Laura Ingalls Wilder Books

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Laura Ingalls Wilder was an American author who was born in 1867 and was responsible for writing the books on which the Little House on the Prairie’ Television show was based. Born somewhere new Pepin in Wisconsin, Wilder’s family was always on the move and it took quite a few years of trekking before they settled down in South Dakota.

Order of Little House On The Prairie Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Little House in the Big Woods 1932 Description / Buy
2 Farmer Boy 1933 Description / Buy
3 Little House on the Prairie 1935 Description / Buy
4 On the Banks of Plum Creek 1937 Description / Buy
5 By the Shores of Silver Lake 1939 Description / Buy
6 The Long Winter 1940 Description / Buy
7 Little Town on the Prairie 1941 Description / Buy
8 These Happy Golden Years 1943 Description / Buy
9 The First Four Years 1953 Description / Buy

Chronological Order of Little House On The Prairie Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Little House in the Big Woods 1932 Description / Buy
2 Little House on the Prairie 1935 Description / Buy
3 Farmer Boy 1933 Description / Buy
4 On the Banks of Plum Creek 1937 Description / Buy
5 By the Shores of Silver Lake 1939 Description / Buy
6 The Long Winter 1940 Description / Buy
7 Little Town on the Prairie 1941 Description / Buy
8 These Happy Golden Years 1943 Description / Buy
9 The First Four Years 1953 Description / Buy

Order of Little House Chapter Books: Laura Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Adventures of Laura and Jack (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
2 Pioneer Sisters (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
3 Animal Adventures (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
4 School Days (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
5 Laura & Nellie (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
6 Farmer Boy Days (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
7 Little House Farm Days (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
8 Hard Times on the Prairie (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
9 Little House Friends (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
10 Christmas Stories 1998 Description / Buy
11 Laura's Ma (Short Story) 1999 Description / Buy
12 Laura's Pa (Short Story) 1999 Description / Buy
13 Laura & Mr. Edwards (Short Story) 1999 Description / Buy
14 Little House Parties (Short Story) 1999 Description / Buy

Order of My First Little House Picture Books

# Read Title Published Details
1 My First Little House Collections of Winter Tales 1994 Description / Buy
2 Dance at Grandpa's (Short Story) 1994 Description / Buy
3 Winter Days in the Big Woods (Short Story) 1994 Description / Buy
4 Going to Town (Short Story) 1995 Description / Buy
5 The Deer in the Wood (Short Story) 1995 Description / Buy
6 My Little House Songbook (Short Story) 1995 Description / Buy
7 Happy Birthday, Laura 1995 Description / Buy
8 Going West 1996 Description / Buy
9 Laura's Garden 1996 Description / Buy
10 My Little House Cookbook (Short Story) 1996 Description / Buy
11 Laura Helps Pa 1996 Description / Buy
12 Summertime in the Big Woods (Short Story) 1996 Description / Buy
13 Hello, Laura 1996 Description / Buy
14 Winter on the Farm (Short Story) 1996 Description / Buy
15 My Little House Birthday Book 1997 Description / Buy
16 My Little House 123 (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
17 My Little House ABC (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
18 Prairie Day (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
19 A Little House Birthday (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
20 County Fair (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
21 A Little Prairie House (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
22 Sugar Snow (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
23 Laura's Christmas (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
24 Laura's Little House ( With: Doris Ettlinger) 1998 Description / Buy
25 Book of Animal Friends 1998 Description / Buy
26 My Little House Diary 1999 Description / Buy

Order of Laura Ingalls Wilder Short Story Collections

# Read Title Published Details
1 A Laura Ingalls Wilder Reader 2012 Description / Buy

Order of Laura Ingalls Wilder Non-Fiction Books

# Read Title Published Details
1 On the Way Home (Short Story) 1962 Description / Buy
2 Dear Laura 1996 Description / Buy
3 Spelling (Short Story) 1997 Description / Buy
4 Laura's Album (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
5 Pioneer Girl 2014 Description / Buy
6 The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder 2016 Description / Buy
7 The Little House Book of Wisdom (Short Story) 2017 Description / Buy

Order of Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder (Short Story) ( By: ) 2006 Description / Buy
2 Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder (Short Story) ( By: ) 2006 Description / Buy
3 Writings to Young Women on Laura Ingalls Wilder (Short Story) ( By: ) 2006 Description / Buy
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Order of Little House Chapter Books: Caroline Series with Roger Lea MacBride, Melissa Peterson

# Read Title Published Details
1 School Days ( By: Melissa Peterson) 1997 Description / Buy
2 Hard Times on the Prairie (Short Story) 1998 Description / Buy
3 Brookfield Days (Short Story) ( By: Roger Lea MacBride) 1999 Description / Buy
4 Caroline and Her Sister (Short Story) ( By: Roger Lea MacBride) 2000 Description / Buy
5 Brookfield Friends (Short Story) ( By: Roger Lea MacBride) 2000 Description / Buy
6 Frontier Family (Short Story) ( By: Roger Lea MacBride) 2000 Description / Buy
7 A New Little Cabin (Short Story) ( By: Roger Lea MacBride) 2001 Description / Buy
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Laura Ingalls Wilder Anthologies

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Driftless Reader 2017 Description / Buy
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Wilder became a teacher at the age of fifteen because her family was so stretched economically. This choice in career would go on to drive her path to marriage. Almanzo Wilder was a family friend that Laura’s parents often sent to accompany her back home for the weekend. And after quite a few wagon rides, the pair fell for one another. Marriage eventually pulled Wilder away from her teaching career and she eventually chose to devote her time to caring for her family.

Writing only came into the picture in the 1920s when, following encouragement from her daughter to write about her life, Laura Ingalls Wilder produced an autobiography. Unfortunately, ‘Pioneer Girl’ did not interest publishers and Wilder was forced to go back to the drawing board, rework her book and re-submit it as ‘Little House in the Big Woods.

That was in 1932. The Little House books have since become Laura Ingalls Wilder’s defining aspect. The children’s books explore Wilder’s life and the many memorable places she visited and lived. Wilder was lucky enough to have her daughter help her prepare her manuscripts, this allowing her to continue writing even after reaching her 70s.

Laura Ingalls Wilder died in 1957. Her daughter Rose continued to publish books under Wilder’s name, using the author’s diaries to produce the sorts of stories her fans had come to know her for.

Rose’s involvement in her mother’s work has since become a source of controversy. Many believe that Rose was responsible for the quality of the Little House books, taking her mother’s rough drafts and polishing them into something noteworthy. Of course, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s fans have always rejected these claims, suggesting that Wilder was simply one of those rare untutored geniuses.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Awards

Laura was a celebrated author during her lifetime, receiving numerous accolades for her contributions to Children’s literature. The author’s most notable award is the Newberry Prize.

Interestingly enough, Laura’s books were awarded the Newberry Honor retroactively, which isn’t surprising seeing as, by the time the Newberry Award was instituted, Laura had stopped writing.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Books into Movies/TV

The most successful adaptation of Laura’s work was ‘Little House on the Prairie’, a television show that run from 1974 to 1982 and which explored Laura’s life and struggles. The show starred Melissa Gilbert.

A lesser known adaptation is ‘Laura, The Prairie Girl’; this was a Japanese anime television show that ran from 1975 to 1976.

Fans of Wilder might also know of ‘Beyond the Prairie’, a pair of television movies that aired in 2000 and 2002, not to mention a Television Miniseries in 2005 simply called ‘Little House on the Prairie’ and even a musical adaptation back in 2010.

Best Laura Ingalls Wilder Books

Laura Ingalls Wilder built a legacy by writing a series of novels that have transcended time, with some of the best books in her bibliography including the following:

Little House in the Big Woods: Laura Ingalls lives a busy life in the woods of Wisconsin. With no neighbors to speak of, only trees and animals, Laura’s life is occupied by chores, though she still finds the time to go exploring with her sister.

The first book in the Little House series is an exploration of childhood in a time period most readers can barely comprehend. Laura Ingalls is just like any other child. However, even though she has little in the way of modern amenities, Laura still finds ways of experiencing the joy that the world has to offer.

Little House on the Prairie: Laura Ingalls and her family move to a new location on the prairie where they build a home and meet interesting neighbors.

The second book in the Little House series finds the Ingalls leaving the Big Woods of Wisconsin to go live in Kansas. This book delves into their mundane lives as they try to settle down and make this new place their home.

The book is filled with heartwarming moments about family and the simple life in a simple country. Like most Little House books, this one doesn’t have much of a plot. Readers are treated to a glimpse into the lives of the Ingalls as they build their home and try to overcome the dangers of living in their time.

When Does The Next Laura Ingalls Wilder book come out?

Laura Ingalls Wilder doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Little House Book of Wisdom and was released on February, 7th 2017. It is the newest book in the Laura Ingalls Wilder Non-Fiction Books.

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1 thought on “Laura Ingalls Wilder”

  1. I cannot recommend Wilder’s books enough to kids of all ages. I might have to pick one up for myself to re-read. She brilliantly captures her life as a child growing up in a much simpler time. Reading these as a kid made me appreciate all the things I take for granted! I was never a big fan of the TV show, but the books are amazing. All kids should read at least one of Wilder’s books.

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