Dear Laura: Letters from Children to Laura Ingalls Wilder

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

A collection of children's letters from the 1930s through the 1950s sent to Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the nine "Little House" books

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens

152 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1996

About the author

Ingalls wrote a series of historical fiction books for children based on her childhood growing up in a pioneer family. She also wrote a regular newspaper column and kept a diary as an adult moving from South Dakota to Missouri, the latter of which has been published as a book.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letters, cards, and drawings from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s youngest fans. These happy greetings, letters of friendship, birthday wishes, and questions for the author are a lovely tribute to an author whom many readers viewed as a personal and close friend. Each letter writer shares a bit about themselves, knowingly or unknowingly, as they tell which book they’ve read, who their favorite character is, or how they relate to Laura’s stories. It’s a heartwarming testimonial to a much-loved author who is still held dear by many yet today.

[Gail DiVico · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very sweet compilation of letters written to Laura Ingalls Wilder from the 1930's through the 1950's. It brought back many nice childhood memories of reading all her books; so much so that I started reading one again and found an old book I had kept with three more of them. The letters were charming, 30 of them were printed as is in the children's own handwriting. The best part was the warmth and care Laura put into answering these letters which she did, each and every one until rheumatism kept her from doing so. Her philosophy about living life will never be out of style and neither will her books! Great read for Little House Fans everywhere!

[Linds · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of children’s letters written in the 1940’s to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Charming.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

As you must know by now, I love anything related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. So when I saw this book, I had to get it! Dear Laura is a collection of letters by readers sent to Laura, with drawings, poems, etc. It is really very sweet to read. It won't teach you much but it will bring smiles. I even laughed out loud at one of the letters by a child who was wishing Laura a happy 85th birthday, and hoping he could take away her years as it's rubbish to be 85 according to him. They're all absolute darlings in their letters.

I found it great to read as I remember vividly how I felt at their age reading Laura's books, wishing I could write to her myself. I still get this feeling when I read the books even as an adult, wishing I lived at the time period and that Laura was my friend. I also liked all the stories about how teachers read the books to their classes and led their pupils to love the series - I'm a teacher myself albeit not working at the moment, so I have a personal connection to teaching.

If you're a Laura fan, you need this book.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of how much I love these books.

Also, kids in the 40s and 50s had much better handwriting than the average kid today.

[Kelly]

She is of my favorite authors, but this book is letters TO her rather than her telling life stories to her readers.

I love that even 70 or so years ago readers were touched enough by the same stories I read as a child and reached out to Mrs. Wilder to tell her how much they enjoyed reading her memories.

This is not a life-changing book, but is a gentle reminder that even simple stories, when told well, can impact large audiences for generations.

[Dolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure.

Would have loved to see some of Laura's responses included (I saw some when visiting Little House sites in Minnesota and South Dakota - they were wonderful).

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I love letters. I found this in a Little Free Library in Greenwood, Indiana. I cried at the end.

[Laura Petto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb book. Top notch, it's really one that I want to own.

[Lauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing new, but it's fun to read what school kids thought Laura would want to know about them.