Prairie Girl: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder

by William Anderson, Renée Graef (Illustrator)

Laura Ingalls Wilder's fans know her best as "half-pint," America's spirited pioneer girl who wrote about her childhood growing up on the prairie in the late 1800s. Now noted Wilder historian William Anderson takes us beyond the Little House books and tells us about the real events that inspired Laura's stories, like the time that thousands of grasshoppers ate the Ingallses' crops. He also includes the experiences that Laura did not write about, such as the two years the family spent in Burr Oak, Iowa, running a hotel. Readers will also learn about the life Laura led with her husband, Almanzo, and their daughter, Rose, after the Little House books end. Renée Graef's detailed artwork beautifully illustrates this engaging, accessible biography of one of America's favorite authors.
About the Author
William Anderson has written many books of history, biography, and travel. As a teacher, he has often taught the books of Mark Twain, and he visited Twain's homesites while researching this book. He is also the author of the picture-book biography Pioneer The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Laura Ingalls A Biography. Mr. Anderson lives and writes in Michigan.

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

74 pages, Library Binding

First published February 1, 2004

About the author

William Anderson is an American author, historian and lecturer. He is a specialist in the subject of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her times.

His interest in American frontier began after reading Little House on the Prairie. He is a director of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum in Mansfield, Missouri, and he lives and works as a teacher in Michigan.

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Sheri]

A chronological biography of Laura's life from childhood to beloved author, written in an easy to read story style.

I like that the main interest points of her life are covered, with matter-of-fact highs and lows, and that the writing focuses on Laura as a person, with a descriptive look at her personality.

This makes for a nice recap for adults who've read the Little House series, and it could be used to gauge interest in the series in student readers without spoiling the charm of Laura's writing or Garth William's illustrations.

[Jennifer Spiegel]

I just read this aloud to my kids, since we're "Little House" TV show freaks. My third grader is into the books, too, so she was kinda riveted (not so with the second grader). This short bio was good for a rainy day, albeit a little too glowing--but that's okay. I'm secretly interested in the private dark thoughts of this Laura woman.

There were, however, some interesting revelations!
--Laura REALLY did call Almanzo "Manly." What's with that????? You know it's gotta be good.
--When Laura was a kid and her family was living in town, running a hotel and being poor, an old lady offered to adopt Laura. This, the lady thought, would help the family out. Not a bad idea? Ma and Pa turned down the offer.
--Laura had the word "obey" removed from her wedding vows! This would be pretty radical back then!


Right now, my family is--we really are freaks--in the 8th season of the TV show, and it's mostly jumped the shark. Still, there's this sense that this Laura Ingalls Wilder was a handful. I think I'd like her.

[Kristin]

On its own, the book isn't amazing, but I did enjoy it. It's nowhere near as engaging as Laura Ingalls Wilder's own writing, but it is a very simple and approachable biography for a child and a great introduction to her biography for an adult. It very straightforwardly addresses tragic events (like the deaths of Laura's infant brother and later her infant son), which seemed to go over well for my daughter. It helped put the fiction books into context for me and understand how Laura herself could say the "stories" were "true" without being works of nonfiction, and I learned a lot about her adult life. It seems strange, in a way, to think of adult Laura owing a car -- in my mind she's always the little girl in the covered wagon or the teen in a buggy with Almanzo, her suitor.
In any case, I got an overall positive feeling from the book and now I'm interested in reading a biography of hers written for adults rather than children.

[Barbara Strickland]

Very, very interesting

This is not fiction. This book is a serious telling of the life of what appears to be an incredible young lady from an incredible family. Hardships are mentioned not for pity, but to explain life and how the only way to survive was by getting on with it. A humbling experience.

[Rashidul]

An inspiring and heartwarming story of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life, from her pioneer childhood to her legacy as a beloved author. Vivid, engaging, and perfect for history and literature fans!

[Barb Bailey]

Laura Ingalls Wilder's fans know her best as "half-pint," America's spirited pioneer girl who wrote about her childhood growing up on the prairie in the late 1800s.
The author takes us beyond the Little House books and tells us about the real events that inspired Laura's stories, like the time that thousands of grasshoppers ate the Ingallses' crops. He also includes the experiences that Laura did not write about, such as the two years the family spent in Burr Oak, Iowa, running a hotel. Readers will also learn about the life Laura led with her husband, Almanzo, and their daughter, Rose, after the Little House books end.
Renée Graef's detailed artwork beautifully illustrates this engaging, accessible biography of one of America's favorite authors.

[Sharon]

I brought this home for my daughter, Naomi, to read for her schoolwork. She read it (rather quickly in my opinion) and began telling me about what she learned of Laura's life. So, I decided to sit down with Naomi and read it aloud together - it truly is a wonderful, concise biography of the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Naomi especially appreciated how Laura would take time to write responses to the children who were fond of her books and how she continued to write books when her readers requested "more of her story". In addition to mapping a road trip to Seattle, Naomi is now planning a "Laura Ingalls Wilder" road trip to visit all the towns mentioned within her books. Dreaming of unlimited time and money to road-trip across this country of ours...

[Trista]

This was a great biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I thought that I knew everything there was to know about her but I was wrong! I was able to go to Rocky Ridge and see her former home as well as the home Rose had built for her parents. It was so inspiring to be in her actual kitchen and living room.

[Susan O]

Very little new information if you have read anything about Wilder beyond her children's book series. There is some information about her daughter Rose. This would make a good companion book to the series for a young reader who want to know more, but it is mostly a summary of the books.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)]

Simple biography about the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and told in a manner similar to her books. Wow! Never realized how much she and her family moved about during her life. Kind of amazing.

[Jodie]

A beautifully illustrated book about a fascinating time in American history. I have been in love with Laura Ingalls Wilder since I was a kid and that has never faultered.

[Meg]

This is really great mini-biography of Laura for kids. It's an easy read and has lots of good information about her life.

['jean]

It was interesting to read the real life versus the fiction books. Language is written for a child but enjoyable for me. She seemed like a lovely person.

[Angie]

Love the book! Gave some insight into the life of Laura that went beyond "Little House".

[Mary]

I LOVE Prairie Girl

I have always loved the Little House Books and Laura Ingalls Wilder. It has been a while since
I've read her books, and now I'm going to read them for the first time on my Kindle. I enjoyed reading Prairie Girl so much. Like the author, I became acquainted with the Little House books in school when one of my favorite teachers - Miss Brown - read them aloud to class. I enjoyed it so much that I bought the books and read along while Miss Brown read it to class. I've read other books about the Ingalls family, and there are other books out there to read as well. Now there are books authored by the actors who played the characters in the TV show also. I look forward to reading them, too. I always thought there should be a TV show, and in 1974, I got my wish. I loved Little House, the books, Little House, the TV show, and everything Little House. Now I wish there were a movie about Laura, Almanzo, and Rose at Rocky Ridge. I know there are Rocky Ridge books, too. I can wish - and maybe it will come true. We need more TV shows with good values on TV once again. In the meantime, if you're a Little House fan, read Little House books, Rose Wilder Lane's books, and other books about the Ingalls family that are available to read. I recommend these books to kids of ages - 8 to adult big kids too.

[Allie Norton-McAnly]

Decent biography to read at this time when I am going through a Little House phase. In my defense two excerpts of her books are part of the curriculum and I always love knowing more about a topic when I teach it. It must have been crazy for Laura live through pioneer days and then cars and electricity came out. I think about that sometimes. Also the order of the books always confused me but this helped me out.

[LeeAnn Hardeman]

Disappointed

I thought this book would offer stories about the Wilders not found in the Little House books, and it did have a few, it is mostly a review of the material written in that series.

[Jean Myers]

Prairie girl

I remember reading all of her books when I was in school and enjoyed them immensely. A few years ago my brother and I went to DeSmet to visit the invalid homestead and took the tour many find memories

[Rachel]

Perfect for young fans of Laura Ingalls Willder. Though I was surprised that it told about Freddie. I remember learning about him from an old biography my grandmother had on Laura that was from the 70’s. It wasn’t as geared towards younger fans as this.

[Cheri Pierson Yecke]

Renee Graff and Willaim Anderson paired up to make a wonderful version of Laura's story. Concise, well-written, and with adorable illustrations, I recommend this book as yet anbother solid addition to a Laura Ingalls Wilder library.

[Sharon Buxton]

B. children's, grade 4, historical fiction, biography, mostly a simplified rehash of Wilder's books w/o the prose

[Heather]

Written very much in the style of Little House on the Prairie. Not what I expected and thus a little disappointing.

[Rosemary Mahn]

Little House...The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Very fast read. Enjoyed the book as much as when I was a child. My children were lucky to see Little House on tv.

[Mary Lisic]

Great!

This is easy to read biography that highlights Laura's travels and her different homes. I can't wait to visit her Rocky Ridge farm.

[Laura Byrne]

Fun read

Fun read about the Ingells and Wilders. Have been interested with this family. LIW and her daughter Rose are easy to read.

[Linda Curley]

Cliff notes of Laura Ingalls books

If you have read the Little House book series, dont waste your time. This is basically a short timeline review of Lauras life.

[Amanda]

Interesting

[Lauren Merrill]

I was looking for a detailed biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. This was not it.

[Penny Evenson]

Interesting to read the story behind Little House on the Prairie!

[༺Kiki༻]

Prairie Girl summarizes one Little House book per chapter, with some history taken from Laura Ingalls Wilder's biography and letters. There is very little new content or interesting insights. Prairie Girl would be a nice companion book to the Little House series for a younger reader.

You might also enjoy:

Nonfiction
✱ The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder - highly recommended
✱ Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder
✱ Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder
✱ The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder
✱ The Children's Blizzard (about the blizzard in The Long Winter)

Fiction
✱ Caroline: Little House, Revisited