A Family Collection: Life on the Farm and in the Country, Making a Home; the Ways of the World, a Woman's Role

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Large Hardcover with Dustjacket. 195 pages. Collected here for the First Time are Articles and Stories written by the author for the "Missouri Ruralist" (a widely-read farm paper) between 1911 and 1918.

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens

195 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1911

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

[Katya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the “Little House” books as a child. This collection of articles that Wilder wrote for rural newspapers is a revelation for me. Wilder had a larger life than I had imagined. I now have a better understanding of the times she lived in and her place in American history. She certainly was a strong advocate for women’s equality. Wilder writes beautifully about nature and landscape, and she speaks clearly about home and community. I loved this book!

[Cindy Dyson Eitelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Selected articles written by Laura Ingalls Wilder for The Missouri Ruralist newspaper. The idea of this collection was to let us know what happened in the time between settling on Rocky Ridge Farm as a farm wife and producing beloved classics of children's fiction. I can't say that the collection succeeded in its mission, but it did give us a glimpse of what she was really doing all those years. Farming is hard work, but living close to the earth is worth the work.

Some are instructive in a practical manner; some promote women's importance to the economy; all have moral overtones, but oh, so gentle is her prodding! And in that elegant, nineteenth century prose! (although they were written after the turn of the century)

Spring has come! The wild birds have been singing the glad tidings for several days, but the are such optimistic little souls that I always take their songs of spring with a grain of pessimism. The squirrels and chipmunks have been chattering to me, telling me the same news, but they are such cheerful busy-bodies tht I never believe quite all they say.

She continues with an exhortation to picnickers to clean up their litter, but you get the idea. She's working hard and enjoying her life. When you're doing what you want and living as you please, maybe you don't feel so great a need to write your life history. That came later, when she grew older.

One more quote:

I have a feeling that childhood has been robbed of a great deal of its joys by taking away its belief in wonderful, mystic things, in fairies and all their kin... A young friend with whom I talked the other day said that life was so "much more interesting" to her since she "began to look below the surface of things and see what what beneath." There are deeps beyond deeps in the life of this wonderful world of ours. Let's help the children to see them....

[Grandpa Jud · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this series of articles written by Laura Wilder for the Missouri Ruralist, a publication for farm families, Laura shows herself to be well-spoken, intelligent, observant, informed of the issues of her time, progressive, and a firm believer in women's rights and the equality of the marriage partnership between man and woman.

It is not surprising that the woman capable of writing these articles would later write the widely acclaimed "Little House" books.

[Kaylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odd assortment of writings, most written by Laura as newspaper articles, but with a few editorials and letters from readers in the mix. Having just moved to the Ozarks I connected with the location and landscape she spoke of, endearing the writing to me. Instead of being arranged topically and chronologically within each topic, I think I would have preferred to read them all chronologically for more variety.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was interesting to learn more about LIW’s life on the farm through her own words.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is mostly a collection of articles that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote. They are interesting to read. But the topics get a little repititve.

[A.K. Frailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder's writing but now I love the woman behind the stories. She had a unique combination of sensitivity and good sense which always makes the world a better place.