Helpful Score: 3
Nice mini-biography, and good photos. I loved the "Little House" books when I was little, and this was a nice window into that world as an adult.
Helpful Score: 2
Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about what she knew and loved, and this biography gains us that life of a lovely person who could write such lovely books.
Helpful Score: 2
Best, and most in-depth, Little House book ever. Gave detailed information about the Ingalls family, including glimpses of their life the series did not go into. A MUST for any Little House fan.
Helpful Score: 1
Has 8 pages of photos!
Elizabeth B. (Cattriona) -
Helpful Score: 1
This is the true story of the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and is a good read for fans of her "Little House" series, as it describes the similarities and differences between her life in the Little House books (which are technically fiction) and her real life. It also discusses the backgrounds of her parents and of her husband, Almanzo, as well as her 3 sisters. The author researched census, land and other public records to help confirm details of the story. There are 8 pages of photos of Ms. Wilder, her family, some of their homes, even Pa's violin. The most recent photo is from 1948, showing Laura and Almanzo in their twilight years, shortly before he died. An appendix lists places in the U.S. where fans can visit to see some of the locations she lived during her life. Highly recommended for fans of the series and/or American pioneer/prairie life.
Helpful Score: 1
Interesting biography, seeing how life and the Little House books dovetail and where they differ slightly. Also lots of rare photos plus a list of all documented sites associated with Laura, how to visit, and how they were identified, which was quite interesting with some, such as the site of the Little House on the Prairie.
Helpful Score: 1
A well-written, detailed biography, with 16 pp of B&W photos. Includes three Appendices: Important Dates; The Truth of "The Little House" Books; All the Little Houses. If you have the set for your kids, this volume is a good addition that they will want to read later, perhaps in Jr Hi or HS.
Overall, this book was a pretty comprehensive biography about Laura's life. The author went back into census records and other pieces of documentation to try to piece together Laura's life and pull out the fact vs fiction of the Little House series. I've read some reviews that didn't like the author's style and felt he was trying too hard to replicate Laura's style of writing. I didn't mind his style and felt that he wrote a pretty engaging biography. I did agree with the criticisms of the cover art- it's pretty dated to the 1970s in terms of color scheme and style (and making the pictures slightly resemble the TV series actors) and the back cover looks like something that should be on a Harlequin romance or something! :-P If you loved the Little House books and want to learn more about Laura's life, then this biography is one that you should enjoy.
Biographies are not my usual read. Found it very interesting. Renewed my interest in reading the Little House books of my childhood.
This as a great book to read. The author was able to relate he actual life events of Laura to how she presented them in her books. It was hard for me to put down.
