Customer Reviews

Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography (Little House)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading through the entire LITTLE HOUSE series (again), I became interesting in learning more about Laura Ingalls Wilder. I began with this book, and read some additional books as well. I found that LAURA INGALLS WILDER: A BIOGRAPHY was very informative, but that it was written in a very positive light. It glossed over some traumatic moments in Laura's life, and made her look like a perfect person instead of a normal person with some faults.

This book is designed to fit in with the current LITTLE HOUSE paperback design, which is handy. It is an easy read (written for the 9-12 set), but will interest those who want to know more about "the real Laura." I would recommend it over the other biographies I have read about Laura Ingalls Wilder because it is written to be interesting, not to be historically detailed. However, Laura's life was painted a lot rosier than it was in real life.

Historian William Anderson did a great job with this little book in rounding out the life and times of the Ingalls family. He fills in the gaps with historic details for those parts of her life that Laura ommitted, for reasons of her own. The final chapters of the book are especially fascinating as we travel to Rocky Ridge Farm in Missouri to see how Laura, Almanzo and Rose lived after "West From Home." Also included is the fascinating story of how the "Little House" books came to be. Anderson also provides some embellishment from Laura herself on stories told in the "Little House" series. It's heartwarming to hear another version from Laura of Almanzo's surprise Christmas visit. This book is full of little tidbits just like that - which are irresistible to Little House fans!

If you've read the "Little House" books, you'll find that some things in the stories weren't quite the same in real life - for example, the Ingalls family's time spent in Burr Oak, Iowa, isn't mentioned in any of Laura's stories, nor the fact that they actually lived in the Big Woods twice in Laura's lifetime - the events of "Little House on the Prairie" actually took place when Laura was too young to remember, so of course she relied on her parents'memories of Indian Territory. Also of note are a couple of name changes - the "Oleson" family was actually the Owens family, and the quarrelsome people she stayed with on her first teaching job were named Bouchie, not Brewster. Many more surprises await you when you read the story, but I don't want to give everything away!

William Anderson has written an interesting and enlightening book about one of America's best loved authors. Although I had read all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, I had never really developed a sense for who she was until reading Anderson's biography. For anyone who loves history and the pioneer way of life this is an excellent book. For young readers, it is an education to a much simpler way of life, and the answer to what happened to Laura as an older adult.

Anderson writes a wonderful and incredible book about Laura Ingalls Wilder. She is a fascinating person and this is a wonderful tribute to her and her life.

Anderson fills his book with facts about Laura's life that I have never read before. Laura chose not to write about every year in her life... this book covers some of them.

Excellent, terrific and informative book... wonderful addition to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House series. You will absolutely enjoy it!

This story is about a girl, Laura Ingalls wilder's life. Her life was fall of hardenss but she didn't get scared and strived harder after she had her many losses. This strive had brought her from farm woman to a famous writer. This story told me if you don't give up and strive more, everything will be done.

The reason I recommed this book is because it had told me a person's real life and it made me learn manythings that was helpful for my life. The main reason was that I like to read about biography books.

The book goes beyond what is read in the Little House books, so it is very good for a book report. The book tells you about the years following the story in her last book. I think it is good for children because it has a few pictures, and the content is kid-frendly.

Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography (Little House) by William Anderson

My niece needed some resource material for an elementary school project. This was a wonderful book, informative and easy for a 4th grade student to read and enjoy, as well as enjoyable for adults. Some of the photos are very touching, and this book is a must-have for any Laura fan. I plan on ordering an additional copy for our school library.

This paperback was great reading. It answered a lot of questions that I had and also filled in a lot of gaps. It made me wish that I was around when Laura was alive so that I could have written her a 'fan' letter. Remarkable woman as was her whole family. I now watch the DVD series with new eyes and more interest (if that was possible).

This book was purchased for my 10 year old daughter's book report. It was perfect for her age provided lots of good details for her report.