Our articles about recently-released books are great resources for readers interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House books. Here is a brief overview about ​The Pioneer Girl series.

For fans who’ve read the Little House books countless times, there’s something magical about discovering Laura Ingalls Wilder’s original, unpolished voice. That’s where the Pioneer Girl Project comes in. Published by the South Dakota Historical Society Press, these richly annotated volumes explore the memoir Wilder wrote before she became a novelist—and trace how those true stories evolved into the beloved fiction we know today.

The series includes:

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Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Editor: Pamela Smith Hill
Publication Date: December 30, 2014

Synopsis:
Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography reveals Laura Ingalls Wilder’s original, never-before-published memoir of her family’s pioneering journey across the Midwest. Edited by Pamela Smith Hill, this richly annotated edition uses manuscripts, diaries, letters, maps, and images to provide historical context and trace how Wilder’s true experiences became the beloved Little House series. A landmark work, it offers fresh insight into Wilder’s life, her collaboration with daughter Rose Wilder Lane, and the real stories behind her classic novels.

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Author: Nancy Tystad Koupal, William Anderson, Caroline Fraser, Michael Patrick Hearn, Elizabeth Jameson, Sallie Ketcham, Amy Mattson Lauters, John E. Miller, Paula M. Nelson, Ann Romines, Noel L. Silverman, Laura Ingalls Wilder
Editor: Nancy Tystad Koupal
Publication Date: May 1, 2017

Synopsis:
Pioneer Girl Perspectives explores Laura Ingalls Wilder’s original autobiography and the ways she transformed it into the beloved Little House series. This collection of essays from leading scholars examines Wilder’s collaboration with her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, the realities of frontier childhood, the role of folklore, and the shaping of her story into marketable fiction. Building on the groundbreaking Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography, it offers fresh insight into Wilder’s legacy as an influential American author whose vision of frontier life continues to resonate today.

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Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Editor: Nancy Tystad Koupal
Publication Date: October 15, 2021

Synopsis:
Pioneer Girl: The Revised Texts presents three versions of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s original Pioneer Girl manuscript, tracing how she and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, transformed the autobiography into the beloved Little House books. This volume of the Pioneer Project highlights the women’s working partnership, the evolution of their drafts, and how material was adapted into Wilder’s children’s novels and Lane’s bestselling adult fiction. With side-by-side texts, annotations, and historical context, it offers the first in-depth study of their collaboration, showcasing revisions, handwritten changes, and documents that illuminate the editorial decisions behind the manuscripts.

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Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Editor: Nancy Tystad Koupal
Publication Date: May 31, 2023

Synopsis:
Pioneer Girl: The Path into Fiction traces how Laura Ingalls Wilder’s plainspoken autobiography evolved into Little House in the Big Woods, a beloved children’s classic. The book uncovers Wilder’s collaboration with her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, whose revisions and reframing helped transform the memoir into juvenile fiction after initial rejections. Featuring unpublished drafts and manuscripts—including the early picture-book version “When Grandma Was a Little Girl”—Koupal shows how Wilder’s shift from autobiography to fiction allowed her to reshape events, strengthen characters, and balance fact with imagination. The result highlights the creative partnership between Wilder and Lane and reveals the painstaking process that turned a family memoir into a timeless novel.

Together, these four books give readers a front-row seat to Wilder’s creative process and a deeper understanding of the woman behind the beloved Little House stories.

Pick up your own copies of the Pioneer Girl series here. Also check out our Recommended Reading for Adults and Recommended Reading for Children & Young Adults for more great books.