Little House on the Prairie

Little House on the Prairie (1935) is a children's book by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It went on to become a series of books, multiple TV series, multiple TV movies, a cartoon, and is the name of a historic site in Kansas.

Books

The Little House series (also known as "Laura Years") was written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and based on decades-old memories of her childhood in the Midwest region of the United States during the late 19th century. The best-known of the books is Little House on the Prairie, first published in 1935. The books are told in the third person, with Laura Ingalls acting as the central character and protagonist and are generally classified as fiction rather than as autobiography. Wilder's daughter, author and political theorist Rose Wilder Lane assisted her mother with the editing of the books. The depth of her involvement, and the extent of her influence on the theme and content of the books, has been the subject of much debate in recent years.

Related Topics:
Laura Ingalls Wilder - Midwest - United States - 19th century - Little House on the Prairie - Fiction - Autobiography - Rose Wilder Lane

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The books have remained continuously in print since their initial publication by Harper & Brothers, and are considered classics of American children's literature. Several of them were named Newbery Honor books. They remain widely read, primarily by girls aged 8–12. Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that they are also popular among older girls and adult women who first encountered them as children. The edition of the series currently in print contains illustrations by Garth Williams.

Related Topics:
Harper & Brothers - Children's literature - Newbery Honor - Garth Williams

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The success of the Little House series has spawned many related books including two series ("Little House Chapter Books" and "My First Little House Books") that present episodes from the original stories in condensed and simplified form for younger readers. Other related titles include sticker and craft books, cookbooks, diaries, calendars, and so on.

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Also of interest are four series of books that expand the Little House series to include five generations of Laura Ingalls Wilder's family. The "Martha Years" and "Charlotte Years" series, by Melissa Wiley, are fictionalized tales of Laura's great-grandmother in late 18th century Scotland and grandmother in early 19th century Massachusetts. The "Caroline Years" series narrates the girlhood of Caroline Quiner, Laura's mother, in Wisconsin. The "Rose Years" (originally dubbed "Rocky Ridge Years") series follows Rose Wilder Lane from childhood in Missouri to early adulthood in San Francisco, and was written by her surrogate grandson Roger MacBride.

Related Topics:
18th century - Scotland - 19th century - Massachusetts - Wisconsin - Rose Wilder Lane - Missouri - San Francisco - Roger MacBride

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Noted children's author Cynthia Rylant has written a slender volume, Old Town in the Green Groves, that covers the two years in Laura's life between On The Banks of Plum Creek and By The Shores of Silver Lake, which are unnarrated in the original series of books. Two volumes of Laura's letters and diaries have also been issued under the Little House imprint: On The Way Home and West From Home.

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An additional series, The Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by T.L. Tedrow offers tales of Laura's early adulthood in Missouri; unlike the core Little House books, the Tedrow series is not drawn from episodes in Wilder's life.

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In recent years, controversy has surrounded the role of Wilder's daughter, author and political theorist Rose Wilder Lane, as either a silent editor or ghostwriter of her mother's books.

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