Happy birthday to beloved American author Laura Ingalls Wilder, best known for her semi-autobiographical Little House series. Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7, 1867, in Pepin County, Wisconsin. Her novels focus on her childhood, her family and their life as settlers and pioneers after the American Civil War.
Little House Series in Order
1. Little House in the Big Woods
2. Little House on the Prairie
3. Farmer Boy
4. On the Banks of Plum Creek
5. By the Shores of Silver Lake
6. The Long Winter
7. Little Town on the Prairie
8. These Happy Golden Years
9. The First Four Years
Next Steps
Curious about the real-life Laura Ingalls Wilder? Read The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, which span a period of sixty years. Try Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography to learn more about the sixteen years the Ingalls family traveled across the Midwest, plus see photographs, newspapers and more.
If you loved the illustrations of the Little House books, check out The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Frontier Landscapes That Inspired the Little House Books. Read The Wilder Life to hear a firsthand account of one woman's journey to experience life as the Ingalls did. Find daily inspiration in The Little House Book of Wisdom.
Love reading about how books came to fruition? Pick up Libertarians on the Prairie to learn about Laura's relationship with her daughter Rose, who encouraged her mother to write; Rose was a founder of the American Libertarian movement and a journalist in her own right. If you're interested in the history that happened alongside Laura's life, try Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Check out Arts & Literature databases, opens a new window like NoveList and Literature Research Center.
Watch episodes of Little House on the Prairie, opens a new window, which aired on television from 1974-1983; the series starred Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon.
Travel Plans
Time for a road trip? Visit places where Laura Ingalls lived.
- Visit Laura's birthplace, opens a new window in Wisconsin.
- Visit De Smet, SD, opens a new window to see where Laura lived in By the Shores of Silver Lake.
- Visit Laura's home, opens a new window where the books were written in Missouri.
- Visit the Laura Ingall's museum, opens a new window in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.
- Check out LittleHouseonthePrairie.com, opens a new window for even more places to visit!
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