The World of Little House

by Carolyn Strom Collins, Christina Wyss Eriksson, Deborah Maze (Illustrator)

Step back in time and experience all the wonders of Laura and her pioneer life. At the heart of this book are chapters revolving around Laura’s nine Little House books, each exploring in detail the stories, houses, landscapes, journeys, foods, activities, and crafts of her pioneer life. Meticulously researched, lovingly written and beautifully illustrated, The World of Little House is for anyone who has ever read and loved the Little House books.

Included in this glorious volume are
*floorplans of Laura's little houses
*a timeline showing events in Laura’s life and the United States
*a biography illustrated with historic photographs
*a family tree showing four generations of the Ingalls and Wilder families
*a guide to all the Little House sites and museums
*a selected bibliography of books about Laura and Little House
*reproductions of Garth Williams’ original covers
*over 150 full-color illustrations
*over 20 Little House recipes, crafts and activities
*embroidered satin ribbon marker

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Historical, Biography, Middle Grade, Crafts

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Becki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book expands on the Little House books - adding more historical perspective, floor plans of the homes, etc. It also includes recipes and crafts to do.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful for readers of the series - you get resources like family trees, timelines (making connections to U.S. history), maps, and floor plans that help clarify things. Some historical context is provided through articles on (for example) covered wagons, the mail, medicine, and dances. There are also recipes and directions for things to make. The book concludes with information on how to visit sites and a bibliography of about 25 items. Overall, this is an excellent introduction for kids on how to expand from just reading the stories to exploring the fascinating studies of history, geography, genealogy, and more.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this fun read with craft ideas and recipes as well as floor plans to all the Little Houses to anyone who is a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder!

[Kathryn Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful companion to the Little House books. I loved the many illustrations of the houses that Laura lived in.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: We know Laura Ingalls Wilder best through her nine Little House books, which tell the story of her life as a pioneer girl.

Premise/plot: This biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder would be perfect for upper elementary or middle schoolers. In some ways it's "just" a biography, but, in other ways it's so much more than that. One thing that I loved about it, for example, is the inclusion of HOUSE PLANS for all the houses Laura Ingalls Wilder lived! That plus the inclusion of crafts and recipes and extension activities really just made me happy.

For any reader who loves the book series or even the television series, this one is a fun and easy-going read.

My thoughts: While I didn't learn anything "new" about Laura Ingalls Wilder, I found it a fun, delightful presentation of what I already knew. The only book that truly was packed with I-didn't-know that information was the recently released PIONEER GIRL. This biography shares an intended audience range of the actual books. So one could go from the series to this biography smoothly. (I can't imagine a fourth or fifth grader picking up PIONEER GIRL and finishing it. Pioneer Girl just has SO MANY footnotes.)

Easy to recommend this one!

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society store in DeSmet, SD. Having read all the Little House books and visited both DeSmet and Mansfield, MO, this book was helpful in tying all of the pieces together. The background on prairie life along with the recipes and instructions to replicate food and items/events from Laura’s childhood were informative. Most beneficial of all to me as an adult, was the timeline at the end which put Laura’s story into perspective against the backdrop of the world. For some reason, Grace dying less than a month before Pearl Harbor got my attention. What the Ingalls family saw and experienced during their lifetimes is just incredible.

[Jennifer Fertig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for a quick understanding of all of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House book series. It gives a family history and genealogy, synopsis of each book, and includes drawings of the homes and drawn maps of the areas in which the family lived. It concludes with a year-by-year of historical events alongside the family’s history which I found helpful and interesting. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the series or to lovers of the series, and of course, I think anyone would appreciate the books themselves. Great living history books!

[Joy Kidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

For lovers of the Little House books, or lovers of beautifully illustrated books, or looking for old fashioned crafts for kids, this is such a winner. It would be fun to have alongside as you read through the books themselves, house by house, with visually winsome floor-plans.

The crafts go along with what Laura and her family were busy with at the time. The maps were helpful and I so appreciated the attractive timeline at back. Also included is a chapter on contemporary sites of each Little House, a bibliography, and even an index.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because I've read pretty exhaustively in this particular field, there wasn't a lot of new information for me. I liked the floor plans a lot, and also the family tree with pictures. I copied one recipe which I think I'll make at some point. But really, I flipped through in 15 minutes and was done. But it would be a nice introduction to this world for a newbie.

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute overview of the Little House books with beautiful illustrations by Garth Williams. Along with craft ideas and recipes, there are portraits of the Ingalls family. I liked the timeline of Laura's life along with other important historical events and the chapter on what happened to Laura after the books.

2019 - A book about an interest of yours

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe not a must have, but one you won't regret. I personally love the drawings about how each house was likely set up.

[Katie Zebrowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course I loved this book! Obsessed with everything Little House!

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great companion book to the Little House series for readers who want a bit more insight into Laura's real life. It's clearly well-researched and I enjoyed all the little tidbits of information beyond what you might glean from Laura's Wikipedia page, such as the fact that Laura was able to rush back to De Smet by train in 1902 to see Pa before he died, or the copy of the letter Laura wrote in response to the fan mail she received. I also really enjoyed the diagrams of all of her houses, which really drove home how tiny their one-room shantys were. The illustrations in general were beautiful and I found myself admiring the chapter-specific borders that frame many of the pages of this book.

4 stars because I'm not the target audience - a lot of the book is devoted to recipes and crafts from the book, such as recreating Laura's name cards and autograph album, which makes this better suited overall to younger readers (maybe middle school aged?) who are reading the books for the first time. I wish I had this book as a kid!

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book in years when I was teaching Little House on the Prairie to my fifth graders, but I must admit that I never read it cover to cover and just put it out for my students to look out during silent reading time. Now that my daughter is reading the series to my granddaughter who wants to see real pictures of Laura, I've actually read the book all the way through. This is a great companion book to have when reading the Little House books. It's got family trees, maps, and floor plans of all the houses. There's a short few page summary of each of the nine Little House books followed by historical information, crafts, and recipes that apply to each book. There's also information on Laura's later years and a timeline of what was happening in U.S. history throughout her life. The book is filled with photos and beautiful full color illustrations. I wish this book had been around when I was reading the series to my own children. It's a lovely treasure for Laura Ingalls Wilder fans.

[Erin O. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming and thoroughly researched. It was published in the olden days of 1996 so these women pounded the pavement, traveling across the country to visit every possible historical society and site connected to Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family.

This book is a celebration of the Little House books, NOT a corrective or woke critique of the books or their author. A 2022 reader might question why the authors of this book chose not to highlight: Pa’s attitude toward the American Indians, the repeated instances of child abuse, that time Pa performed in blackface…

If you’re looking to engage with the stories in that way, this is not the volume for you. But if you want to feel warm and nostalgic, revisit some pleasant memories from your childhood, and learn quite a bit as well, then by all means, pick up a copy at the library and enjoy.

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rated 5 stars because this is a delightful children's book, filled with beautiful artwork by Deborah Maze and Garth Williams, historical memorabilia, interesting tidbits about Laura, her family, and their life. The recipes are a great bonus, and would be wonderful for a homeschooling cooking project. There's a bibliography, a chapter that includes addresses and info on where you can visit homes and places that Laura lived, a 7-page timeline of what was happening in the world, besides, in Laura's life, and even the form letter that Laura used to respond to volumes of fan letters. A wonderful addition to anyone's library of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books and memorabilia.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some fantastic stuff in here, though almost half is just summaries of the books. I loved the timeline, house plans, and explanations of life at the time (medicine, etc). That said I'd say this is targeted at maybe a teen audience. My daughter loves the recipes and made me make the heart "cakes" which are really quite good...buckwheat pancakes and pulled molasses candy and molasses on snow candy are all on her list too. A great way to bring the books to life and would highly recommend for a homeschool or enrichment-at-home unit!

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all things Little House, and this does not disappoint.
Full of interesting information organized by titles of the books in the series. Beautifully illustrated with drawings, photographs, and floor plans of all of Laura's little houses. The book includes authentic recipes and crafts so young readers can try some of the same activities Laura enjoyed over a hundred years ago.
It also includes a useful index of historic events and events in Laura and her family's lives.

[JennLynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for the young Little House fan. A beautifully illustrated volume that summarizes the key people and events of each Little House book. A few craft and recipe ideas too. I especially appreciated the sketched layouts (based on research) of each house - helps to envision when reading the stories

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great for kids or for parents who want to use the book as an overview to introduce the series to their kids. The one nice thing for adults is that the recipes inside (there are a few, including one for Laura's gingerbread) are adapted for modern cooks, as opposed to the ones in the Little House Cookbook.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading details about how people lived in the past, and this book certainly gave the reader a lot of interesting bits and pieces. There were house layouts, family photos, recipes, descriptions on how various daily chores were done. It was a fun read--and the illustrations by Deborah Maze are detailed and wonderful.

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful companion to the Laura Ingalls Wilder book series. With floor plan drawings of the various houses Laura lived in, recipes for some of their foods, instructions for a few of their simple crafts, and information about their various towns, it's just great additional information, and fun to read.

[Jennielle Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the maps, house plans, and extra information about the time period. Excellent supplement! However we tried a few different recipes and all of them were flops. Crafts worked out well and we loved the pictures and diving deeper into the World of Little House!

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It gives you detail information on the different places LIW lived in at different points in her life, the blueprints on the different cabins and houses she lived in throughout her life, etc. A book all fans of LIW need in their collection.

[RebL · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little 6YO "Little House" lover loved this one as well. Well-researched and charmingly illustrated. Would recommend to fans of the books of any age.

[Stasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great addition to anyone's collection of Little House paraphernalia!!

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book for fans of Little House. I especially love the floor plans for all the different houses!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked the side stories on medicines used during the 1800s, education, and more.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never read any of the Little House books, so this book gave me an overview of all the books in the series, plus little snippets of history and prairie life.
Easy to read and very enjoyable.

[Becky Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would add this to our purchased collection!