Laura Ingalls Wilder

Hello! My name is Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was born a long, long time ago, on February 7th, 1867, in a little log cabin in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. I lived with my Pa, my Ma, my older sister Mary, and my little sister Carrie. We were a family of pioneers, which meant we were always ready for a new adventure!

When I was a little girl, my family moved around a lot, searching for the perfect place to build our home. We packed everything we owned into a big covered wagon pulled by horses. Sometimes we traveled for days and days across the wide-open prairie where the grasses were as tall as I was! We lived in Kansas, then Minnesota, and then the Dakota Territory. Pa would build us a new house in each place. It was exciting to see so much of our beautiful country.

I loved going to school, but it wasn't always easy. Sometimes the schoolhouse was very far away, and I had to walk a long way to get there. I studied hard because I wanted to help my family. When I was just 15 years old, in 1882, I became a teacher in a small country school! It was also around this time that I met a young farmer named Almanzo Wilder. He would give me rides home from my teaching job in his sleigh.

Almanzo and I fell in love, and we got married on August 25th, 1885. We started our own life together as farmers. We had a baby girl named Rose. After moving a few times, we finally settled down on a farm in the beautiful hills of Missouri. We called it Rocky Ridge Farm, and it was the home where I would live for the rest of my life. I loved our farm, with its apple trees and rocky fields.

When I was older, my daughter Rose told me that I should write down all the stories I used to tell her about my childhood. She thought other children would love to hear about growing up as a pioneer. So, I did! I started writing, and my first book, 'Little House in the Big Woods,' was published in 1932. I wrote about Pa's fiddle music, Ma's cooking, and all of our adventures. I wanted children everywhere to know what it was like to live on the American frontier.

I kept writing and shared many more stories. I lived a very long and happy life on our farm and lived to be 90 years old. I passed away in 1957. Even though I am no longer here, my stories live on. Today, children all over the world can still read my 'Little House' books and imagine what it was like to travel in a covered wagon and build a life on the prairie.