Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books continue to inspire generations of young readers. They are classics in American children’s literature. But for young readers who want to know more about Laura Ingalls Wilder, the books below can enrich their reading and...
As a researcher and biographer of Laura Ingalls Wilder, I’ve found the work of other Wilder authors and scholars both essential and illuminating. Listed below are titles that explore different areas of her life and work, often bringing entirely new and unexpected...
Who is the real Laura Ingalls? Is she the smart, strong, and resourceful fictional character of the Little House books? Or is she the more mature and somewhat worldly Laura Ingalls of Pioneer Girl? Or perhaps she’s the character that actress Melissa Gilbert created in...
In 1942, literary agent George Bye received the final manuscript from a client he had reluctantly decided to represent twelve years earlier, an author whose first work, a memoir for adults, had left him uninspired. But she had found her voice as a children’s book...
Ever wonder about the chronology of events in Laura’s life and the historical context surrounding her experiences? The two timelines below weave some of her major life events with interesting historical milestones in literature, politics, science, and...
In On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura is reluctant to go to school for the first time, but Pa tells her she should appreciate the opportunity: “…it isn’t everybody that gets a chance to learn to read and write and cipher,” he says. Pa explains that education is...
When Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the final scene in her last Little House book for young readers, she gave the closing lines to Pa’s fiddle and its music. Laura and Almanzo’s wedding day has come to a close and the young couple sits on the doorstep of their own little...