Little House on the Prairie (novel) facts for kids
Front dust jacket with Sewell's illustration
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| Author | Laura Ingalls Wilder |
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| Illustrator | Helen Sewell Garth Williams (1953) |
| Country | United States |
| Series | Little House |
| Genre | Children's novel Family saga Western |
| Set in | Montgomery County, Kansas, 1869–70 |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
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Publication date
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September 19, 1935 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 200; 334 pp. |
| OCLC | 18319291 |
| LC Class | PZ7.W6461 Lit 1971 |
| Preceded by | Farmer Boy |
| Followed by | On the Banks of Plum Creek |
Little House on the Prairie is a popular children's book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was published in 1935. This book is the third one in the famous Little House series. It continues the adventures of Laura and her family, picking up where Little House in the Big Woods left off. The story shares what life was like for pioneers in the American West.
Contents
What Happens in the Book?
This book tells about the months the Ingalls family spent living on the Kansas prairie. They lived near the town of Independence. Laura describes how her father, Pa, built their one-room log house. They were in what was called "Indian Territory." Pa had heard that the government planned to open this land for new settlers soon.
Challenges on the Prairie
Unlike the first book, Little House in the Big Woods, the Ingalls family faces many difficulties here. They all get sick with malaria. People at the time thought this sickness came from breathing night air or eating watermelon.
American Indian people were often seen by the family. Their house was built in Osage territory. Ma, Laura's mother, had some strong opinions about the Native Americans. But Laura, being a child, simply observed those who lived and rode nearby.
Facing Danger and Moving On
The Native American groups started gathering near the river. Their war cries made the settlers nervous. Everyone worried they might be attacked. However, an Osage chief, who was friendly with Pa, helped to prevent any fighting.
By the end of the book, all the hard work the Ingalls family put in is undone. They hear that U.S. soldiers are coming. The soldiers will remove white settlers from the Indian Territory. Pa decides to move his family away before they are forced to leave.
The Real History Behind the Story
The Ingalls family really did move from Wisconsin to Kansas in 1868. They lived there between 1869 and 1870. Laura's younger sister, Carrie, was born there in August. A few weeks after Carrie's birth, the family had to leave the territory. In the book, Carrie is already with them when they move to Kansas.
Why They Left Kansas
The Ingalls family's homestead was on the Osage Indian reservation. Charles Ingalls, Laura's father, had been told the land would be open for settlement. But this information was wrong. The Ingalls family had no legal right to live on that land.
Once they learned of their mistake, they left the territory. This was even though they had just started farming the land. Some of their neighbors chose to stay and fight the decision.
Where Did They Go Next?
As they prepared to leave Kansas, the Ingalls family got news from Wisconsin. The man who bought their farm near Pepin had not paid his mortgage. Since they had to leave Kansas anyway, they decided to go back to Wisconsin. They returned to the farm they had left two years earlier. So, instead of heading to Minnesota, as the book series describes, they went back to Wisconsin for a few years. Later, they did move west to Minnesota.
