Going West

My First Little House Books

by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Renée Graef

It’s a fond good-bye to the Big Woods as Laura and her family pack up the covered wagon and begin their journey westward to the prairie in this latest addition to the best-selling My First Little House Books series. RenÉe Graef’s enchanting full-color illustrations, inspired by Garth Williams’s classic artwork, bring Laura and her family lovingly to life in this seventh title in the My First Little House Books series, picture books adapted from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved storybooks.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Family, Historical, Fiction, Classics

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Laura Ingalls Wilder was an American author, journalist, and educator whose "Little House" series transformed the arduous reality of the American frontier into a foundational pillar of children's literature. Born in the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin to Charles and Caroline Ingalls, Laura’s childhood was a nomadic journey through the heart of a shifting nation. Her family moved across Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, and the Dakota Territory—often staying just ahead of legal evictions or chasing the promise of fertile soil. These years were marked by extreme hardship, including the "Hard Winter" of 1880–81 in De Smet, South Dakota, where the family survived near-starvation. Despite the struggle, these experiences provided the raw material for her eight-volume record of pioneer life, a series that has since been translated into over forty languages.
Before becoming a world-renowned novelist in her sixties, Wilder lived several distinct lives. At fifteen, she became a teacher in one-room prairie schools, a job she took primarily to support her family financially. In 1885, she married Almanzo Wilder, beginning a partnership that endured fire, paralysis from diphtheria, and the heartbreaking loss of an infant son. These trials eventually led them to Mansfield, Missouri, where they established Rocky Ridge Farm. It was here that Laura developed her voice as a professional writer, serving as a columnist and editor for the Missouri Ruralist for over a decade.
The Great Depression and the 1929 stock market crash wiped out the Wilders’ savings, providing the ultimate catalyst for Laura to pen her memoirs. Her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane—a successful author in her own right—encouraged her mother to adapt her autobiography, Pioneer Girl, into a format more suitable for children. This resulted in a complex and often rocky literary collaboration; while Lane provided the professional "style," Wilder provided the "substance" and narrative heart. The first book, Little House in the Big Woods, was published in 1932 when Laura was sixty-five.
Wilder’s legacy is a blend of immense literary success and modern historical scrutiny. While her books remain staples in classrooms for their vivid descriptions of 19th-century domestic life, her portrayals of Native Americans and African Americans have led to recent reevaluations. In 2018, the American Library Association renamed the "Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal" to the "Children's Literature Legacy Award" to reflect these evolving cultural sensitivities. Nonetheless, Wilder remains a monumental figure in American letters, a woman who successfully "saved the American soul" by documenting the grit, faith, and unyielding persistence of the pioneer spirit.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Many people had come to live in the Big Woods. Almost every day Laura and Mary stopped their playing to look in surprise at a wagon slowly creaking by."

Laura, Mary, Carrie, Ma and Pa all live in a wonderfully snug cabin in the Big Woods of Wisconsin but her Pa's feet are itching to go.

He wants to live somewhere where there aren't any neighbors - where he could build his own cabin and adventure in the wilds. And so the family's grand journey begins.

"Pa made hickory bows and fastened them to the wagon. Ma helped him stretch a white canvas over the bows to make a covered wagon for the family to travel in."

Little does Laura know, this is the beginning of her grandest adventure!

This was a sweet tale of goodbyes and new adventures.

As always, I love how this story shows all the things that Laura's family needed to do to pack up for such a long journey and how they prepared for it as well.

As an adult, it was bittersweet to see Laura and her family saying goodbye to all of their Wisconsin family members. When I was a child, I didn't quite grasp how this could very well be a "goodbye forever" sort of deal since communication was not nearly as strong as it is now.

I did really like the hopeful tone at the end - with the Ingalls family being all cozied up and ready for the next phase of their life.

"... Laura felt happy knowing they were on their way to another little house, a little house on the Western prairie."

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of a family leaving home to start a new life - beautiful art. Remember this a TV show when I was a little boy; I don't think I appreciated it much back then (not enough gunfights). Now I can appreciate that there were lots of people who risked everything to try to find a new way of life.

[Steve Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

*We wrapped up our unit with a reading of this story. Again, it was well liked by my class and very approachable to them in terms of content and connection. We read it while working very hard on first person narratives of a pioneer-inspired character. This story really does the trick in pushing their creative writing further. This is a very good read!


This is incorporated into our reading curriculum during our pioneer unit. This does a fantastic job of telling a short narrative of the anxieties, struggles, and potential successes that pioneers faced in making the westward journey. We teach about the history of this time, but also teach narrative writing at the same time in this unit, so this serves two purposes wonderfully. One of my favorite units in our curriculum currently.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these sweet introductions to the Little House chapter books. The illustrations are simple but lovely.

[Angela Early · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of many of the My First Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, adapted for the ages 3 – 8. It very simply depicts the story of Laura and her family preparing to leave the big woods of Wisconsin and travel west in their covered wagon. It has amazingly vivid illustrations that appeal to all ages.
What I love best about this book is the way it easily introduces a new way of life to this young age group. The readers can identify with Laura, being a young person herself. This is most likely the first introduction young readers have had to the ways of life during this time period. Covered wagons and petticoats are most likely foreign concepts to them.
This book also emphasizes the importance of family. All of the members work together to get ready for the journey west. I just love how my four year old daughter already talks about Ma, Pa, Mary, Carrie, and Laura. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series with her and my son.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more I read these books the more I fall in love with them! My 2 year old granddaughter and my two special needs teenage sons even like them! They are simple enough to not loose young readers-listeners BUT not loose the true stories that Laura Wilder wanted to bring out in her stories. And the illustrations are so very good! (Except the fact that in each book they have Laura's eyes as blue and they were brown...but hey, that's just a little fact.) This story talks about the Ingallas family leaving the little house in the woods, and written so well that I had tears in my eyes and my adult daughter told me with her eyes kind of teared up too... "It would have been so sad to live back then and to move...knowing you would probably never see your family again...no grandma, no grandpa, etc." Again written for a young child but moving for us adults...as Little House always has been!

[Randee Bontrager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going West by Laura Ingalls Wilder is an excellent book to read. This book interested me because each page included large text and didn't have many words on each page. The illustrations were amazing because it let the readers know what is happening. Going West is about a little girl and her family traveling by Wagon from Wisconsin to the West. It talks about their journey and how it is different to travel now then it was back then.

The intended audience for this book would be for 3rd or 4th graders. For an elementary classroom you can have the students bring in their grandparents and have their grandparents talk about how they traveled when they were little and how it is different today.

[Kim♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much to my delight, my boys who are five and two absolutely love these books! The "My First Little House" series takes stories out of the original little house books and illustrates them beautifully. My boys love to point out each family member and my five year old asks lots of questions. These books have become a wonderful way to introduce history and "the simple life" to my little ones. These books have great family values. :)

[Hannah Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Little House on the Prairie series is one of my favorites so I love that they made younger reader versions of the series. I love how they don’t have to read the whole chapter books but still get to understand the story. The illustrations are beautiful and make it seem like you are there right along with Laura. I could see myself reading this to my own classroom some day.


Genre: historical fiction
Grade range: K-2

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It is the "Little House" books series but for younger readers. Although sometimes the comments made about Native Americans are not politically correct, I think it is still a great point of discussion on how our thinking has changed and we are more careful how we speak of people who are different from us.

[Brigid · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this after we read A Little Prairie House and I wish we had read it first as it talks about the house in the big woods in Minnesota and getting ready to to move to the Great Plains. It raised some good questions from my daughter about why they moved and how it feels to move away from family.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:
All the books in this series are beautiful.
Great intro to pioneer life, but may not connect to preschoolers with no frame of reference.
Son read them after he first learned to read.
Excerpted from Wilder's actual books.

[Andrea Flory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for grades k-2, 3-4. It gives children a glimpse of what children like Laura had to do when they left there homes and say good bye to families that they might never see again. It's a good book to have in a classroom. The genre is biography.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series that captured my heart years ago. I have never wavered in my love for all things Little House. Laura Ingalls Wilder captured a time in this country that was simpler and charming.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/27/16 Read with Naomi & Arielle.
12/4/17 Read with Naomi.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura and her family say goodbye to the Big Woods and their family and head out in a covered wagon.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura and her family live in the woods in Wisconsin. One night, her father told her mother that he was going to move their family to the west, where there are less people, no trees, and tall, thick grass. So, they gathered their belongings, sold their home, and packed up their wagon. When it was finally time to go, they said their goodbyes and headed west toward their new home on the Western prairie.

This book (and other books in the series) might best be used at the early elementary level. It would be great to use during a pioneer or Westward expansion unit. Additionally, it would be a great mentor text for teaching plot.

[June Brault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade
Genre: Historical Fiction

This book is will help the children see what Laura had to do when they had to leave their homes and say good bye to people that they will never see again. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and it makes feel like I am right there with Laura in the story.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s kind of like “Wagon Wheels.”

[J.]

AR 3.6

[Svetlana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dont understand why he wanted them to leave

[Miss Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming illustrations to accompany the text.

3.5 stars

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to introduce young readers to the Little House books.

[Kimberlydaniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Historical Fiction Copy right 1995
I own several Laura Ingalls Wilder books and my students really enjoy them read aloud. I found this one in our school library because I though "going west" would be a good addition to historical fiction as it represents an american family struggling in hard times. I am not sure I would use it as a read aloud ( I currently use a christmas story from LIW in my classroom)but I would definately be sure to have it as a book in my library.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

picture resource of the little house on the prairie one small chapter

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great segmented series that breaks out smaller stories from the series. This series is a great introduction to the Laura Ingalls Wilder series to move the young reader onto once they are ready.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple storybook to begin discussion of covered-wagons and moving West. Good introduction to Little House books to come.

[Paige Bluemel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my class and they enjoyed it. I also loved reading it as well!

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ingallses pack up and head on their ill-considered trip to Kansas. One to think of when talking about moving away with young children.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the illustrations; it's so fun to see Laura and her family in these colorful pictures.