Laura Ingalls Wilder

I grew up reading the 'Little House' books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I even progressed to the series of books written by Roger Lea MacBride which takes up the story after Laura's last book and tells about the years the Wilders spent on Rocky Ridge Farm in Missouri.

As mentioned in previous blog entries, I love looking through secondhand books.  There's the $3-a-bag sales that the Albuquerque main library holds twice a year.  About once a week I cruise the book section at Goodwill - which can sometimes prove to be a gold mine.  I have found several books signed by the auther, including an autobiography by Hollywood gossip columnist, Hedda Hopper.

My most recent find (not signed) is called Little House in the Ozarks.  Laura Ingalls Wilder starting writing her 'Little House' books when she was 65.  However, that was not her first attempt.  About twenty years before she started these books, she was writing articles for regional newspapers and magazines.  The articles were written between 1911 and 1925 and covered topics ranging from everyday life on Rocky Ridge Farm to concerns about World War I to visiting the San Francisco Exhibition (around 1915). 

Finding this book was a very pleasant surprise and an interesting read.  (FYI:  the book was edited by Stephen W. Hines, a lifelong fan of Wilder's.)  It doesn't include all of her articles, but it does contain a majority.  Fun to see the woman behind the author.

Papillon