New Releases by Laura Ingalls Wilder

When Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her autobiography, Pioneer Girl, she had no idea that children across the United States would be reading about and falling in love with Laura Ingalls and her family just two years later. Pioneer Girl: The Path into Fiction traces the evolution of Wilder''s matter-of-fact memoir of her girlhood in Wisconsin into a bestselling novel for children. Along the way, editor Nancy Tystad Koupal discloses previously unknown aspects of this story as she examines the various drafts of Little House in the Big Woods. The third volume in the Pioneer Girl Project series, Pioneer Girl: The Path into Fiction follows Wilder as she steps away from autobiography and into the world of fiction. Wilder handed her memoir over to her daughter, novelist and journalist Rose Wilder Lane, for editing, but when the revised versions of Pioneer Girl failed to attract a publisher, Lane reframed the Wisconsin portion of her mother''s autobiography as juvenile fiction. The resulting twenty-one-page picture-book manuscript, "When Grandma Was a Little Girl," featured Pa''s well-honed tales told within the cozy Ingalls home in 1870s Wisconsin. This manuscript captured the attention of a New York publisher, who wanted more words--15,000 more words--about pioneer life for readers aged eight to ten. Accepting the challenge, Wilder returned to Pioneer Girl for additional material. As she wrote, she created multiple drafts and a completed manuscript for Lane to edit and type. Collecting all the unpublished drafts in Pioneer Girl: The Path into Fiction, editor Koupal documents Wilder''s process and explores the roles of authors, editors, and agents in the crafting of children''s fiction. Koupal reveals that as Wilder continued down the path, she came to understand that writing novels freed her to restructure events, create stronger, combined characters, and fit truth into the space between fact and fiction. The succession of manuscript drafts that paved the way from the original Pioneer Girl to the publication of Little House in the Big Woods reveals the strengths of Wilder as an author and Lane as an editor and agent. The relationship brought forth the best efforts of both women and created a childhood classic.

Available for the first time and collected in one volume, the letters of one of America’s most beloved authors, Laura Ingalls Wilder—a treasure trove that offers new and unexpected understanding of her life and work. The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a vibrant, deeply personal portrait of this revered American author, illuminating her thoughts, travels, philosophies, writing career, and dealings with family, friends, and fans as never before. This is a fresh look at the adult life of the author in her own words. Gathered from museums and archives and personal collections, the letters span over sixty years of Wilder’s life, from 1894–1956 and shed new light on Wilder’s day-to-day life. Here we see her as a businesswoman and author—including her beloved Little House books, her legendary editor, Ursula Nordstrom, and her readers—as a wife, and as a friend. In her letters, Wilder shares her philosophies, political opinions, and reminiscences of life as a frontier child. Also included are letters to her daughter, writer Rose Wilder Lane, who filled a silent role as editor and collaborator while the famous Little House books were being written. Wilder biographer William Anderson collected and researched references throughout these letters and the result is an invaluable historical collection, tracing Wilder’s life through the final days of covered wagon travel, her life as a farm woman, a country journalist, Depression-era author, and years of fame as the writer of the Little House books. This collection is a sequel to her beloved books, and a snapshot into twentieth-century living.

In Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder: On Life As a Pioneer Woman, Laura tells her readers what it was like to be a pioneer in the early 1900s. Her stories and insights show us how difficult even the simplest chores or tasks were for the early pioneers, yet through it all she continued to see each situation as an adventure--as if she was truly blazing the trail for future generations.

From helping others in times of need, to keeping and maintaining friendships, to having a positive attitude, Laura''s words of wisdom in Writings to Young Women from Laura Ingalls Wilder: On Wisdom and Virtues are applicable even in today''s world. As she shares stories and experiences from her own life, she encourages readers to live lives of integrity and to realize their dreams.

CD: American English

A year in the life of two young girls growing up on the Wisconsin frontier, as they help their mother with the daily chores, enjoy their father''s stories and singing, and share special occasions when they get together with relatives or neighbors.

A family travels from the big woods of Wisconsin to a new home on the prairie, where they build a house, meet neighboring Indians, build a well, and fight a prairie fire.

"Readers of all ages have grown up experiencing the pioneer life through the eyes of Luara Ingalls Wilder..."--Jacket.

This series is packed with fun and challenging hidden pictures for children to find and color! Exploring each page for misplaced animals, letters, instruments, and more will prove to be an adventurous task for any child! Each title in our hidden pictures series features perforated pages to be proudly displayed.

Pa comes back from hunting with a very special tale to tell Laura and Mary. Full color.

Laura and her bulldog Jack share exciting adventures as the family moves from Wisconsin to Kansas and later to Minnesota,

Laura tries to get even with Nellie, the meanest girl in school.

The complete text and illustrations of three of Wilder''s novels about American pioneer life.

An alphabet book illustrating various aspects of pioneer life.

Long, long ago, a little girl named Laura Ingalls lived in a little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters, Mary and Carrie, and their good old bulldog, Jack. One spring day Pa has a wonderful surprise--he is taking the family on a trip into town! Laura is very excited, for she has never been to a town, and this special visit is everything she imagined and more. Laura Ingalls Wilder''s Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers. Now for the first time, the youngest readers can share her adventure in these very special picture books adapted from Laura Ingalls Wilder''s beloved storybooks. RenÉe Graef''s warm paintings, inspired by Garth Williams'' classic Little House illustrations, bring Laura and her family lovingly to life. Laura and Mary get ready for their very first trip from the little house in the Big Woods into town, where a visit to the general store and a picnic by the lake await. 1995 ‘Pick of the Lists’ (ABA)

Laura Ingalls Wilder has long been admired for being a strong yet sensitive woman ahead of her times. Now her wisest and wittiest comments are arranged in a charming gift book that''s sure to provide inspiration for every reader. Includes background information on Wilder''s life, family, and times.

The set includes: Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, Farmer Boy, On the Banks of Plum Creek, By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years. Little House in the Big Woods Wolves and panthers and bears roam the deep Wisconsin woods in the late 1870''s. In those same woods, Laura lives with Pa and Ma, and her sisters, Mary and Baby Carrie, in a snug little house built of logs. Pa hunts and traps. Ma makes her own cheese and butter. All night long, the wind howls lonesomely, but Pa plays the fiddle and sings, keeping the family safe and cozy. Little House on the Prairie Pa Ingalls decides to sell the little log house, and the family sets out for Indian country! They travel from Wisconsin to Kansas, and there, finally, Pa builds their little house on the prairie. Sometimes farm life is difficult, even dangerous, but Laura and her family are kept busy and are happy with the promise of their new life on the prairie. Farmer Boy While Laura Ingalls grows up in a little house on the western prairie, Almanzo Wilder is living on a big farm in New York State. Almanzo and his brother and sisters work at their chores from dawn to supper most days -- no matter what the weather. There is still time for fun, though, especially with the horses, which Almanzo loves more than anything. On the Banks of Plum Creek Laura''s family''s first home in Minnesota is made of sod, but Pa builds a clean new house made of sawed lumber beside Plum Creek. The money for materials will come from their first wheat crop. Then, just before the wheat is ready to harvest, a strange glittering cloud fills the sky, blocking out the sun. Soon millions of grasshoppers cover the field and everything on the farm. In a week''s time, there is no wheat crop left at all. By the Shores of Silver Lake Pa Ingalls heads west to the unsettled wilderness of the Dakota Territory. When Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie, and baby Grace join him, they become the first settlers in the town of De Smet. And Pa begins work on the first building in what will soon be a brand-new town on the shores of Silver Lake. The Long Winter The first terrible storm comes to the barren prairie in October. Then it snows almost without stopping until April. Snow has reached the rooftops, and no trains can get through with food or coal. The people of De Smet are starving, including Laura''s family, who wonder how they''re going to make it through this terrible winter. It is young Almanzo Wilder who finally understands what needs to be done. He must save the town, even if it means risking his own life. Little Town on the Prairie The long winter is over. With spring come socials, parties, and "Literaries." There is also work to be done. Laura spends many hours each day sewing shirts to help send Mary to a college for the blind. But in the evenings, Laura makes time for a new caller, Almanzo Wilder. These Happy Golden Years Laura is teaching school, and it''s terrifying! Most of the students are taller than she is, and she must sleep away from home for the first time. Laura is miserable, but the money is needed to keep Mary in a college for the blind. And every Friday -- no matter what the weather -- Almanzo Wilder arrives to take Laura home to her family for the weekend. Laura and Almanzo are courting, and even though she''s not yet sixteen, she knows that this is a time for new beginnings. The First Four Years Laura and Almanzo Wilder have just been married! Their life on a small prairie homestead begins with high hopes. But each year seems to bring unexpected disasters -- storms, sickness, fire, and unpaid debts. These first four years call for courage, strength, and a great deal of determination. Always, though, there is love, especially for the newest member of the family -- baby Rose.

A little pioneer girl and her family spend the winter in their log cabin in the Big Woods of Wisconsin.

A young pioneer girl and her family attend a wintertime party at her grandparents'' house

In Dakota territory, Pa has a job in a railroad building camp and Laura, the central character in the story, is now 13. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

"It is like a fairyland." So Laura Ingalls Wilder described her 1915 voyage to San Francisco to visit her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. Laura''s husband, Almanzo, was unable to leave their Missouri farm and it is her faithful letters home, vividly describing every detail of her journey, that have been gathered here. Includes 24 pages of exciting photographs and completely redesigned jacket art.

During their first four years of marriage, Laura and Almanzo Wilder have a child and fight a losing battle in their attempts to succeed at farming on the South Dakota prairie. The story of their journey from South Dakota to Mansefield, Missouri five years later is told in an epilogue written by their daughter.

Describes the sights and events a frontier family encounters traveling from South Dakota to the Ozarks.

Laura has her first experiences as a teacher and is courted by Almonzo Wilder.