As the story goes, a young girl lived with her family deep in the woods of Wisconsin,

and those woods were thick and dark. In fact, the woods were so dense that the trees existed

as far as the eye could see. And beyond that, more woods. A traveler heading north from the little

gray log cabin wouldn't come upon another house or road for nearly a month. The young girl in her

family lived alone with no one but trees and wild animals to keep them company. It was just Laura,

her parents, sisters Mary and Carrie, and their devoted dog Jack.

Life was an adventure, but hardly easy.

The family had to grow or catch their own food.

The story which takes place in the late 1800s is mostly true.

You see, Laura, the author, skillfully blended fiction with experiences from her childhood.

Together with her daughter Rose, Laura's novel became one of America's most read and loved

children's books. Rose continued to be her mother's editor, and soon other books followed

Little House in the Big Woods. The third and most famous book follows the family

as they move to Independence, Kansas. In the third book, we learn of a different life for the family,

one of peril and difficulties. Although the land belonged to the Osage tribe of Native Americans,

the family and a handful of other settlers still built small farms, much to the disapproval of those who

owned them. Eventually, though, the family was forced to leave. This book, and the six others that

followed, help establish America's view of life on the frontier. Decades later, the book

would inspire the classic Western TV drama of the same name, Little House on the Prairie.

The novels focused on the Ingalls family and their struggle during tough economic times after the

Civil War. Laura wrote about the homestead pushes westward, the forced displacement of Native

Americans from their land, railroads, recession, and devastating illnesses.

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