Little House on the Prairie
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 Little House on the Prairie book cover, illustrated by Garth Williams |
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| Author | Laura Ingalls Wilder |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Little House |
| Genre(s) | Family Saga Western |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers, Later, Scholastic |
| Released | 1935 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-440002-6 |
Little House on the Prairie is a children's book by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published in 1935. It is part of a series of books known collectively as the Little House series.
The Little House series (also known as "Laura Years") is based on decades-old memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder's 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. 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 some debate in recent years.
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. The edition of the series currently in print contains illustrations by Garth Williams. The books were also adapted into a long running, popular American television series, Little House on the Prairie.
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[edit] Wilder's Little House books
- Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
- Farmer Boy (1933) - about her husband's childhood on a farm in New York
- 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)
- These Happy Golden Years (1943)
- The First Four Years (1971, published posthumously)
[edit] Characters in the Little House series
Several of the characters featured in the series were based on people Laura knew in real life; however, she often changed names or combined traits of several people to create one character. For example, "Nellie Oleson" was a conglomeration of three people Laura knew: Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters, and Stella Gilbert. Nellie Owens is the main basis for Nellie Oleson in On the Banks of Plum Creek, the Nellie Oleson of Little Town on the Prairie is mainly Gennie Masters, and Stella is the Nellie featured in These Happy Golden Years.[1][2][3] Laura also changed names to protect the privacy of those she wrote about; the Brewster home where she boards for her first teaching job was actually the Bouchie household.[3]
- Laura Ingalls, the author herself.
- Charles Ingalls, Laura's father.
- Caroline Ingalls, Laura's mother.
- Mary Ingalls, Laura's older sister.
- Carrie Ingalls, Laura's younger sister.
- Grace Ingalls, Laura's youngest sister.
- Almanzo Wilder, Laura's boyfriend and, later, husband.
- Rose Wilder, Laura and Almanzo's daughter.
- Henry Quiner, Laura's Grandfather.
- Charlotte Quiner, Laura's Grandmother.
- Lewis Tucker, Laura's Great Grandfather.
- Martha Tucker, Laura's Great Grandmother.
- Joseph Laura's Uncle.
- Henry Laura's Uncle.
- Martha, Laura's Aunt.
- Eliza, Laura's Aunt.
- Thomas, Laura's Uncle.
- Lewis, Laura's Great Uncle.
- Lydia, Laura's Great Aunt.
- Thomas, Laura's Great Uncle.
- Mary, Laura's Great Aunt.
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[edit] Critical reviews
In recent years, some have written books and articles that challenge one or many aspects of the stories, such as Constructing the Little House by Ann Romines, or articles by Anita Clair Fellman. Others have critiqued Wilder's portrayal of American Indians (the Osage figure prominently in the story), such as an online review of Little House on the Prairie.[1] Other articles point out what she did get right concerning the Osage.[2]
[edit] Historic sites and museums
The state of Kansas has designated the childhood home of the Ingalls at Independence as a historic site, which is open to visitors. It is the location from which the events of the book Little House on the Prairie take place. It includes a cabin modeled after the original (at the William Kurtis ranch), and the original post office. Much of the surrounding countryside retains its open and undeveloped nature.
De Smet, South Dakota attracts many fans with its historic sites from the books By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years. From 1879 to 1894 the Ingalls family lived in De Smet and the family homestead, a house in town built by Charles Ingalls, the Brewster School where Wilder taught, and the surveyor's home the family lived in between 1879 and 1880 are open to visitors. Additionally, the bodies of Charles, Caroline, Mary, Carrie, and Grace Ingalls, and that of Laura and Almanzo Wilder's unnamed infant son are laid to rest in the De Smet Cemetery.
Mansfield, Missouri is the chosen final home town of Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was here, on her farm, that she wrote the Little House books. Each year the whole town celebrates with a festival, turning back the clock to the late 1800’s. During the festival the town square becomes a showcase for handmade crafts. There is a big parade, and folk music is played from the gazebo in the park. There is an elaborate musical pageant. Wilder, her husband Almanzo, and their daughter Rose are all laid to rest in the Mansfield Cemetery.
Walnut Grove, Minnesota may be the most recognized name of all the towns Wilder wrote about in her books, (although it is the only town she did not mention by name) because Michael Landon's television series Little House on the Prairie of the 1970s and 1980s was located here. Although the show depicts the family as living here through Wilder's adulthood, in reality, they only lived here a few years.
In 1874, when Wilder was seven years old, the family left their home near Pepin for the second time and settled just outside Walnut Grove, Minnesota. Wilder writes of her early years here in On the Banks of Plum Creek. The family lived in a dugout in the creek bank until Pa could build a house. Laura and Mary began school again, and made both friends (the Kennedy children) and enemies (Nellie Oleson).
Pepin, Wisconsin was Wilder's birthplace. Her birthplace is seven miles northwest of the village, and is marked by a replica cabin along the former WIS-183 at the Little House Wayside (near Lund, Wisconsin). Pepin celebrates her life every September with traditional music, craft demonstrations, a "Laura look-alike" contest, a spelling bee, and other events.
Wilder's baby brother, Charles Frederic Ingalls, was born in Walnut Grove on November 1, 1875; he lived for nine months. Wilder did not include this in her books.
Pa had felt that Minnesota would be "the land of milk and honey," but a plague of grasshoppers destroyed the wheat crops two years in a row. Pa was offered a job managing a hotel in Burr Oak, Iowa, and the family moved there in 1876. A year later, the family returned to Walnut Grove.
At first, the Ingalls family lived with their friends, the Ensigns. Pa built a house in town, and worked as a storekeeper, butcher, then carpenter. In the spring of 1879, Mary became very ill. Her illness was followed by a stroke, which resulted in blindness. Soon afterward, Pa's sister Docia came from the Big Woods and offered him a job with the railroad going west. Though Ma wanted to remain in Walnut Grove, Pa felt a better future could be found in Dakota Territory. He accepted Docia's offer gladly, thus ending the Ingalls' stay in Walnut Grove.
[edit] Related books
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, dishes, and so on.
Four series of books 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.
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.
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.
[edit] Television adaptations
[edit] Jackanory (1966, 1968)
Jackanory was a British series intended to encourage children to read which ran from 1965 to 1996. From October 24 through October 28, 1966, there were five short episodes based on Little House in the Big Woods released, with Red Shively as the storyteller. From October 21 through October 25, 1968, five more were released, this time based on Farmer Boy, with Richard Monette as the storyteller.
[edit] Little House on the Prairie (television series, 1974-1983)
A television series based on the Little House On The Prairie aired on the NBC network from 1974 to 1983. The show was a loose adaptation of the Little House on the Prairie books. Michael Landon starred as Charles Ingalls, Karen Grassle played Caroline Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert played Laura Ingalls, Melissa Sue Anderson played Mary Ingalls, and the twins Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (credited as Lindsay Sidney Greenbush) played Carrie Ingalls. Some characters were added in the show, such as Albert, played by Matthew Laborteaux, an orphan the family adopted. Although it deviated from the original books in some respects, the television series, which was set in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, was one of the few long-running successful dramatic family shows (and still it is in syndication).
[edit] Laura the Prairie Girl (1975)
A Japanese animated version of the Little House series was released in 1975 by Nippon Animation Co. Ltd. under the title 草原の少女ローラ (Sōgen no shōjo Laura; English: Laura the Prairie Girl). It ran 26 episodes, about 24 minutes each.
[edit] Beyond the Prairie (2000, 2002)
Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, two television movies produced by Marcus Cole and aired in 2000 and 2002, presented episodes from the later books in the Little House series (from The Long Winter to The First Four Years).
The series starred Richard Thomas as Charles Ingalls; Lindsay Crouse as Caroline Ingalls; Meredith Monroe as Laura Ingalls; Barbara Jane Reams as Mary Ingalls; Haley McCormick as Carrie Ingalls; Walton Goggins as Almanzo Wilder; and Skye McCole Bartusiak as Rose Wilder.
[edit] Little House on the Prairie (2005 miniseries)
The 2005 ABC five-hour (six-episode) miniseries Little House on the Prairie attempted to follow closely the books Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie. It starred Cameron Bancroft as Charles Ingalls; Erin Cottrell as Caroline Ingalls; Kyle Chavarria as Laura Ingalls; Danielle Chuchran as Mary Ingalls; and Gregory Sporleder as Mr Edwards. It was directed by David L. Cunningham.
[edit] References
- ^ Nellie Owens article at Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl website, retrieved 9 January 2007
- ^ "Nellie Oleson - Biography", laurasprairiehouse.com, retrieved 9 January 2007
- ^ a b "Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Legend - The Pioneer", Little House USA, retrieved 9 January 2007
[edit] External links
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, Walnut Grove, MN
- Complete guide to the world of little house on the prairie, and a special guide to pioneer life.
- Little House on the Prairie original site near Independence, Kansas
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society, located in De Smet, South Dakota
- The Little House archive, bibliography for the series, its spinoffs, and Little House scholarship.
- Ingalls family info
