This book is mostly photos of the places mentioned in the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It includes some places left out of the stories as well as a few others. I read this book as a companion to The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure. She mentions another book by William Anderson several times in her book, but I couldn't get my hands on a copy of that book yet. It was nice to see actual photos of some of the places Ms. McClure was talking about. I highly recommend they be read together.
A fantastic pictorial collection of the homes and landscapes of Laura’s childhood, sprinkled with illustrations from the books. William Anderson is a great researcher of Wilder’s life and he does a great job on this book.
Interesting but I wish it had gone a little more into depth and included more biographical information about the whole family. One odd thing I wonder about is why three generations of male children in a row of this family didn't make it past infancy--Laura's brother, son and grandson all died soon after birth. I think with a full timeline and more information about the family this would have been really good.
I picked up this book at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Mansfield, MO. It is a neat snapshot of Laura's life with a brief description of her history and travels. It includes a lot of photos, a timeline, and interesting info on her other family members. A quick and interesting read for Laura fans.
I really loved this book! While the Little House books are amazing narratives, there was so much more going on in the lives of the characters—so much more nuance that goes into homesteading. It isn’t just about the homemaking, chores, and hunting. This book really gave a lot more context to what actually is entailed in homesteading and early American life.
I literally mapped out my road trip to Malone already. Growing up, I never realized how doable a road trip to the Wilder Homestead would be (5.5 hours, but hey it isn't Florida).