Little Town on the Prairie

Rural American author Laura Ingalls Wilder’s autobiographical children’s novel, Little Town on the Prairie (1941) is the seventh installation in Little House series, in which Wilder recounts her life growing up in De Smet, South Dakota, and the unique challenges of coming of age as a girl in rural America. Famous for lending a unique female voice to American literature, the novel received a Newbery Honor in 1942.

The novel begins in the spring after a record-breaking winter in the American Midwest. One day, fifteen-year-old Laura is eating dinner with her father, “Pa,” who asks her whether she intends to go to town to find work as a seamstress for a shirt company. He asks because the town has recently become a hub for tailoring services, creating a number of jobs relegated to women. Laura takes up work at the company, instantly disliking it for its monotony and tediousness. However, she presses on in order to earn money to send her sister, Mary, to an Iowa school that educates blind people. That summer, on Independence Day, Laura walks with Pa and Carrie to the town center to celebrate with their neighbors. They witness a number of horse races and observe Almanzo, who later marries Laura, win a buggy race.

Back on the family farm, the corn and oat crops are flourishing, and Pa projects that the extra funds will send Mary to college. Their hopes are foiled when a flock of blackbirds ravages the crops. Mary and Laura accept that Mary will have to wait longer to go to college. However, before the school year starts, Pa sells a cow, allowing Mary to enroll. Laura, Grace, and Carrie live at home while the Ingalls parents take Mary to school.



When autumn comes, the Ingalls move into the town center to find a safer shelter and live closer to survival resources and social support. Here, Laura reunites with Minnie Johnson and Mary Power, her friends from before her family’s last move. She also befriends Ida Brown, the daughter of Reverend Brown, the town’s main religious official. When Laura goes to school, she finds that her least favorite girl, Nellie Oleson, has moved in from Plum Creek and has also enrolled. Laura finds that their teacher, Eliza Jane Wilder, is Almanzo’s sibling. Nellie begins to ostracize Laura, manipulating her classmates into doing the same. Wilder struggles to maintain order in the school, succeeding only once the school board intervenes. Still, she decides to discontinue teaching at the end of the semester.

During the winter session, a new teacher, Mr. Clewett arrives. Laura, who anticipates applying for a teaching certificate, dedicates much of her time to studying. De Smet throws a number of exciting literary events, including minstrel shows, a spelling bee, and singing contests. After a birthday party for classmate Ben Woodworth, Laura grows closer to her classmates. Her newfound social life distracts her from school, resulting in a need to take additional studies during the summer. The following school year, a new teacher, Mr. Owen arrives. Almanzo takes a liking to Laura, asking to walk her home after church one day. Ma is hesitant about his advance since he is well into adulthood, and Laura is still only fifteen.

The novel concludes around Christmastime. The school needs financial support and additional space, and Mr. Owen decides to throw an exhibition event to raise money. He asks Laura and Ida to deliver a presentation on American history. They pull off their presentation seamlessly, and Carrie recites a well-received poem. Almanzo takes Laura home and invites her to ride on a sleigh he is building.



When Laura arrives home, she encounters two locals, Mr. Brewster and Mr. Boast. Impressed with her lecture, they offer her a teaching spot at Mr. Brewster’s settlement outside of town. She passes the superintendent’s test and is given a license to teach up to the third grade. As the novel ends, Laura looks forward to teaching for the first time, appreciating the fruits of her labor.

A quintessential American novel about the mundane events of rural life, Little Town on the Prairie uses Wilder’s personal experiences to render a portrait of a young woman who aspires to excel despite the challenges inherent to her coming of age.