Little House on the Prairie
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| Little House on the Prairie | |
 Little House on the Prairie book cover, illustrated by Garth Williams |
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| Author | Laura Ingalls Wilder |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Little House |
| Genre(s) | Family Saga Western |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers, Later, Scholastic |
| Publication date | 1935 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-440002-6 |
| Preceded by | Farmer Boy |
| Followed by | On the Banks of Plum Creek |
Little House on the Prairie is a children's book by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published in 1935. It is part of a series of books known collectively as the Little House series.
The Little House series (also known as "Laura Years") is based on decades-old memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood in the Midwest region of the United States during the late 19th century. The best-known of the books is Little House on the Prairie. The books are told in the third person, with Laura Ingalls acting as the central character and protagonist, and are generally classified as historical fiction rather than as autobiography, although several of the later books are almost purely autobiographical. Wilder's daughter, author and political theorist Rose Wilder Lane, assisted her mother with the editing of the books. The depth of her involvement, and the extent of her influence on the theme and content of the books, has been the subject of some debate in recent years, but almost all Laura scholars and her biographers consider that the writing of the books was a tense but ultimately effective continuing collaboration between mother and daughter — Laura writing the books, Rose editing them.
The books have remained continuously in print since their initial publication by Harper & Brothers, and are considered classics of American children's literature. Several of them were named Newbery Honor books. They remain widely read. The edition of the series currently in print contains illustrations by Garth Williams. The books were also adapted into a long running, popular American television series, Little House on the Prairie.
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[edit] Wilder's Little House books
- Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
- Farmer Boy (1933) — about her husband's childhood on a farm in New York
- Little House on the Prairie (1935)
- On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)
- By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)
- The Long Winter (1940)
- Little Town on the Prairie (1941)
- These Happy Golden Years (1943)
- The First Four Years (1971), unedited and published posthumously, possibly intended as a book in the series, possibly intended as a separate novel for adults — Laura never developed the manuscript beyond a first draft, and her ultimate intent is not known.
- West From Home (1974), unedited and published posthumously
[edit] Story
At the beginning of this story, Pa Ingalls decides to sell the house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, and move to the Indian Territory near Independence, Kansas, as there were widely circulating stories that the land (technically still under Osage ownership) would be opened to settlement by homesteaders imminently. So Laura, along with Pa and Ma, and Mary and baby Carrie, move to Kansas. Along the way, Pa trades his two horses for two western mustangs, which Laura and Mary name Pet and Patty. When the family reaches Indian Territory, Pa builds their Little House on the Prairie. Soon, the family meets Mr. Edwards, a "wildcat from Tennessee". During this story, the Ingalls family nearly dies from a disease called at that time "Fever an' Ague" (fever with severe chills and shaking) which was later identified to be malaria. Mrs. Scott takes care of the family while they are sick. Mr. Edwards gives Laura and Mary their Christmas presents from Independence. Pa builds a roof and a floor in their house, digs a well, and the Ingalls plant the beginnings of a small farm. At the end of this book, the family is told that the land must be vacated by settlers as it is not legally open to settlement yet, and the U.S. government makes Pa Ingalls and his family move again, before the Army forcibly requires them to abandon their land.
Many of the incidents in the book are actual situations that happened to the Ingalls family at that time, as told to Laura by her Pa, Ma and sister Mary over the years. Laura was, in fact, two to three-and-a-half years old while her family lived in Indian Territory during 1869–1870, and did not remember the incidents herself. For this reason, Laura did more historical research on this novel than on any other novel she wrote, in an attempt to have all details as correct as possible. She portrays herself as being six to seven years old, however, as she begun the series when she was 4-5 years old (after the family's return to Wisconsin from Kansas), but wanted to set this second book chronologically after the first. This is also why Baby Carrie is portrayed as making the trip to Indian Territory with the family, when she was, in reality, born in Indian Territory in August of 1870 (as recorded in their family Bible) shortly before the family left to return to Wisconsin. With her fourth book, On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura is, from that point on, describing her own age correctly, and most events as they actually happened.
[edit] Actual location of the "Little House"
Laura had always heard from her family that the little house was "40 miles from Independence," which would have put the house approximately where the town of Nowata, Oklahoma, is today. It was, in fact, about 13 miles from Independence, not 40 miles, and the reason for this rather large discrepancy is not known, although she may have misheard or mis-remembered "14 miles" as "40 miles", while the surveying techniques of the day would in fact have measured it as being 14 miles. The actual site of the Charles Ingalls house in Indian Territory was established conclusively in the late 1950s through careful record research done by a librarian named Margaret Clement. Today there is a facsimile (duplicate) log cabin on that site, near Wayside, Kansas.
[edit] Critical reviews
The stories have been critiqued from a feminist perspective,[1] for their conservative political message,[2] and for their representation of the Osage.
[edit] Historic sites and museums
The state of Kansas has designated the childhood home of the Ingalls South of Independence as a historic site, which is open to visitors. It is the location from which the events of the book Little House on the Prairie take place. It includes a cabin modeled after the original (at the William Kurtis ranch), and the original post office. Much of the surrounding countryside retains its open and undeveloped nature. It is now owned and operated by journalist Bill Kurtis and his sister Senator Jean Schodorf. There is a historical site, and they get about 20,000 visitors a year. The land was inherited by the two from their parents, Bill Kurtis and Wilma Kurtis. Wilma inherited it from her father, Bert Horton. It has been in the Kurtis / Horton family for close to 100 years.
De Smet, South Dakota attracts many fans with its historic sites from the books By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years. From 1879 to 1894 the Ingalls family lived in De Smet and the family homestead, a house in town built by Charles Ingalls, the Brewster School where Wilder taught, and the surveyor's home the family lived in between 1879 and 1880 are open to visitors. The bodies of Charles, Caroline, Mary, Carrie, and Grace Ingalls, and the unnamed infant son of Laura and Almanzo Wilder are buried in the De Smet Cemetery. Laura and Almanzo Wilder stayed briefly in Westville, Florida in the 1890s.
Mansfield, Missouri is the chosen final home town of Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was here, on her farm, that she wrote the Little House books. Each year the whole town celebrates with a festival, turning back the clock to the late 1800’s. During the festival the town square becomes a showcase for handmade crafts. There is a big parade, and folk music is played from the gazebo in the park. There is an elaborate musical pageant. Wilder, her husband Almanzo, and their daughter Rose are all laid to rest in the Mansfield Cemetery.
Walnut Grove, Minnesota may be the most recognized name of all the towns Wilder wrote about in her books, (although it is the only town she did not mention by name) because Michael Landon's television series Little House on the Prairie of the 1970s and 1980s was located here. Although the show depicts the family as living here through Wilder's adulthood, in reality, they only lived here a few years.
In 1874, when Wilder was seven years old, the family left their home near Pepin for the second time and settled just outside Walnut Grove, Minnesota. Wilder writes of her early years here in On the Banks of Plum Creek. The family lived in a dugout in the creek bank until Pa could build a house. Laura and Mary began school again, and made both friends (the Kennedy children) and enemies (Nellie Oleson).
Pepin, Wisconsin was Wilder's birthplace. Her birthplace is about seven miles north of the village, and is marked by a replica cabin along the former WIS-183 at the Little House Wayside (near Lund, Wisconsin). Pepin celebrates her life every September with traditional music, craft demonstrations, a "Laura look-alike" contest, a spelling bee, and other events.
Wilder's baby brother, Charles Frederic Ingalls, was born in Walnut Grove on November 1, 1875; he lived for nine months before dying in South Troy, Minnesota. Wilder did not include this in her books.
Pa had felt that Minnesota would be "the land of milk and honey," but a plague of grasshoppers destroyed the wheat crops two years in a row. Pa was offered a job co-managing "The Master's Hotel" in Burr Oak, Iowa, and the family moved there in 1876. In 1976 the restored Hotel was opened as a museum.[3] A year later, the family returned to Walnut Grove.
At first, the Ingalls family lived with their friends, the Ensigns. Pa built a house in town, and worked as a storekeeper, butcher, then carpenter. In the spring of 1879, Mary became very ill. Her illness was followed by a stroke, which resulted in blindness. Soon afterward, Pa's sister Docia came from the Big Woods and offered him a job with the railroad going west. Though Ma wanted to remain in Walnut Grove, Pa felt a better future could be found in Dakota Territory. After making a promise to Ma that it would be their last move ever (a promise he kept) he accepted Docia's offer gladly, thus ending the Ingalls' stay in Walnut Grove, eventually settling for good in DeSmet, South Dakota.
[edit] Related books
The success of the Little House series has spawned many related books including two series ("Little House Chapter Books" and "My First Little House Books") that present episodes from the original stories in condensed and simplified form for younger readers. Other related titles include sticker and craft books, cookbooks, diaries, calendars, dishes, and so on.
Four series of books expand the Little House series to include five generations of Laura Ingalls Wilder's family. The "Martha Years" and "Charlotte Years" series, by Melissa Wiley, are fictionalized tales of Laura's great-grandmother in late 18th century Scotland and grandmother in early 19th century Massachusetts. The "Caroline Years" series narrates the girlhood of Caroline Quiner, Laura's mother, in Wisconsin. The Rose Years (originally dubbed "Rocky Ridge Years") series follows Rose Wilder Lane from childhood in Missouri to early adulthood in San Francisco, and was written by her surrogate grandson Roger MacBride. Lane's novels, Let the Hurricane Roar (also known as Young Pioneers) and Free Land can be seen as retellings of the Little House books from an adult perspective.
Noted children's author Cynthia Rylant has written a slender volume, Old Town in the Green Groves, that covers the two years in Laura's life between On The Banks of Plum Creek and By The Shores of Silver Lake, which are unnarrated in the original series of books. Two volumes of Laura's letters and diaries have also been issued under the Little House imprint: On The Way Home and West From Home.
The series, The Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Thomas L. Tedrow, offers tales of Laura's early adulthood in Missouri; unlike the core Little House books, the Tedrow series is not drawn from episodes in Wilder's life.
[edit] Television adaptations
[edit] Jackanory (1966, 1968)
Jackanory is a British series intended to encourage children to read which ran from 1965 to 1996, and was revived in 2006. From October 24 through October 28, 1966, there were five short episodes based on Little House in the Big Woods released, with Red Shively as the storyteller. From October 21 through October 25, 1968, five more were released, this time based on Farmer Boy, with Richard Monette as the storyteller.
[edit] Little House on the Prairie (television series, 1974–1983)
A television series based on the Little House On The Prairie aired on the NBC network from 1974 to 1983. The show was a loose adaptation of the Little House on the Prairie books. Michael Landon starred as Charles Ingalls, Karen Grassle played Caroline Ingalls, Melissa Gilbert played Laura Ingalls, Melissa Sue Anderson played Mary Ingalls, and the twins Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (credited as Lindsay Sidney Greenbush) played Carrie Ingalls. Some characters were added in the show, such as Albert, played by Matthew Laborteaux, an orphan the family adopted. Although it deviated from the original books in some respects, the television series, which was set in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, was one of the few long-running successful dramatic family shows[citation needed] (and it is still in syndication).
[edit] Laura the Prairie Girl (1975)
A Japanese animated version of the Little House series was released in 1975 by Nippon Animation Co. Ltd. under the title 草原の少女ローラ Many viewers saw the cartoon as an unwelcome twist to American traditions.(Sōgen no shōjo Laura; English: Laura the Prairie Girl). It ran 26 episodes, about 24 minutes each.
[edit] Little House on the Prairie (2005 miniseries)
The 2005 ABC five-hour (six-episode) miniseries Little House on the Prairie attempted to follow closely the books Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie. It starred Cameron Bancroft as Charles Ingalls; Erin Cottrell as Caroline Ingalls; Kyle Chavarria as Laura Ingalls; Danielle Chuchran as Mary Ingalls; and Gregory Sporleder as Mr Edwards. It was directed by David L. Cunningham.
[edit] Stage adaptation
A musical version of Little House on the Prairie, based on the books, is scheduled to premiere at the Guthrie Theater (Minnesota) starting July 26, 2008 in previews through October 5. The musical has a book by Rachel Sheinkin, music by Rachel Portman and lyrics by Donna DiNovelli and is directed by Francesca Zambello with choreography by Michele Lynch. Announced for the cast are: Melissa Gilbert as "Ma", Steve Blanchard as "Pa", and Kara Lindsay (Laura), Jenn Gambatese (Mary), Sara Jean Ford (Nellie) and Kevin Massey (Almanzo Wilder).[4]
Prior to this engagement, workshop presentations were held April 16-17, 2007; the cast included Melissa Gilbert and Patrick Swayze.[5][6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Romines, Ann (1997). Constructing the Little House: Gender, Culture, and Laura Ingalls Wilder. University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 1558491228.
- ^ Fellman, Anita Clair (2008). Little House, Long Shadow: Laura Ingalls Wilder's Impact on American Culture. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0826218032.
- ^ Laura Ingalls Wilder Park and Museum. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Gans, Andrew (2007-03-16). Swayze, Gilbert, Chase, Arden and Galloway Set for Prairie Workshop. Playbill. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (2008-03-05). Little House on the Prairie Musical Will Begin Guthrie Run in July. Playbill. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
[edit] Further reading
- Kilgore, John. Little House in the Culture Wars. Eastern Illinois University. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- Miller, John E. (May 1998). Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman Behind the Legend. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0826211674.
- Zochert, Donald (1977-05-01). Laura: The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Avon. ISBN 0380016362.
[edit] External links
- Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frontier Girl - Comprehensive site
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, Walnut Grove, MN
- A Review of The Little House Books
- Complete guide to the world of little house on the prairie, and a special guide to pioneer life.
- Little House on the Prairie original site near Independence, Kansas
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society, located in De Smet, South Dakota
- The Little House archive, bibliography for the series, its spinoffs, and Little House scholarship.
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