What is the author's tone in On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 by Laura Ingalls Wilder?

The book's tone varies considerably across the three chapters. The initial chapter presents a lighthearted tone that is somewhat at odds with the serious financial situation being faced by the family. This is done deliberately to create the sense that a child is narrating the events and establishing the setting. In brief, the picture that emerges is one of difficulty being adroitly managed by an extended family and support network.