makes me sorry, angry, and sad. I am ashamed that HarperCollins would shortchange our children by abridging your books, and I am shocked that they would remove the Garth Williams illustrations from the Little House books! Our children deserve better. In any case, thanks for the head's up. I'll be scooping up the current books while I can, even though we're slightly young for them in our little house. God bless you and your future work!

[Bethany]

I'm so upset at this. Little House was always my favorite book as a child and I probably read them when I was about 8 or 9. I guess it's asking too much of most children today to read more than 200 pages. I saw the pre-quels and sequels when my 4 yo was 1 and couldn't wait to read them, I guess I'm buying them sooner than I thought. I placed orders at Amazon and Bookcloseouts.com for the entire set (less On Top of Concord Hill)! The Road from Roxbury is available at Bookcloseouts.com but they are only showing 22 available. Get it soon!

[Molly]

It is really disappointing to read this! Your books have been such a treat for my oldest and we are sad that we will not get to hear the end, so to speak. My younger girls haven't even started them, yet!

I completely understand your stance, though. It is really insulting both to you and to your readers. What children need are more interesting, well-written books to help form their minds and hearts, not more twaddle.

Harper Collins seems to be missing the point of these books. A child cannot fall in love with the characters, become part of the story and be left with a beautiful memory, if a book is gutted to become an "easy reader". Instead, she gets another check mark on her summer reading list to create the illusion of a well-read child. Sad!

We are so looking forward to you new book! Shame on you for teasing us, without any hints!

[Angel]

Lissa, will you still be writing for Harper Collins, or will your new novel be coming out with a different publisher? (Or might you not be at liberty to say yet?) I went ahead and ordered as many books as I could this morning. I had been wanting to read them with my 7 yo dd. Did Harper Collins not feel that the sales of these books were up to snuff? That would seem a little hard to believe, unless it's just because book sales are down in general.

[Jenn]

It is such a shame that HarperCollins is dumbing down these books. Your contribution to the lives, memories and hearts of our children will last so much longer than any profits HarperCollins will gain from this shameful choice. Thank you for the contribution you've made to the lives of our children.

[Nicole in MN]

I was really looking forward to you finishing out Martha and Lew's romance! So sad...

[Melissa Wiley]

Angel, HarperCollins felt that the only way to keep the books in print at all was to reissue them in shorter editions.

Nicole, it is very likely that Harper will find another writer to finish out my two series. I don't know any details about that, though.