Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in Pepin County in 1867. Her parents were Caroline and Charles Ingalls. Her "Pa" was a handyman. He built many things for the family. Her " Ma" was a teacher until she got married, then she cooked. Laura also lived with her three sisters, Mary, Carrie, Grace, and her dearly loved bulldog, Jack. Some of her hobbies were reading, school, and wading in creeks. She always dreamed of being a teacher, and when she was fifteen, she became one. Then, a man named Almanzo came into her life. Every day, he would take and pick up Laura from her job. Then one summer, Almanzo asked Laura to marry him, and she said yes. So four years later, their marriage was official. Laura had a baby boy who died just after birth. She had another baby named Rose. Luckily, she didn't die. Unluckily, her house burned down, and Almanzo hurt his leg and almost became paralyzed. These were hard times for Laura, still she lived life. One day, she decided to write a book about her childhood. It was called Little House in the Big Woods. When she was finished with her book, she had it published. It was a big hit. In fact, the readers wanted more. So she wrote six more books, and they were all about her childhood. A few years later, she won a Caldecott award for her books. She moved one last time. Rose, Laura's daughter, was seventeen, and she was a journalist. She wrote newspaper articles and was often away on business. Now was getting old. She lived in a big house she called Rocky Ridge. Almanzo died, and she was all alone. So she sat down and wrote her final book, The First Four Years. She was done. She had written the whole series of her childhood. She had it published, and when she got home, she fell asleep. She never woke up. Laura Ingalls Wilder had died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 84.

Return to Menu