Wilder Award

Laura Ingalls Wilder crossed the country by covered wagon, by train, and by car. Here, Laura's journal entries and letters from three of her most memorable journeys have been collected in one volume. On the Way Home recounts her 1894 move with her daughter, Rose, and her husband, Almanzo, from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, where Laura would live for the rest of her life. In West From Home, Laura wrote letters to Almanzo about her adventures as she traveled to California in 1915 to visit Rose. Finally, The Road Back tells the story of Laura and Almanzo's first trip back to DeSmet in 1931, the town where Laura grew up and where she fell in love with Almanzo.

Laura's candid sense of humor and keen eye for observation shine in this wonderful collection of writings about the many places she called home.

Eric Carle's familiar illustrations of brown bear, red bird, yellow duck and the other endearing animals from his classic creation parade across the pages of this great interactive board book. As each page is turned, a new animal and its color are introduced, accompanied by Bill Martin's singsong, rhyming question-and-response text to read aloud or listen to. There are sliding doors throughout the book, which children will just love to open, so they can discover what the next animal in this engaging story will be.

She endures a harrowing march north, a trail which ends with the waiting Indian gauntlet, and perhaps a life of slavery. Miriam and her companions finally reach Montreal, a city of shifting loyalties filled with the intrigue of war. Here, by a sudden twist of fortune, Miriam meets the prominent Du Quesne family, who introduce her to a life of luxury that she never could have imagined and that compel her to the most important decision of her life.

Celebrate sleep with Dr. Seuss's classic rhyming good-night picture book. Van Vleck, a very small bug, is getting sleepy, and his yawn—contagious as yawns are—sets off a chain reaction, making all those around him feel sleepy, too! With typically Seussian nods to alarm clocks, sleepwalking, and snoring, this charming ode to bedtime will lull listeners (and readers) toward dreamland. Zzzzzzzzzz.

1971 Caldecott Honor Book
Notable Children's Books of 1940--1970 (ALA)
Best Books of 1970 (SLJ)
Outstanding Children's Books of 1970 (NYT)
Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1970 (NYT)
Children's Books of 1970 (Library of Congress)

Carey-Thomas Award 1971--Honor Citation
Brooklyn Art Books for Children 1973, 1975

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.

In the forty years since Max first cried "Let the wild rumpus start," Maurice Sendak's classic picture book has become one of the most highly acclaimed and best-loved children's books of all time. Now, in celebration of this special anniversary, introduce a new generation to Max's imaginative journey to Where the Wild Things Are.

Some Pig

These are the words in Charlotte's web, high in the barn. Her spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, as well as the feelings of a little girl named Fern ... who loves Wilbur, too. Their love has been shared by millions of readers.

A Mexican legend tells how the poinsettia came to be, through a little girl's unselfish gift to the Christ Child. Tomie dePaola has embraced the legend using his own special feeling for Christmas. His glorious paintings capture not only the brilliant colors of Mexico and its art, but also the excitement of the children preparing for Christmas and the hope of Lucida, who comes to see what makes a gift truly beautiful.