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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 fiction rather than as autobiography. 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.
Wilder's Little House books
Characters in the Little House seriesSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Several of the characters featured in the series were based on people Laura knew in real life; however, she often changed names or combined traits of several people to create one character. For example, "Nellie Oleson" was a conglomeration of three people Laura knew: Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters, and Stella Gilbert. Nellie Owens is the main basis for Nellie Oleson in On the Banks of Plum Creek, the Nellie Oleson of Little Town on the Prairie is mainly Gennie Masters, and Stella is the Nellie featured in These Happy Golden Years.[1][2][3] Laura also changed names to protect the privacy of those she wrote about; the Brewster home where she boards for her first teaching job was actually the Bouchie household.[3]
Critical reviewsIn recent years, some have written books and articles that challenge one or many aspects of the stories, such as Constructing the Little House by Ann Romines, or articles by Anita Clair Fellman. Others have critiqued Wilder's portrayal of American Indians (the Osage figure prominently in the story), such as an online review of Little House on the Prairie.[1] Other articles point out what she did get right concerning the Osage.[2] Historic sites and museumsThe state of Kansas has designated the childhood home of the Ingalls at 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. Image:Little house on the prarie sign.jpg Sign in front of Little House on the Prairie historic site in Kansas
Image:Surveyors house little house on the prairie.jpg The Surveyors House is a Laura Ingalls Wilder historic site in De Smet, South Dakota 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 seven miles northwest 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. 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 managing a hotel in Burr Oak, Iowa, and the family moved there in 1876. 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. He accepted Docia's offer gladly, thus ending the Ingalls' stay in Walnut Grove. Related booksThe 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. 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. An additional series, The Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder by T.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. Television adaptationsJackanory (1966, 1968)Jackanory was a British series intended to encourage children to read which ran from 1965 to 1996. 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. 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 (and still it is in syndication). Laura the Prairie Girl (1975)Image:LaurathePrairieGirl.jpg Laura Ingalls as depicted in the Japanese animated series Laura the Prairie Girl. 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 (Sōgen no shōjo Laura; English: Laura the Prairie Girl). It ran 26 episodes, about 24 minutes each. Beyond the Prairie (2000, 2002)Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, two television movies produced by Marcus Cole and aired in 2000 and 2002, presented episodes from the later books in the Little House series (from The Long Winter to The First Four Years). The series starred Richard Thomas as Charles Ingalls; Lindsay Crouse as Caroline Ingalls; Meredith Monroe as Laura Ingalls; Barbara Jane Reams as Mary Ingalls; Haley McCormick as Carrie Ingalls; Walton Goggins as Almanzo Wilder; and Skye McCole Bartusiak as Rose Wilder. 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. References
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