Laura
Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder
Born February 7, 1867
Died February 10, 1957
I am re-posting this from my blog in honor of Wilder
and her contribution to young readers who've
been fans of her many book for decades.
I am re-posting this from my blog in honor of Wilder
and her contribution to young readers who've
been fans of her many book for decades.
Long before Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books
became part of the Little House on the
Prairie television series, the Little
House books were a favorite of mine as a child, starting with the Little House in the Big Woods, published
by Harper in 1932. It was Wilder’s first book and was based on memories of her
early childhood in the big woods near Pepin, Wisconsin, in the early 1870s. It
propelled her Little House series
consisting of eight more books which recorded pioneer life late in the 19th
century based on her family’s experiences on the American frontier.
I was an avid reader of all the Little House books. I remember taking
one of them outside on my swing during the summer and devouring it as
quickly as possible. There was something magical about the big woods, the
prairie, the unsettled Dakota Territory, the farm, the banks of a Plum Creek
and life during a blizzard. 
Laura Ingalls was the second child of
five children to Charles and Caroline Ingalls. During her childhood, her father
moved the family many times, but over the winter of 1879-1880, he filed for a
formal homestead in De Smet, South Dakota, which became her parents’ and her
older sister’s (Mary) home for the remainder of their lives.
Two months before her 16th
birthday, Laura Ingalls accepted her first teaching position. In order to help
her family financially, she taught three terms in one-room school houses
between 1883 and 1885, worked for the local dressmaker, and attend high school
in De Smet, although she didn’t graduate. Her teaching career and studies ended
when Laura married 28-year-old Almanzo Wilder on August 25, 1885. She was
eighteen years old.
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| Wilder House in De Smet, SD |
Although
there is much controversy over
some works,
which Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter, Rose, supposedly
claimed to collaborate on with her mother, the brilliance
and importance of the books far outweigh second
guessing what might be truthful or false claims.
which Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter, Rose, supposedly
claimed to collaborate on with her mother, the brilliance
and importance of the books far outweigh second
guessing what might be truthful or false claims.
Laura Ingalls Wilder is considered a
literary legend.
School-age children have been enthralled with the
series for decades. I was one of them.
School-age children have been enthralled with the
series for decades. I was one of them.
All my books are currently listed on my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE:
I still read the Little House books on occasion. The overall themes of family, perseverance, working hard and the like shine through.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading these books to my son as bedtime stories. I bought four. Not sure if he still has them, but he loved the stories and the "Little House On The Prairie show as much as I did. I still watch the reruns. We drive through Mountain Home, Arkansas on our way to Branson. They have one of the small homes Ms. Ingals lived in. Thank you, for posting this, Judy Ann.
ReplyDeleteThe television series captured the hearts of young and old alike. It was good clean television watching for a family. Isn't that a unique idea in today's world?
DeleteOops, I erased one "l" in Ingalls.
ReplyDeleteI loved this series when I was a girl. I used these books when I taught history in fourth grade and the kids were transfixed. I would hate for the series to be censored out. People need to take things in the context in which they were written.
ReplyDeleteI grew up reading these wonderful books and read them to my children. Great post!
ReplyDeleteLovely post to an author we all read when we were children. Those and Anne of Green Gables were favorites.
ReplyDelete