I spent a lot of time as a girl with this woman, Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Hours and hours in my room, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or crackers with tall tumblers of iced drinking.
She took me to the heartland of America, to our pioneer days when every day folk were looking for their piece of the dream.
Laura inspired me to be strong, to have courage and to be a stellar woman. I admired her fortitude in hard times and her devotion to her family.
Laura inspired me to be a writer. I used to say, “I want to write the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories of the 20th Century.”
Who knows, maybe I will yet. But Laura knew her girlhood experience was a rare, unique time in American history and she wisely wrote down her story for the generations to come. I’m so glad she did!
Have your read Laura’s books? Which one is your favorite? Mine is Farmer Boy and Little Town On The Prairie.
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I don’t really remember reading Laura’s books as I child, but I suppose I did. I knew enough about them to get them for my daughter when she was four. We started with the first book and read the entire series (9 books, if I remember correctly). When we finished, she said,”Let’s read them again!” So we did. I also read them to her brother a few years later. My daughter and I also read the books about her daughter Rose, her mother as a girl, and several other female ancestors that were written by other authors. We really enjoyed these stories. It’s hard to pick just one as a favorite. I hope to someday have grandchildren to share these wonderful books with.
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Pam, what a great story! I’d read them to my kids if I had any. My 5th grade teacher read them to us and we weren’t allowed to check them out of the library until after she read a book. I remember the girls had to fight the boys for them. LOL.
What a great American treasure.