The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion helps eager readers experience and discover Wilder’s books like never before. Author Annette Whipple encourages children to engage in pioneer activities while thinking deeper about the Ingalls and Wilder families as portrayed in the nine Little House books. This valuable companion provides brief introductions to each Little House book, chapter-by-chapter story guides, "Fact or Fiction" sidebars, plus 75 activities, crafts, and recipes that encourage kids to “Live Like Laura” using easy-to-find supplies. Thoughtful questions help the reader develop appreciation and understanding for stories. Every aspiring adventurer will enjoy this walk alongside Laura from the big woods to the golden years.

This is a valuable companion to the Little House books that encourages readers to think deeper about real-life stories.

Published by Chicago Review Press, 2020

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Praise for The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion

This book is destined to be one of the standard purchases for anyone who loves the Little House series...While aimed at younger readers, this book will satisfy people of all ages." —Cindy Wilson, author of The Beautiful Snow

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion is filled with historical facts, activities, and commentaries on each of the Little House books. It is a useful tool for reading and teaching Wilder’s pioneer series.” —William Anderson, author of Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography, A Little House Sampler, and Laura Ingalls Wilder Country
A fun and comprehensive look at the popular Little House series, (that doesn’t shy away from elements deemed controversial today,) Whipple’s book is packed with photographs, chapter-by-chapter background information and analysis, and a wealth of hands-on-activities straight from the novels’ pages.” —Brandon Marie Miller, author of Women of the Frontier

Inspiration Behind The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion

In 2014, I was reading C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia with my own young children. We also had a fabulous guide to Narnia called Roar, by Heather and David Kopp. Every time we completed a chapter of the Chronicles of Narnia, my children and I loved learning more about the fantasy land and its memorable characters through Roar. We even used the recipe included to make Turkish Delight! Soon I realized I wanted to write a book like that: A book about a book. (I had already taken some writing courses at this point and had a few magazine articles published.)

It didn’t take me long to know I wanted to write about Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books.

Her books are incredibly important because they portray a real pioneer family’s personal experience. (I also acknowledge they only tell one perspective of American history.) From my time as a classroom teacher and as a mom, I understood Little House on the Prairie and the other Little House books need to be discussed. Children have many questions about the books.

I wrote The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion as a guide to history, activities, and discussion about the books to help children understand the stories, context, and complicated history in the Little House books. Though written for children, adult fans of the Little House books also appreciate my book. (Take a peek at reviews on Amazon to see what adults say.)

As a child reader, I thought Laura Ingalls Wilder exaggerated the weather in The Long Winter and the grasshoppers in On the Banks of Plum Creek. (Spoiler alert: She was actually quite accurate despite the years that passed.)

I also wanted readers to be able to explore the pioneer world of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books through activities, crafts, and recipes. So, I included 75 of them. (Some are available as a free resource at WilderCompanion.com.)

The Laura IngallsWilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide was my first book idea. It was my seventh book published in 2020 by Chicago Review Press. Now it’s available wherever books are sold. Ask for it at your local bookstore.