Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder - Volume One: On Wisdom and Virtues

Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder #1

by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Stephen W. Hines

From helping others in times of need, to keeping and maintaining friendships, to having a positive attitude, Laura's words of wisdom in Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls On Wisdom and Virtues are applicable even in today's world. As she shares stories and experiences from her own life, she encourages readers to live lives of integrity and to realize their dreams.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Audiobook, Classics, Childrens

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2006

About the author

Laura Ingalls Wilder was an American author, journalist, and educator whose "Little House" series transformed the arduous reality of the American frontier into a foundational pillar of children's literature. Born in the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin to Charles and Caroline Ingalls, Laura’s childhood was a nomadic journey through the heart of a shifting nation. Her family moved across Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, and the Dakota Territory—often staying just ahead of legal evictions or chasing the promise of fertile soil. These years were marked by extreme hardship, including the "Hard Winter" of 1880–81 in De Smet, South Dakota, where the family survived near-starvation. Despite the struggle, these experiences provided the raw material for her eight-volume record of pioneer life, a series that has since been translated into over forty languages.
Before becoming a world-renowned novelist in her sixties, Wilder lived several distinct lives. At fifteen, she became a teacher in one-room prairie schools, a job she took primarily to support her family financially. In 1885, she married Almanzo Wilder, beginning a partnership that endured fire, paralysis from diphtheria, and the heartbreaking loss of an infant son. These trials eventually led them to Mansfield, Missouri, where they established Rocky Ridge Farm. It was here that Laura developed her voice as a professional writer, serving as a columnist and editor for the Missouri Ruralist for over a decade.
The Great Depression and the 1929 stock market crash wiped out the Wilders’ savings, providing the ultimate catalyst for Laura to pen her memoirs. Her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane—a successful author in her own right—encouraged her mother to adapt her autobiography, Pioneer Girl, into a format more suitable for children. This resulted in a complex and often rocky literary collaboration; while Lane provided the professional "style," Wilder provided the "substance" and narrative heart. The first book, Little House in the Big Woods, was published in 1932 when Laura was sixty-five.
Wilder’s legacy is a blend of immense literary success and modern historical scrutiny. While her books remain staples in classrooms for their vivid descriptions of 19th-century domestic life, her portrayals of Native Americans and African Americans have led to recent reevaluations. In 2018, the American Library Association renamed the "Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal" to the "Children's Literature Legacy Award" to reflect these evolving cultural sensitivities. Nonetheless, Wilder remains a monumental figure in American letters, a woman who successfully "saved the American soul" by documenting the grit, faith, and unyielding persistence of the pioneer spirit.

Reviews

[Tarissa]

Reading this book was like breathing in cool, refreshing air. Stephen Hines has collected several of Laura's newspaper articles and put them together in a way that makes them lovely to read. This particular collection features much wisdom from pioneer Laura Ingalls Wilder, as she shares morals and advice that spring forth from her heart. I had personally never read any of her newspaper writings – so this was quite the treat! I loved this volume so much.

Each article is named and come with the original date, so you can follow along a little better. Her writings are filled with a bit of wittiness, and plenty of moral guidance. I laughed out loud at some – including the story about her dog, Shep. (The whole story is just too cute!) Just about everything that Laura felt and wrote about is still applicable to us as humans in the modern age.

Some of the article titles include: “Keeping Friends”, “The Armor of a Smile”, “The Helping Hand of Helpfulness”, “A Man's Word Is All He Has”, “Learning Something New”... just to name a few, so you can see the kind of topics are covered.

Most of these I could see reading aloud during family reading time with your children. But overall, I think women (young and old) would especially enjoy this collection, and be able to take away a lot of good thoughts and encouragement.

[Angela Holland]

I enjoy reading books that have anything at all to do with Laura Ingalls Wilder as she is an idol of mine. This is one of a few books that have Laura's articles she wrote for the Missouri Realist in it. The way she writes is fitting for today as it was during her lifetime. Here is quote from one of her articles that I liked: "While blue is without a doubt a heavenly color, it is better in skies than in one's mind ..." Very fitting. I also found this very fitting as how to make your life more simple seems to be the theme in a lot of books and magazines. In January 1924 Laura wrote an article about how to simplifying your life. I thought we could all go by her advice. She said "Here is a good New Year's resolution for us all to make: To simplify our lives as much as possible, to overcome that feeling of haste by remembering that there are just as many hours in the day as ever, and that there is time enough for the things that matter if time is rightly used." She was a very wise woman on so many things. I look for to the next book in this series.

[Bethany Willcock]

Five stars seems an insult to this book. This is definitely getting added to my shelf of books to read once a year, every year. I can't recommend it enough.

[Jane Maree]

This book is so fresh and full of wisdom on every page. I loved how simple it was, while still being so true and important. I was inspired and challenged in equal measure.

Definitely recommended to everyone!

[Ellie Anna Axtman]

I never get enough of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I had previously read some of the clippings included in this book, but it was not tiresome to read them again. Astute & absorbing.

[Della Tingle]

“The children, of course, get their bad tempers from their fathers...” (That’s great!!)

I think this little book will unveil special treasures unique to each reader. For me, the following really hit home, and I read it several times for it is simply so applicable to me in my life. These are words I needed to hear: “The things that people do would look so differently to us if we only understood the reasons for their actions, nor would we blame them so much for their faults if we knew all the circumstances of their lives. Even their sins might not look so hideous if we could feel what pressure and perhaps suffering had caused them.”

Though Laura wrote about various topics a hundred years ago, they are still so very relevant today, and in some cases, even more so!

[G]

This was a short book with some good motivational nuggets. I wouldn't say it was groundbreaking, but for a casual read, it was good. As a fan of the Little House books, it was interesting to hear Laura write in the first-person and to get some glimpses of what her life was like as an adult.

Premise: This book is a collection of articles by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In the articles, she reflects on lessons she's learned from her experiences, conversations, and observations. Some recurring themes included the power of words, contentment, thankfulness, self-improvement, and appreciating the beauty of nature. There was a mix of storytelling and lessons, but it seemed like there was a heavier emphasis on the "lesson" side.

As far as Little House crossovers, Almanzo and Rose get mentions here, as well as two moments also described in the Little House books. However, they were not a strong focus overall. The conversations Laura was having with her friends seemed like they were mentioned more frequently.

[Clare S-B]

Lovely, sweet and insightful. There is so many timeless thoughts and wisdoms written down in a lovely easy to understand way. A delight to read.

[Kathryn]

Excerpts from Laura’s writings to newspapers and such. They all discuss basic thoughts of morals, learning, being kinds, etc —good topics for “women” or any other person /age group. It’s nice to think even about 100 years ago when these were originally written, that most of our thoughts on these topics are the same. It was a quick read and a great reminded how to do better in your life with these simple things.

[Glenna]

This book is one filled with wisdom and advice that is timeless. It may have been written many years ago, but it seems to have been written for today. If you are a collector, you will enjoy this book. It would make a fine gift for anyone.

[Brenda]

A lot of good, useful advise that stands up over the 100 years since she wrote it.

[Mary Lisic]

Life lessons

This was a really enjoyable collection of articles. It's the kind of thing that everyone should read- not just young women.

[Rach]

Found this to be an interesting read from the perspective of someone simply discussing what life is like, especially life on the farm. I wouldn't call this her advice, so much, but you do get an idea of her ideals and tricks and tips she had for keeping life interesting even when your life involves a lot of work all the time.

[Bobbie Monroe Boyne]

I LOVE this book. It’s a books of essays/commentaries/opinions Laura wrote for a newspaper with the title and date of each article and each is surprisingly practical and fitting today. It’s also very interesting to hear about the subject matter in 1917, or 1924. A lot of the same subjects we are talking about today, especially simplifying life.

[Sarah]

Laura’s writings are very insightful. The only issue I really had with this book was the editor misspelling part of her mother’s name (at least in the ebook). Instead of Quiner, he wrote Quinter, which I have never seen in any of Laura’s books or other historical works.

Overall, delightful writings from the beloved Little House author.

[Wendy]

I really enjoyed the narration by Charity Spencer. Through her voice I could imagine Laura speaking to her listeners. The advice from 100 yrs ago is still applicable in today’s world. As she shares stories and experiences from her own life, she encourages readers to live lives of integrity and to realize their dreams.

[Angi]

It's a nice book, I listened to it as a audiobook, unfortunatly, on the end wrtining the audiolines were played above each other so i couldn't make out the last "chapter" therefore only 4 Stars.
But still a great book

[MARY]

This was a great little collection of articles she wrote for magazines. Too bad we don't have her around for some good common sense today. Everything she wrote still applies today.

[christa]

How much different the world would be today ifwe all learned from the wisdom in this tiny book!

[Chloe Schoenike]

This is a short collection of random thoughts and pieces of wisdom. It feels like sitting with your grandma and listening to her tell stories of her life and the wisdom she gleaned along the way.

[J.]

I’d say this is a good book club book. Laura was ahead of her time and I really enjoyed her musings minus the religious aspect. Definitely recommend this one. I’d actually probably reread this one every few years tbh.

[Wendy]

Written in her simple, plain spoken way that fans of her other books will recognize, Laura shares her thoughts and wisdom with her readers,old and young alike. This book is a compilation of several of her newspaper columns.

[Judine Brey]

These are beautifully written essays previously published in a newspaper. The themes are especially well written for being timeless lessons that may apply more in today's society than they did when they were written.

[Susan Baranoff]

It was interesting to see Mrs. Wilder's thought processes in 1917-1924, before she wrote her now famous series.

[Jodie]

An interesting life of an interesting woman. Good read. I was always a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder and this helped solidify that.

[Kristin]

Friendship is like love. It cannot be demanded or driven or insisted upon. It must be wooed to be won.

[Rehan Abd Jamil]

A simple book, packed with bundles of day to day advices. Thank you Mrs Ingalls..

[Donna Bixby]

So enjoyed reading this. Short articles that Laura Wilder wrote for the newspaper. Many of which are only printed publicly here. Worth owning.