Two Special Laura Ingalls Wilder Books

The Collector's Edition of
Little House on the Prairie
In honor of the 65th anniversary of the publication of Little House on the Prairie, HarperCollins has just published a beautiful "Collector's Edition" of Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic story. The book is somewhat larger than the norm, and the type is larger. The pages are edged in gold, and there are decorative elements, such as the borders on the chapter headings, throughout the book. This edition of Little House on the Prairie is profusely illustrated with black and white and color illustrations by Garth Williams. When the first Little House books to be illustrated by Williams were published in 1953, the author sent him a telegram to express her pleasure that "Mary[,] Laura and their folks live again in these illustrations."

Concluding this edition of the story of Laura's family's covered-wagon journey to Kansas and their life on the plains is a special section of more than 25 pages. "The Making of Little House on the Prairie, A 65th Anniversary Retrospective" was written by William Anderson. As I mentioned in a previous article, Anderson is a well-known Wilder historian, who has written a number of biographies about her. The section is illustrated with artwork and photographs and covers the history of the writing, editing, and illustrating of the book, its popularity, and the controversy over some of the passages concerning Native Americans. Williams also points out that Little House on the Prairie is a publishing phenomenon, having never been out of print since it was first published in 1935.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Country
Laura Ingalls Wilder Country seamlessly meshes the settings and people portrayed in the Little House books with panoramic color photographs of the sites as they look today along with information about the museums, exhibitions, and sites related to Laura Ingalls Wilder that are open to the public.

If your family enjoys history, plan a Laura Ingalls Wilder vacation. Read her books, and visit the places mentioned in Laura Ingalls Wilder Country. This interesting book was written by William Anderson, with photographs by Leslie A. Kelly. Historic photographs, maps, and other illustrations also enhance the book. While the author doesn't mention any web sites, Anderson does provide the names and addresses of eight sites open to the public. They include sites in Wisconsin, Kansas, New York, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri, and Minnesota.

The About Family Crafts Guide Sheri Osborn has prepared some Little House crafts for you and your family to enjoy. If you and your family decide to take a Laura Ingalls Wilder vacation, you might find the following helpful: About Travel with Kids, some of the About Cities/Towns sites, and some of the About Travel sites.

Post Your Comments on the Little House Books
How do you like the Little House books? How do you feel about the adaptations of some of the stories in the Little House books into picture books for 3 to 8 year-olds? Have you visited any of the sites? What did you think of them? I want to hear your opinions. Post your comments on the About Children's Books Forum.

A Special Note to Readers
Due to the excellent response, I am now doing a weekly email newsletter. It highlights new articles, links, and other news on the About Children's Books site. It's easy to subscribe to this free email newsletter. I hope you will give it a try.

Photographs by Elizabeth D. Kennedy. Used with permission.

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