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Hello, this is Breck.
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Did you ever wonder what it was like to grow up in a small, wooden house on the prairie with no electricity, no cars, and snow as high as the roof?
That was the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
She lived more than 100 years ago and wrote books about her childhood that have been loved by readers ever since.
Her stories help us understand what life was like for American pioneer families in the 1800s.
Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7, 1867, in a little log cabin in the woods of Wisconsin.
Her family was poor, but they worked hard and stayed close.
Her father, Charles Ingalls, loved music and could play the fiddle.
Her mother, Caroline, was gentle and taught Laura and her sisters to read, sew, and keep house.
Laura had three sisters, Mary, Carrie, and Grace.
When Laura was still a young girl, her family moved many times.
They were part of the wave of settlers moving west across the United States.
At that time, much of the land was open prairie, with few roads or towns.
Families like the Ingalls moved west to find better farmland and a chance to build a new life.
Laura's family lived in Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota over the years.
Every time they moved, they had to start over, build a new house, plant crops, and make new friends.
Life on the prairie was not easy.
In her books, Laura wrote about long winters with blizzards, summers with grasshopper plagues, and times when there wasn't enough food.
One of the hardest winters was in 1880 to 1881 in DeSmet, South Dakota.
Snowstorms came early and kept coming, blocking trains and cutting off supplies.
The Ingalls family and their neighbors had to twist hay into sticks for fuel and grind seed wheat to make bread.
It was a time of great hardship, but Laura remembered it as a time when people worked together and stayed strong.
Laura didn't start writing books until she was much older.
As a young woman, she worked as a teacher, even though she was just 15 years old.
She didn't like teaching very much, but it helped her earn money to help her family.
In 1885, when she was 18, she married Almanzo Wilder, a young farmer.
They moved to a small home and had a daughter named Rose.
The Wilders had many difficulties in their early years.
Their crops failed, they lost their house in a fire, and they both became very sick.
Even after moving to Missouri for a fresh start, they struggled for a long time.
But, Laura and Almanzo worked hard, and eventually built a small farm of their own.
Laura began writing later in life.
She first wrote articles for farm magazines, giving advice about chickens, cooking, and country life.
Her daughter, Rose, who became a writer and editor, encouraged Laura to write down the stories of her childhood.
Laura began writing a memoir, which she later turned into a children's book.
That book became Little House in the Big Woods, published in 1932.
The book was a big success.
Readers loved Laura's honest and simple way of telling stories.
She described how her family lived, what they ate, how they worked, and how they played.
The book was followed by more, including Little House on the Prairie, On the Banks of Plum Creek, By the Shores of Silver Lake, and The Long Winter.
These books, called The Little House series, followed Laura as she grew from a small girl into a young woman.
Laura's books are not just fun to read, they are based on real events.
Though she changed some names and added details, most of what she wrote really happened.
She wanted to show children what life was like for pioneers, how people depended on each other, how they survived hard times, and how they found joy in simple things.
Laura Ingalls Wilder died on February 10, 1957, at the age of 90.
Today her books are still read by children all over the world.
They have been translated into many languages and were even made into a popular TV show.
Her stories continue to teach readers about courage, family, and the American frontier.
Laura once said, the real things haven't changed.
It is still best to be honest and truthful, to make the most of what we have. Her books remind us that even in tough times, kindness, hard work, and hope can help us through.
