I was amazed, rereading the books a few years ago, at how horribly and casually racist the books were (they give the Narnia books a run for their money, which is saying something). There's plenty to love about the books--I still delight in the detailed how-to instructions--but god, there's so much painful stuff mixed in with the good (and I can't remember where I read this, but apparently the earliest versions of the books were even worse--the one thing I specifically remember that was later excised was the claim, not long after the Ingalls has encountered a band of Indians, that Laura was so proud and amazed that they were the only "people" who had ever been on this land).