We celebrate Laura Ingalls Wilder‘s birthday today!
Born on February 7, 1867, in Pepin, Wisconsin, Mrs. Wilder is well-known for penning the Little House series, which describes her life growing up on the American prairie.
Even though Mrs. Wilder wrote the books over seven decades ago, they are still much loved by children and adults today. Here at the library, we have multiple copies of all nine books in the series. We also have many books about Mrs. Wilder and her life. One of my favorites is The World of Little House by Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Eriksson. This is an awesome complement book to the series because it contains maps, recipes, a family tree, an in-depth timeline, and many more useful facts that bring the Little House books to life.
The Little House books were so popular in the 1970s that a television show was created based on Mrs. Wilder’s books. The TV series was nominated for several awards and even won a few. Interest in Little House on the Prairie continued to grow. So many people liked the Little House books that they began to wonder about other people in Mrs. Wilder’s family. This spawned several new series. Each series of books depicts the young life of a woman in Mrs. Wilder’s family–her daughter, Rose; her mother, Caroline; her grandmother, Charlotte; and her great-grandmother, Martha. A book was also written about the “lost years” on the prairie called Old Town in the Green Groves by Cynthia Rylant.
Today, several museums, memorials, and dedicated spaces around the country remain as a tribute to Mrs. Wilder and her stories. Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri, where Mrs. Wilder spent most of her adult life and wrote the Little House books, is now the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum. Many people each year visit this museum to catch a glimpse of America’s best-known pioneer family.
So help us celebrate a beloved author’s birthday by reading one of these great books Mrs. Wilder!
More From the Web
- For abundant information about Mrs. Wilder, her life, her family, her books, and much more, take a look at the Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl site.
- Head over to the Little House website for book info, games, recipes, and more!
- Find a Little House classroom activity guide here.
- For links to historic sites from Mrs. Wilder’s life, check out the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum site and Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes site.
- If you are looking for a timeline of Mrs. Wilder’s life, find a complete one here.
