“A farmer depends on himself, and the land and the weather. If you’re a farmer, you raise what you eat, you raise what you wear, and you keep warm with wood out of your own timber. You work hard, but you work as you please, and no man can tell you to go or come….
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Naturalist
“Rabbits stood up with paws dangling, long ears twitching, and their round eyes staring at Mary and Laura.” On the Banks of Plum Creek I’d like to suggest a thought experiment. Instead of categorizing Laura Ingalls Wilder as an American children’s author, think of her as a nature writer as well. Take her titles. The…
The House on Rocky Ridge Farm: Preserved, not Restored
Laura Ingalls Wilder was a teacher, seamstress, farmer’s wife, journalist, farm loan administrator, and an author. It was her role as writer of the Little House books that brought her lasting fame. And another job. She was the first, but unofficial, tour guide at her home on Rocky Ridge Farm near Mansfield, Missouri. Readers of…
From “Unlearned Poet” to “Untutored Housewife”: Samuel Worthen Ingalls and Laura Ingalls Wilder
As a child who’d practically memorized the Little House book series, I was entranced by the idea of Laura Ingalls Wilder as an “untutored housewife,” whose fiction suddenly sprang to life fully formed when she was in her sixties. As an adult, I learned that the widespread notion that Wilder was a self-taught genius with…
One More Visit to the Little House: The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder
“I’d like to write to the folks in Wisconsin” [Ma said to Pa] “If you mail a letter now, they can write this winter, and then we can hear from them next spring.“ Little House on the Prairie These words, read to my third grade classroom, made a lasting impression on me. I thought to…
Thanksgiving and Laura Ingalls Wilder
When you think of Thanksgiving, pioneer Laura Ingalls Wilder is probably not the first image that comes to mind, but maybe it should be. Most of the traditions that we associate with Thanksgiving, including tracing it back to the Pilgrims, began with the pioneers and the Victorians. Onion vs. Sage The most famous Laura Ingalls…