Laura Ingalls Wilder

There is some debate as to who wrote what in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Wilder was an intelligent, well-spoken woman who wrote a newspaper column, but her education was erratic. Her daughter Rose, on the other hand, was a brilliant scholar, and made her living as a writer. She probably had some influence over her mother’s writing—at least in an editorial capacity—but no one knows how much.

Not that it matters, really. Either way, this semi-autobiographical series is amazing. The books describe Laura’s pioneer childhood in the post-Civil War era, following her family as they travel west from Wisconsin and finally settle in South Dakota. They’re interesting and entertaining (I learned how to make cheese—not that I’d want to), but most of all, they’re a testament to the mind-boggling amount of work the early pioneers did to survive.

Aftertaste:
None.

Availability:
Everywhere.

Other Recommendations:
The Girl of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton-Porter

Anything by Lucy Maud Montgomery