Wilder, Laura Ingalls, << WYL duhr, LAWR uh IHNG guhlz >> (1867-1957), was an American author of books for children. She is best known for her series of nine novels called the “Little House” books. Most of the series is loosely based on her experiences growing up in the Midwest in the 1870’s and 1880’s. The stories have a chronological pattern and follow Laura from her childhood wilderness home to her final home with her husband, Almanzo Wilder. The series has been praised as a vivid literary saga of the American frontier. The stories show the importance of a closely knit family, and they are filled with humor and tenderness. However, critics point out that the stories also reflect the ethnic and racial prejudices of their time toward Native Americans and African Americans.
Laura Ingalls was born on Feb. 7, 1867, in Pepin, Wisconsin. She lived a rugged pioneer life with her family as they moved from place to place. She described her childhood in the first “Little House” book, Little House in the Big Woods (1932). In 1885, she married Almanzo Wilder, who came from an old established family in northern New York. Farmer Boy (1933) is the story of his childhood. These Happy Golden Years (1943) unites the families with the marriage of Laura and Almanzo.
The other books in the series are Little House on the Prairie (1935), On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937), By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939), The Long Winter (1940), Little Town on the Prairie (1941), and The First Four Years (published in 1971, after the author’s death). West from Home (1974) is a collection of letters Laura wrote to Almanzo in 1915 while she was visiting her daughter in San Francisco. Wilder wrote an autobiography during the 1930’s. It was finally published in 2014 as Pioneer Girl. She died on Feb. 10, 1957.
See also Children’s Literature Legacy Award.
