Author Laura Ingalls Wilder used her experiences growing up in Wisconsin as the basis for four of her novels. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reprinted from The Writers Almanac

It’s the birthday of  Laura Ingalls Wilder, born on the American prairie just north of Pepin, Wisconsin (1867), author of the wildly popular children’s book Little House on the Prairie (1935) and several other books about growing up in the Midwest in the late 1800s. They’re all part of the Little House series, which she began writing when she was in her 60s. Since her death, about a hundred different titles have appeared in the Little House series that she created. From her books have come also a television series on NBC (1974-84), a 26-episode animated Japanese cartoon series called “Laura, The Prairie Girl,” a couple of made-for-TV movies, an ABC mini-series (2005), and a musical.

All of her books have remained in print continuously since the time they were first published, have been translated widely, and have sold millions of copies. Little House in the Big Woods begins, “Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.”

Related articles

• Zoë Triska: Laura Ingalls Wilder Birthday: 8 Reasons We’re Glad We Don’t Live In A Little House On The Prairie (huffingtonpost.com)
• Laura’s Life in a Nut Shell (allthingslauraingallswilder.com)
• Scott County Library to host a Laura Ingalls Wilder event (qctimes.com)
• Doctors explore medical mystery in ‘Little House’ books (usatoday.com)