The World Of Laura Ingalls Wilder – by Marta McDowell (2017)

If you enjoy the study of maps, geography and horticulture, you will likely appreciate this book. The author has gone through all the places that Laura Ingalls Wilder lived, both as a child and as an adult, and pointed out the uniqueness of each. Every page of the book includes an illustration – a map from the 1800s, a sketch of a plant or tree, pictures from the first edition of her books, some of Garth Williams’ illustrations from later publications, advertisements from that era, and actual photographs of Laura and the places she lived.

On The Banks Of Plum Creek – by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1937)

When most people hear the name Laura Ingalls Wilder, they think of the television show “Little House On The Prairie”, which ran from 1974 to 1983. While it was a clean family show for all ages, it offered a rather idealized version of what life was like back in the 1800s. A much more accurate description is offered in the author’s books. Although all of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books are technically classified as biographical fiction, the events in the books did indeed happen.

This book covers 1874-1876, the years that Laura’s family lived outside the town of Walnut Creek, Minnesota. Her father bought land along Plum Creek from a Norwegian man named Mr. Hanson, who wanted to move farther west. It seemed like the perfect place to Pa Ingalls. The prairie soil was rich, and there were no trees that needed to be removed before planting wheat. It was within walking distance of town, so Laura and her older sister Mary could attend school for the first time.