It’s A Wilder Life

Discover the life of Laura Ingalls in a whole new way.

For anyone fascinated with the history of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the classic American novels of the “Little House on the Prairie” series, the new release “The Wilder Life” is just for you.
Author Wendy McClure has had an undying passion for the life of Wilder ever since she was a little girl. McClure used to think of herself as being a part of “Laura World” and would often think of Laura as her friend. She also read the nine-book “The Little House on the Prairie” series as a child.
Now an editor for children’s books at the Albert Whitman and Company, McClure decided to follow her dreams and discover the true life of Wilder.
“The Wilder Life” is written in a unique combination of a travel diary and a biography. I found this novel entertaining, humorous, inspiring and quite informative. This is definitely a good book for young adult readers.
When I picked up this book I was amazed to see the author had been to all of the places where Wilder used to live. Being a fan of traveling and history, I had to see what this book was all about.
Traveling through the woods of Pepin, Wisconsin to the Ozark countryside of Mansfield, Missouri, this book takes you on a journey through the 1800s and to some wonderful tourist sites and museums that used to be called home by the Ingalls family.
I discovered that a replica of the cabin from “Little House in the Big Woods”is located in the town of Pepin; in Independence, Kansas, the original cabin built by Pa Ingalls is still standing; Laura and Mary’s schoolhouse was relocated in the same town and still in its original condition; and is Laura’s written drafts for the “Little House” series are kept in her home in Mansfield, which is now a museum.
I thought it was really creative of the author to reflect on “Little House on the Prairie” days by doing many different things.
One of the things I loved about this book was how the author incorporated recipes from “The Little House Cookbook” including snow candy, made of snowballs with hot, sweet syrup poured on top. She also featured Long Winter Bread and bought an old-fashioned butter churn to make her own butter.
She had failed some cooking experiments, which I thought was hilarious.
I also enjoyed the part when she visited Independence. This was where Laura and the Ingalls family used to live before they moved back to Pepin. She really brought the place to life in my mind with the way she describes all that was around her. It felt like I was there.
McClure also mentions facts about McClure also mentions facts about our country’s history and how Americans in the Midwest used to live during the 19th century. You not only learn the important events of Laura’s life, but also about how land rights were given, which states used to be Indian Territories and how the pioneers made their own household items.The author gives the reader feedbackon other written works from this era as
well. She talks about Wilder’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, who was a writer just like her mother. McClure introduces “On the Way Back Home,” which takes place when Laura, her husband, Almanzo, and Rose took a trip from South Dakota to Missouri in 1894.
Comparing to the travels of the author and the Wilders, it fascinates me that McClure was able to experience the past by partially living it in our present time.
There’s so much more from this compassionate writer who not only researched the history of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but also experienced the world of Laura by walking in her footsteps into the life she left behind.