Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in 1867 in a log cabin, which she describes in "Little House in the Big Woods." At the age of thirteen, Laura and her family left the dense forests of Wisconsin for the prairies of Kansas, and from there to the fertile valley of Minnesota, eventually reaching a brand-new town at the end of the railroad line in the Dakota Territory. In their long quest for a new life on their own land, Laura and her family, true pioneers, faced everything from severe droughts and harsh winters to ruined crops and locust invasions. From a young age, Laura demonstrated her intelligence and courage, and her life on the frontier was a continuous adventure. She worked hard to help Ma and Pa at home and on the family farm, but there was always time for fun—climbing trees, horseback and sled rides, playing with her three sisters, and singing while Pa played his fiddle. Laura loved school and became a teacher at fifteen, just like her Ma. Three years later, she married Almanzo Wilder, a quiet farm boy from northern New York. With him and their daughter Rose, Laura embarked on her own journey by covered wagon to Mansfield, Missouri. There, believing that to appreciate where you are, you must know where you came from, Laura wrote about her childhood on the American frontier. For millions of readers, Laura continues to live on as the little pioneer girl in the beloved "Little House on the Prairie" series.