Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) gained fame with autobiographical writing about growing up as an American pioneer. She traveled from state to state with her family, and so didn’t experience conventional schooling. She evidently didn’t need it; even though she was self-taught, she managed to get her teaching certificate at the age of fifteen. Shortly after she married and helped her husband work the farm that they lived on. It wasn’t until the 1920s that Wilder got encouragement from her daughter Rose as well as the time that she needed to start writing.
The first of the autobiographical ”Little House” books, Little House in the Big Woods, was published in 1931. The best known of the series, Little House on the Prairie, was published a few years later. Wilder’s tales immediately appealed to readers of all ages. Her daughter Rose was said to have taken a fairly aggressive hand in making Laura’s books the eminently readable works of children’s literature that they were. The family, who had lost nearly everything in the early years of the Depression, became very wealthy indeed. How much Rose contributed to them has always been a matter of controversy. But in the end what matters is that they’ve been beloved books for generations.
Major Works
- Little House on the Prairie Series
- A Little House Traveler:
Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Journeys Across America
Biographies about Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography by William Anderson
- Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life by Pamela Smith Hill
- Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Donald Zochert
More Information
Visit Laura Ingalls Wilder’s homes and museums
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum - Mansfield, MO
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum - Walnut Grove, MN
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society - De Smet, SD
- Wilder Homstead - Malone, NY
Laura Ingalls Wilder Quotes
“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”
“As you read my stories of long ago I hope you will remember that things truly worthwhile and that will give you happiness are the same now as they were then. It is not the things you have that make you happy. It is love and kindness and helping each other and just plain being good.”
“The only stupid thing about words is the spelling of them.”
“Courage and kindness, loyalty, truth, and helpfulness are always the same and always needed.”
