Early Life

She was born in a log cabin in Pepin, Wisconsin, on February 7, 1867, to Charles and Caroline Ingalls. Her childhood was spent at “The Little House in the Big Woods,” her later writing. The Ingalls family moved to Kansas in 1869, when Laura was two years old, shaping “Little House on the Prairie.”

Laura was one of five siblings: Mary, Carrie, Grace, and Charles, who died at nine months. Laura subsequently described her youth as “sunshine and shadow,” mirroring pioneer life’s delights and struggles.

During Laura’s childhood, the pioneering Ingalls family moved across the Midwest. In 1874, they moved from Wisconsin to Walnut Grove, Minnesota, for two years before moving to Burr Oak, Iowa, after a bad crop. Near 1974–1982, “Little House on the Prairie,” about Laura Wilder, was filmed near Walnut Grove.In 1879, the Ingalls family moved to the Dakota Territory after returning to Walnut Grove in autumn 1878. They settled in De Smet, South Dakota, starting another pioneering chapter. These different settings shaped Laura’s life and inspired her renowned writing.

Writing career

The Missouri Ruralist invited Wilder to write in 1911, starting her long career as a writer and editor until the mid-1920s. She also worked at the local Farm Loan Association, lending small amounts to farmers. A faithful following of rural Ozarkians read her Ruralist column, “As a Farm Woman Thinks,” which covered family, home life, World War I, and her daughter Rose’s global adventures. Even before the “Little House” books were successful, Wilder’s writing, farming, and Farm Loan Association revenue supported him.

After nearly a decade working for farm journals, Wilder became a disciplined writer who wrote intelligent prose for a general readership by 1924. Rose, her daughter, encouraged her to enhance her writing in the late 1920s, seeing its promise. Wilder published two Country Gentleman essays due to financial issues. Lane built her parents an English-style stone home in 1928 on their property.

The 1929 stock market crash wiped out the Wilders’ funds with Lane’s broker. With financial problems following the deaths of her mother and sister, Wilder penned Pioneer Girl, an autobiographical account of her pioneering youth, in 1930. She expanded the plot after Lane’s publisher advised her. In 1932, Harper & Brothers published Wilder’s extended manuscript as “Little House in the Big Woods,” launching his literary career. Wilder and Lane worked together until 1935, often tumultuously. Lane also wrote successful adult books “Let the Hurricane Roar” (1932) and “Free Land” (1938) based on the “Little House” series.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Most Popular Books

• Little House in the Big Woods
• Little House on the Prairie
• Farmer Boy
• The Long Winter
• On the Banks of Plum Creek

Little House in the Big Woods

The series’ first novel, “Little House in the Big Woods,” follows the Ingalls family near Pepin, Wisconsin. Caroline, Charles, Mary, Laura, and Carrie are family. Although Laura is five in the book, the author was three at the events. The age gap, explained by Wilder’s daughter Rose, was realistically adjusted.

At five, Laura learns homesteading and receives a doll named Charlotte for Christmas. Grandma Ingalls’ “sugaring off” involves gathering sap for maple syrup, giving the family a year’s supply. Calf births, milk, butter, cheese, gardening, outdoor work and hunting are covered in the book. Housework, hunting, and winter evening fiddle music for the family are eloquently represented.

Little House on the Prairie

“Little House on the Prairie,” released in 1935, is the second Little House book about the Ingalls family. In 1874-1875, the family moved from Wisconsin to Kansas’ grassland near Independence. On the expedition to claim Osage territory, Pa Ingalls trades horses for mustangs named Pet and Patty.

After arriving in Indian Territory, the Ingalls family meets kind neighbour Mr. Edwards. Mr. Edwards and Mr. Scott help Pa build their house. The family gets malaria, which Dr. Tan, an African American doctor, treats. While Laura is captivated by an Osage baby, Ma’s bigotry is exposed by the tribe’s presence on their land.

The family learns the property is not for settlement after starting a modest farm. Pa left before the Army required them to in 1875. Laura’s thorough historical study is used to accurately illustrate the family’s Indian Territory experiences from 1869 to 1870.

Farmer Boy

The 1933 Little House sequel “Farmer Boy,” focuses on Almanzo Wilder’s youth in upstate New York in the 1860s instead of Laura Ingalls’. The story begins before Almanzo’s ninth birthday and spans at least two harvest cycles, detailing the Wilder family farm’s responsibilities.

The book follows Almanzo’s siblings Royal, Eliza Jane, and Alice in 1866. The Wilder children’s ages differ from Almanzo’s in the story. Almanzo is nearly nine, Royal is thirteen, Eliza Jane is twelve, and Alice is 10. The scenario about the older children’s ages may be fabricated because Almanzo was nine and Royal was nineteen.

Almanzo’s third sister, Laura, was twenty-two when the story took place and likely left. His brother Perley, born in 1869, was not yet born when “Farmer Boy.” was set.

The Long Winter

In “The Long Winter,” the sixth book in the series, the year 1880–1881 is known as “The Snow Winter.”

On a sweltering August day in 1880 in Dakota Territory, Pa Ingalls predicts a hard winter based on clues like thick-walled muskrat dwellings. After an early blizzard in mid-October, Pa moves the family to town. Laura attends school with Carrie until bad weather stops them.

Blizzards hamper supply trains, causing food and gasoline shortages. The English survive on twisted hay and scant food. Almanzo Wilder and Cap Garland risk their lives to offer wheat to the famished.

Blizzards continue for seven months as expected. A turkey-filled Christmas barrel arrives for the Ingalls household when trains resume. The book accurately portrays Laura as 13 in 1880, but Almanzo as 19 pretending to be 21 when he was 23. Due to Laura and Almanzo’s large age gap, the age correction may prevent scandal.

On the Banks of Plum Creek

The fourth volume in the series, “On the Banks of Plum Creek,” follows the Ingalls family’s 1875–1877 migration from Kansas to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. The family’s bulldog Jack joins them in a Plum Creek dugout, although he didn’t travel. The events represent Laura at seven to nine years old.

Pa gets new horses named “Sam” and “David.” from Mr. Hanson for trading horses for land. Laura and Mary attend Barry Corner School and befriend Christy and Cassie Kennedy after building a wooden house. Town girl Nellie Oleson teases them. The family struggles with locusts destroying crops. After working east to survive, Pa returns home to rejoice with the family. Pa returns home safely amid a blizzard to end the book.

Wiki/Bio

Award Controversy

The Association for Library Service to Children established the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in 1954 to honour children’s literature authors. In June 2018, the organisation renamed the award the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. This change was due to Wilder’s representation of Native Americans in her works. The organisation stressed that changing the award’s name or creating a new one did not restrict access to Wilder’s writings or conversations about them. These indicators demonstrate the organisation’s inclusivity, integrity, respect, and responsiveness, not suppression.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Death

After Almanzo’s death in 1949, Laura Ingalls Wilder answered fan correspondence at Rocky Ridge. She died on a Mansfield, Missouri farm on February 10, 1957. After her mother’s death, Rose Wilder edited and released many works from her journal and incomplete writings.

Laura Wilder’s life inspired “Little House on the Prairie,” a 1974–1982 TV series. The musical depicted Laura’s life, with Melissa Gilbert playing her as she grew older, captivating audiences nationwide. The series gave Wilder new fans and introduced new readers to Little House.

FAQs

Q1: Who’s Laura Ingalls Wilder?

A1: Born February 7, 1867, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the “Little House on the Prairie” books. Her pioneer childhood inspired her writing, which she successfully turned into engaging fiction.

Q2: Laura Ingalls Wilder’s childhood and upbringing?

A2: In 1867, Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in a Pepin, Wisconsin log cabin. She later wrote of the Ingalls family’s pioneering Midwest adventure, which was full of delights and hardships.

Q3: How did Laura Ingalls Wilder begin writing?

A3: In 1911, the Missouri Ruralist invited Laura Ingalls Wilder to write. She wrote for farm periodicals and was popular for her “As a Farm Woman Thinks” column. In 1930, she published “Pioneer Girl,” her autobiography, due to financial difficulties.

Q4: Which Laura Ingalls Wilder books are most popular?

A4: “Little House in the Big Woods,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Farmer Boy,” “The Long Winter,” and “On the Banks of Plum Creek” are favourite Laura Ingalls Wilder books.

Q5: How did “Little House on the Prairie” become popular?

A5: In 1932, Harper & Brothers released Wilder’s expanded manuscript “Little House in the Big Woods” and popularised the series. Her daughter Rose Wilder Lane helped shape the series.

Conclusion

Finally, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s literary legacy shows her ability to integrate her pioneer roots into timeless stories. Wilder beautifully depicted her childhood struggles and triumphs in “Little House on the Prairie”. Readers of all ages relate to her trip from a log cabin in Pepin, Wisconsin, to the Dakota Territory in her stories. Beyond her literary talents, Wilder’s life inspired a TV series and a musical, ensuring her narrative continues to attract audiences and influence American writing.

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