Little House Reader, A

by Laura Ingalls Wilder, William Anderson (Editor)

Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose Little House books have delighted generations of readers, was a writer long before she ever recorded the adventures of her pioneer girlhood. She first began experimenting with words as a young girl in Dakota Territory, writing poetry about her beloved prairies, her sister Mary, and her courtship with Almanzo Wilder. Eventually, Laura and Almanzo married and settled in the Ozark Mountains, where Laura became a widely known and well-respected journalist, penning her thoughts on farming and the life of a farmwife. She also wrote private sketches about her family, politics, nature, and eternity. Noted author and Little House historian William Anderson has delved deeply into the Ingalls and Wilder papers and has put together a unique medley of Laura's writings from the time before her Little House books. Culled mostly from fragile and yellowed pieces of paper, this moving collection offers a window into Laura's day-to-day life and experiences, giving us a richer understanding of the woman and writer famed for her Little House books. Even before she wrote the Little House books, Laura Ingalls Wilder was an avid writer. She wrote both newspaper and magazine articles and spent many evenings on Rocky Ridge Farm jotting down her thoughts and memories. Noted Little House historian William Anderson has compiled these writings, some never before published, into a moving collection touching on everything from family and farm life to time and eternity. Both a testimonial and a tribute, this collection offers us a richer understanding of the woman and writer famed for her Little House books.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Classics, Biography, Historical, Memoir

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

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

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun - I never realized that Laura wrote poetry all her life. Or that Mary also was a talented writer and that was one more dream shot down when she went blind. She also still wrote her entire life, using her lined paper and braille, which Ma then wrote out by hand. I liked reading essays and diaries and poems from Ma, Pa, Laura, Mary, Carrie, Grace and Rose, and learning that Ma's family had a traveling letter than went on for three generations, all around the country. I liked hearing Pa's voice, which seemed different than Laura's view of it. And that he would take care of her when she was sick, letting Ma rest and take care of herself. Laura's love poetry during her engagement was sweet. Nothing was really amazing, but that it exists as another pov to the series is neat.

[Seka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun, light read and it gave more insight to Laura Ingalls Wilder and her background, her values, and the way she was throughout her life. I enjoyed learning about all different aspects of her life growing up on the prairie farm (actually quite a few different ones as they moved around a bit) and how she started her own family and her own ranch. I loved even the interesting details that were included like how long it took her and Almanzo to complete the build of their home and what she enjoyed doing on her homestead most, etc. I really liked the poetry included throughout the book as well. If you’re into Little House and the Prairie and you like to know some details and history behind the wonderful Ingalls family, then you’d probably enjoy reading this. You’d probably enjoy it if you’re into homesteading or farm life as well.

[Leeanne G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has more than just Laura Ingalls Wilder's writings but also includes some of the writings of her daughter Rose, her sisters and her parents.

Several articles that Laura wrote for The Missouri Ruralist and other newspapers over the years are included. There are many poems by Laura, Mary and Caroline that I actually enjoyed. I am not a big fan of poetry but I liked several of the ones in this book. I liked Mary Ingalls' poems the best. She had a gift for writing, like her younger sister.

I loved learning more about farm woman in the 18-1900's and hearing Laura's views on politics, feminism, and her morals.

Laura really was a very interesting person. I never tire of learning more about her. She had such an long, interesting life that I always learn something new (usually lots) from every book I read about her. This book included lots of new information on Laura's life after they moved to Mansfield and about the town itself.

[colleen bucco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I say that any one that love books about Laura Ingalls wilder is going want to read this one because in it there are a lot of her poems that you do not even knew she wrote and also there are poems from Mary in it too

[Brittany R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of Laura’s pre-Little House writing has been skillfully edited by William Anderson who interspersed very relevant and interesting tidbits between the pieces. The entire collection provides a great peek into Laura’s writing life but also her life after the Little House books ended. (Did you follow that? Written before the Little House books, these pieces share what Laura’s post-Little House life was like.)

One thing that stood out to me was how wise Laura was and how capable she was as a writer sharing her wisdom through stories. Laura was also humble about this (and her success in general). When asked about her success, Laura said, “I was amazed because I didn’t know how to write.” Ahh, our humble, loveable Laura was really humble in real life. This makes me unspeakably happy!

One of the columns in the book is an account of the building and finishing of Laura’s dream house at Rocky Ridge Farm. What captivated me about this was her attention to detail and how contemporary she seemed. Laura’s writing is always clear and forthright, but her article is contemporary for a reason beyond that–in today’s world of shelter blogs, it’s interesting to see that Laura was as thoughtful about the details as many men and women are today.

Again, Laura sounds relatively modern in her column about how farm wives can make extra cash by hosting summer boarders in their homes. That’s not the part that sounds modern; in fact, the entire concept of boarders is outdated. But she spoke of how visitors from the city would pay well for the breath of fresh air and fresh food from the farm, not dishes and ingredients brought from the city. My mind immediately went to things like farm-to-table restaurants, backyard square foot gardens, farmers’ markets and more.

Overall, this was a great, well-edited collection. William definitely knows Laura and understands her in a way that most people don’t. He connected the various phases of Laura’s pre-Little House writing life with well-researched and well-reasoned commentary on Laura’s life and motives. I would highly recommend this book to any Laura lovers.

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the selections in this book, however, I think I would have enjoyed then more if they had been put in chronologically. Reading the same topic repeately in a row became monotonous.
Some favorite highlights:
Our ideal home should be made by a man and woman together
It takes more than the inside of the house to make a pleasant home
Each individual has a share in making the atmosphere of the home what it is, but the mother can mold it more to her wishes
After all, a vacation is not a matter of place or time. We can take a wonderful vacation in spirit, even though we are obliged to stay home, if we only drop our burdens from our minds for a while. But no amount of travel will give us rest and recreation if we carry our work and worries with us.
Why should we need extra time in which to enjoy ourselves? If we expect to enjoy this life, we will have to learn to be joyful in all of it, not just at stated intervals when we get time or when we have nothing else to do.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,"...and it makes Jill also very dull indeed; but all play and no work makes hoboes of us.
Vices are simply overworked virtues.

[Mary Pellecchia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains early writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder as well as contributions from her mother, father, sisters, and daughter. (I guess Almanzo was more of a talker.) I was impressed by how everyone in this family wrote poetry. Not deathless stuff, Shakespeare can rest easy, but several levels above greeting-card doggerel. They were a literate and literary people, defying the stereotype of the illiterate hillbilly pioneer. I was also consoled by the information that Laura re-wrote "Little House in the Big Woods" twelve times. Also most impressive were her newspaper articles about the life of the farm wife. She found positive ways to look at everything, even what some would consider backbreaking drudgery. I think that was the key to how the pioneers survived and prevailed over challenges in their lives--they found ways to be grateful every day, and built on that. This is a valuable addition to the Little House archive, and I would definitely recommend it to fans.

[Caroline Herfindahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the articles and essays and poems by Laura Ingalls Wilder (and a few pieces written by other family) to be quite interesting and a glimpse into the author as a person, mother, wife, and sister. I enjoyed Anderson's commentary finding it helpful and interesting and adept at connecting the selected pieces by LIW. It made me however kind of wish to read and look at her papers and writings on my own and in my own context. There are so many other pieces of her writing out there - a volume (or multi volume set) of all of her various writing in a chronology would be an interesting thing to look at and read.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclosure: I love Laura Ingals Wilder's works, so everything about her or even within the genre is examined against her. With that said, I was disappointed in this book. Scattered and not well organized I was dismayed at the research methodology in its construction. There were literally etire sections of the book that could be discarded.

With that said it was a plethora of information regarding the Wilder and Ingals family. It makes for an excellent research well, if not so poorly organized and with little to no indexing.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much out there on the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but not on her unpublished pieces or the writing life of her other family members - until this collection. Bill Anderson has gathered precious samples of Laura's early essays and poems, her parents' and sisters' writings, and some of daughter Rose Wilder Lane's.

[Zoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I prefer not to nit-pick every detail of the beloved Ingalls' family members' lives. P.S. Laura's poetry - yikes! But my biggest disappointment about this book was that it did NOT reveal how Laura and her family went to the bathroom or how they dealt with menstruation: my two enduring questions about the Little House series.

[Yaaresse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit of a LIW fan girl in my youth. That seems a little strange to say now that I know a lot more about her personal life and leanings. Anyway, I recall I found this is a small bookshop while traveling and was all excited that there was more Little House material to be read. It's a charming book, and I enjoyed being taken back to my childhood love of the Little House books.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, quick read about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her writing. The included writings from LIW's family members - Pa, Ma, Mary, Carrie and Grace - were very interesting. I was also impressed by the quality of Mary's poems and her graceful acceptance of her blindness.

Photos are scattered throughout the book and I think a couple of them were new to me.

Good book if you are a big LIW fan. :)

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated the insight this book gave me into the remarkable life of Laura and the achievement of her books.

Her other writing isn't as exciting as the Little House series so don't expect to 'hear' Laura when you read this.

[Colette! · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for those of us who read the "Little House" series like it's the Bible. Laura's views on farming, life, and the ways of the world are an incredible insight into the works of the author.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a collection of poems ans stories written by Laural wilder and her famioly showing history and facts surrounding the stories on little house on the prairie with information about the family. includes poems written in Laura's youth

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of writing by Laura Ingalls Wilder, from childhood to adulthood, as well as a few pieces by other family members. Includes a number of photos not seen in other books. Good for the Laura Ingalls Widler fans!

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just because I enjoyed the Little House so much, I was curious about the rest of Laura Ingalls Wilder's life. This was an interesting book of her writings. While it didn't contain as many details about her later life, it was still interesting to read her thoughts on a wide variety of subjects.

[H.L. Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Little House books in grade school and again as a teenager when my mother bought them for me. A Little House Reader shows insight to Laura's life that compliments her series. Her attitudes and opinions on women and homemaking are brilliant.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was interesting, particularly the letters and diary entries by Laura and her family.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Maybe some funny stories?

[Keli Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK. I wanted to like it more than I did. It got so tedious in parts.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore the poems. It is so good!!!!

[Sheryl Sato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Works by Laura Ingalls Wilder and various family members, including amazing poetry and beautiful reflections on the struggles and joys of farming and pioneering life.