Thanks to the affectionate portrayal of the Ingalls family in books and on television, many folks think of Ma, Pa, Mary, Laura, Carrie, Grace, and even Jack as members of their own extended families. Explore this section to learn more about the real-life Ingalls family who provide a window into the American pioneering experience of the 19th century.
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 the “Little House on the Prairie” television series.And what about...
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 writer, and Bye felt deeply moved and stirred by her eighth and final...
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 technology.Interactive Timeline Below is the interactive timeline, which allows you to...
Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a one-hour documentary that goes beyond the famed Little House book series to the behind-the-scenes, true life story of one of America’s most iconic authors, Laura Ingalls Wilder.Wilder’s personal story as a writer, wife and mother is a compelling narrative that has...
Thanks to the cozy, warm, and affectionate portrayal of the Ingalls family across all kinds of media platforms around the world, many people think of Ma, Pa, Mary, Laura, Carrie, Grace, Almanzo, and even Jack the bulldog as part of their family. However, that raises the question of what version of the Ingalls family people relate to...
The Little House books tell of the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder as she grew up in the Midwest during a time of pioneering expansion and exploration. These beloved children’s books were made even more popular by the “Little House on the Prairie” television series.Quilts and Their Role in Laura Ingalls Wilder's LifeChildren and adults...
In the history of literature, there’s nothing quite like the relationship between Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter, the journalist Rose Wilder Lane. One of the most remarkable things about the Little House books is how the series grew out of their profoundly close and often contentious relationship. From the beginning, the books...
My garden is as crowded as my bookshelves, and Laura Ingalls Wilder is a good part of the reason why. I sit down to read, come across a plant, and then want to grow it. Here’s how it happens.Start, let's say, with On the Banks of Plum Creek. By Chapter 2, the family is ready to move into Mr. Hanson’s dugout on their new farm. Jack the...
As a child, I learned my Bible lessons by heart, in the good old-fashioned way, and once won the prize for repeating correctly . . . verses from the Bible. —Laura Ingalls WilderI would never have written A Prairie Girl’s Faith: The Spiritual Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder if Spring Ridge School hadn’t consolidated with Oak Ridge school...
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. You’ll be free and independent, son, on a farm. —Farmer Boy“Those who labor...
Seven years ago this month, I was terrified, my finger poised over the send button on an email to Little House Heritage Trust. —Author, Sarah MillerI’d done my homework — read hundreds of feet of microfilm containing thousands of pages of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s handwritten manuscripts, her then-unpublished memoir, Pioneer Girl, and...
Rabbits stood up with paws dangling, long ears twitching, and their round eyes staring at Mary and Laura. —On the Banks of Plum CreekI’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 Little House books...
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...
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 no training as a...
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 myself: “The pioneers had to wait that long for a...
Caroline Lake Quiner Ingalls is known to Laura fans around the world simply as Ma. Her comforting presence was spread far beyond her own family circle by her featured place in the Little House books and the “Little House on the Prairie” TV show. In a way she has become everyone’s Ma; a comforting and cozy presence of reassurance in all...
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 Wilder...
“Mother” was indeed a magic word to Laura Ingalls Wilder for, though Pa Ingalls occupies front-and-center attention in the Little House books, Ma is right there too, as the one who trained her daughters in domestic matters and educated them. It is a wonder that she lived to a ripe old age of 84, outliving Pa by twenty years. As his...
Today we are intrigued to hear from Nancy McCabe about her experience exploring Cuba, New York, the birthplace of Charles Ingalls. Hear her interesting stories and tid bits of information about Pa’s first home below.In Cuba, New York, the birthplace of Charles Ingalls, my daughter and I read excerpts from Little House in the Big Woods...
There are many different ways to be a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan. Some people research topics in depth. Some people wear a sunbonnet and buy a Charlotte doll. Some people try to get autographs from as many actors/actresses from the “Little House on the Prairie” TV show as they can. I’ve done some of all of those things, but the most...
Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs. —Little House in the Big WoodsScholars of myth, child psychology and literature as diverse as Joseph Campbell, Bruno Bettelheim and Marina Warner argue that, ultimately, the primary purpose of myth and fairy tale is...
As a child, I loved many children’s book characters—Louisa May Alcott’s Jo, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne, and Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy—because, like me, they wanted to be writers.[1] But it never occurred to me that the Little House series also tells a story of artistic development. Especially in the later books, Wilder focuses on the...
Carrie Ingalls, born Caroline Celestia Ingalls on August 3, 1870, to Charles (“Pa”) and Caroline (“Ma”) Ingalls, is best known as the younger sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House on the Prairie books. Carrie is only a baby in the first book, Little House in the Big Woods, but her presence and interactions with...
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 important to the family. “Your Ma was a school-teacher when we met, and when...
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 house. In her memory, Laura hears “the voice of Pa’s fiddle and the...
Laura Ingalls Wilder had such a vivid way of describing her everyday events that her writings have captured the imaginations of multiple generations. The universal themes of courage, hope and love in her books continue to inspire readers today. As author John E. Miller said, the Little House books “not only tell us what life was like,...
There are many different kinds of Laura fans. No matter what their specific interest, most fans love to “play Laura.” What better way to play Laura than with a party? There are several different ways to theme a Laura party. Today we’re going to look at how to host a Bring Your Own Bonnet party, a party on the prairie.Olde Thyme Party...