The Mennobrarian

If you enjoyed Laura, then you might also like...A Reading List

11:10, Saturday, June 21, 2008 .. Posted in Laura Lives On .. 5 comments .. Link

From the book "I Remember Laura" by Steven W. Hines:

One day, Mrs. Wilder came into the library and said, "I want you to have lunch with me. I got a surprise in the mail this morning."
"What was that?" I asked.
"Well, I got a $500 royalty check that I wasn't expecting!"
Although we didn't usually close over lunch hour, she said, "I'll go on up to the cafe and order us a shrimp dinner, and then you can come up to the cafe and take time to eat a shrimp dinner with me." So I did.

-Nava Austin, Head Librarian, Wright County Missouri. (retired)

Isn't it befitting that among Laura's many friends, she counted the local librarian? Laura loved to read and learn, and it showed. The book shelves in her Ozark home were filled, the same for Ma and Pa Ingalls' home in DeSmet. Laura would donate her own used books to the library. According to the librarian, they were mostly fiction, mysteries, westerns, "and some bird books."

Of westerns she preferred Luke Shot and Zane Grey. She said the small paperbacks were easy to hold, and she enjoyed them.

Once in a while, someone will tell me how much they enjoyed the frontier stories of Laura's childhood, and that they wish for "Little House" that they can enjoy as adults. The good news is that there are many wonderful books that capture the time, place, and spirit of Laura. I wanted to share my compiled reading list of books that you might also like, now that you're a grown up!

The Children's Blizzard, by David Laskin (A true account of a blizzard in 1888 that ripped across the Great Plains- very good!)

A Lantern in Her Hand, by Bess Streeter Aldrich (Wonderful novel of faith and frontier life.)

Cimarron, by Edna Ferber

The Thread that Runs So True, by Jesse Stuart

The Whistling Season, by Ivan Doig

High, Wide and Lonesome, by Hal Borland

"Little Britches", "The Man of the Family", and "The Home Ranch", all by Ralph Moody

"The Emigrant" series by Vilhelm Moberg

The Backwoods of Canada, by Catherine Parr Traill

Mrs. Mike, by Benedict Freeman

Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaskan Wilderness by Anne Purdy, as told to Robert Specht

The All True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton, by Jane Smiley.

Letters from Yellowstone, by Diane Smith.

Mountains Ahead, by Martha Ferguson McKeown

Come Spring, by Charlotte Hinger

The Wedding Dress, by Carrie Young

Letters of a Woman Homesteader, by Elinore Pruitt Stewart (true!)

These is My Words, by Nancy Turner

The Journals of Corrie Belle Hollister (series) by Michael Phillips

The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas

The Change and Cherish Historical Series, by Jane Kirkpatrick.

Winter Wheat, by Mildred Walker

Let the Hurricane Roar, by Rose Wilder Lane (Don't miss Rose's interpretation of her parent's pioneering!)

A Sudden Country, by Karen Fisher

And if you can't get enough of Laura, don't forget to read:

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist: Writings from the Ozarks, by Stephen W. Hines.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Country Cookbook, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, William Anderson, and Leslie A. Kelly (Beautifully done, full of Laura's authentic recipes.)

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Fairy Poems (Did you know Laura wrote poetry?)

Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman Behind the Legend, John E. Miller (Brace yourself and ask, just how much do you want to know about the real Laura?)

Feel free to make more recommendations if you have enjoyed reading similar books! And thanks again for joining me on a pioneer journey.

Leave a Comment

Great List

03:42, Tuesday, June 24, 2008 .. Posted by browns71280
I am keeping you list of books for future reading. I fell in love with reading about historical people and places when I read my first book the Diary of Mattie Spencer. Oh what a great book that was. I had picked it up at a discount book store just on a whim, and that's all it took. If you want to read another one on history, it's called Two Old Women by Velma Wallis. It's a small book but worth the time. I also like to read Jane Kirkpatrick since she does alot of historical fictions.
My library is filling up fast with books like these. I will have to add your list of recommends to my library.
Thanks
Debbie

***Thanks Debbie, I'm glad you enjoyed the list! It makes it so worthwhile when other people who love good books can benefit. I can't wait to read the Diary of Mattie Spencer since you recommended it.****

Edited by Mennobrarian on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 08:25

Thanks Monica!

12:11, Saturday, June 28, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous
I am going to search all of these in my library catalogue.

Are there some people that just won't read a children's book? I love to read Little House books though I am grown up. I suppose it takes a little bit of courage to do that.

Cimarron

12:45, Saturday, June 28, 2008 .. Posted by MyThreeDaughters
The name is used in books by Lauraine Snelling, Ruby & Pearl. I found a movie from the book you mentioned as well, and I have been able to get a copy reserved at the library. It is a book with other stories joined into one.

Hi

11:57, Thursday, July 3, 2008 .. Posted by MyThreeDaughters
The second one was me. Sorry.

I remember that I couldn't cope with These is My Words, by Nancy Turner. But my library brought some other books and I will be reading them soon.

Books

12:54, Sunday, July 20, 2008 .. Posted by Tracy
Thanks for the list of books. I'm not sure if I can find many of these titles in Australia but will keep my eyes open because they sound like my kind of books. I am on homestead blogger but I now blog at
www.sunnycornerfarm.blogspot.com

Tracy