A Little House Traveler: Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Journeys Across America

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

By the mid-1930s Laura Ingalls Wilder's journeys had taken her from Wisconsin to South Dakota, from Missouri to California and back again. She had traveled by wagon, by train, and by car; alone, with her husband, and with her daughter. She had watched the times, seasons, and people change over six decades of traveling. But one thing remained the same: Laura always kept a pencil and paper with her to jot down notes about her experiences.

For the first time ever, writings from three of Laura's most memorable trips have been collected in one special omnibus edition featuring historical black-and-white photographs. On the Way Home recounts her 1894 move with Rose and Almanzo from South Dakota to their new homestead in Mansfield, Missouri. West From Home consists of letters from Laura to Almanzo as she traveled to California in 1915 to visit Rose. And previously unpublished materials from Laura and Almanzo's car trip in 1931 now tell the story of their first journey back to DeSmet, the town where Laura grew up, where she met Almanzo, and where they fell in love. Laura's candid sense of humor and keen eye for observation shine through in this wonderful collection of writings about the many places Laura Ingalls Wilder called home.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Historical, Biography, Classics, Travel, Memoir

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

Ingalls wrote a series of historical fiction books for children based on her childhood growing up in a pioneer family. She also wrote a regular newspaper column and kept a diary as an adult moving from South Dakota to Missouri, the latter of which has been published as a book.

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved these writings so much, and the tales of her later travels were fascinating. The pictures brought it up to 4 stars! It was so nice to see things as she saw and lived them.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes indeed, there is a whole and equally also a very much extensive plethora of often really theme and content specific minutiae and information presented in all three of the travel themed documents featured in A Little House Traveler: Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Journeys Across America. And while the presented texts are for the most part engagingly and interestingly enough penned by Laura Ingalls Wilder (one about her journey by covered wagon with husband Almanzo and young daughter Rose from De Smet South Dakota to Mansfield Missouri in 1894, another about a solo trip by train to San Francisco Laura Ingalls Wilder took in 1915 to both visit her daughter Rose and to also see the 1915 San Francisco Exhibition, and with the third part detailing letters from Laura to mostly Rose about a 1935 trip by car by Laura Ingalls Wilder with her husband and their dog Nero back to De Smet to visit friends and family), as journals and letters, all three narratives are of course and naturally generally while heavy on specifics and detail also rather majorly short and sparing on exposition and expansion, with Laura Ingalls Wilder generally limiting herself to providing her observations and musings, to simply be recording what she sees, hears, tastes and smells whilst traveling and visiting but without much if any major descriptive embellishments (understandable of course, but it also does tend to make A Little House Traveler: Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Journeys Across America a bit dragging at times, especially when she say waxes textually about property prices, farming and the weather or when while in San Francisco, Laura depicts all of the different country pavilion she visits at the exhibition pretty much and constantly to the point of this being a bit ad nauseam).

But nevertheless, while for me from a general reading pleasure point of view, A Little House Traveler: Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Journeys Across America is a solid three stars (since yes indeed, there is just a bit too much included in Wilder’s featured journals and letters which does not really interest me all that much and which I also have found a trifle too repetitive), I am in fact still going to have my general ranking be four stars. For of course, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s travel journals and letters in A Little House Traveler: Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Journeys Across America present that which she herself has observed and finds of significance and importance. And yes, for Laura Ingalls Wilder as the the wife of a farmer, rural property values, weather and crop issues are of course something to notice and to ask and then write about (both in Laura’s journal about the family’s 1894 migration to Missouri and in her and her husband’s 1935 visit back to De Smet South Dakota), and it also does make more than common sense that because Laura Ingalls Wilder was obviously very much interested in the 1915 San Francisco Exhibition, that much of her letters home to Almanzo would bien sûr also deal with this. And yes, even though I have found all of this specific focus on certain themes and philosophies at tines a bit dragging and tedious, I have also and most definitely enjoyed both reading and being enlightened by A Little House Traveler: Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Journeys Across America and I am also not going to be faulting Laura Ingalls Wilder for writing about that which is important to her, about what she has noticed and finds of personal interest.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had already read On The Way Home and West From Home several times, but had never seen The Road Back, which is the chronicle of Laura and Almanzo's road trip they took in the 30s back to DeSmet, SD to visit.

Living in Texas as I am, and currently suffering through 110*F heat, I can certainly sympathize with them as they drove from Mansfield, MO in what I'm going to assume was an un-air conditioned vehicle. With their dog. They stop several times to cool both the engine and the canine. He also enjoys ice cream treats and hamburger.

While not as descriptive as the other works, this part is still interesting to me. The roadside cabins, the conditions of the roads, and the prices Laura faithfully noted (up to the final entry), all make for interesting reading. Clearly this was not written for publication. It seems Laura just really liked to record her journeys.

On the Way Home takes place right after The First Four Years and is a record of the family's covered wagon trip from DeSmet to Mansfield, MO, where they lived for the rest of their lives. West from Home is a compilation of letters Laura wrote to Almanzo while she was in San Francisco, visiting Rose and the World's Fair of 1915 as well as one of the articles she wrote for her hometown newspaper while she was there.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Little House Traveler compiles the travelogue-style quick journaling of three trips the Wilders made. These are not polished, but Laura's roughed in thoughts while making these journeys giving insight into what making the journeys was like.

The first two trips in this one can be read separately as On the Way Home and West From Home and the third is mentioned a little in A Little House Sampler, but getting the full journal entries here was great. A Little House Traveler comes with photos and a few editorial notes from William Anderson and Rose Wilder Lane.

On the Way Home is the first chronologically and details out the journey Laura, Almanzo, and young Rose made by wagon when they moved from the drought-ridden De Smet, SD on a journey of several weeks to Mansfield, MO where they found their Rocky Ridge Farm.

West From Home finds a middle-aged Laura as a correspondent back to her husband Almanzo. She has taken a journey by train from Missouri and out to San Francisco to visit with their daughter, Rose Wilder Lane and her husband during the time of the San Francisco World's Fair. Laura details her journey for Almanzo and her letters show the hints at the soon to be authoress. Rose is already a successful journalist and plans to help her mother use her own life experiences to write for newspapers, magazines, and book publishers. I enjoyed the detail of a San Francisco emerging from the earthquake disaster, the way WWI touched lives, that period in Northern California and beyond, and the fair's splendid point.

The final piece was Laura journaling a road trip she and Almanzo took by motor car in their old age to finally get back to visit De Smet, see old acquaintances, see Grace and her husband and then go to the Black Hills area to visit with Carrie and her family. Laura has returned because she has recently sent in her first Little House books from publication and has returned to refresh her memory to complete the latter part of her story. Many days, her entries are succinct, but once they reach De Smet and her family, she fills in much that allows readers to see where the remaining Ingalls girls have gotten in their lives and allowed the reader to see 'modern' De Smet through Laura's eyes.

All three travel pieces added so much to what came after the Little House years for Laura, Manly, and Rose. I really enjoyed reading through these.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was like Little House Series, part 2. Very much still Laura's own voice, and the letters from adult Rose were fun, too. A fun little gem that any Little House fan would love!

[Heather Belleguelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books were my favourite as a child, so discovering that there was a further book about her life that I hadn’t read, I added it to my wish list. While not written with the same charm as her earlier books, the three journeys described in A Little House Traveler give us new insight into Laura, the adult she became, and how she viewed the changing world around her.

All three trips described in the book are written in Laura’s own words either in journal entries or letters. We are therefore given a fascinating view of her character and the things that concerned her. For example, she records the temperature every day of their journey to Missouri as well as how much land cost in the places they passed through. Later, on the visit back to De Smet, she records how much money they spent each day and the state of the accommodation in which they stayed.

While I didn’t find the book gripping reading, I did enjoy getting to know the adult Laura a little, and was able to appreciate how much the world, and particularly America, of course, changed during her lifetime.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book, packed with extra stories from little house, and to what happened after "The first four years". Laura's writing style isn´t so polished. My favourite part was the one of the journey to San Francisco. Rose´s side of the story at the end of part one was very cute, too. I also liked that they included photos of the characters and the real site.
This isn´t a Little House book. It´s an extra. But beware of the fact that this is a compilation of three books: On the way home, West from home and The road back. On the way home is about Laura's trip to Missouri and of her family settling there. West from Home is about Laura´s visit to San Francisco at the time of the 1915 Panama-Pacific exhibition. The road back portrays a visit to De Smet when Laura and Almanzo were older.

[Kathy Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is actually 3 in 1. This book contains the previously released "On the Way Home" and "West from Home" as well as "The Road Back", Laura's account of her and her husband's 1931 trip back to DeSmet, South Dakota. At the time of this trip, Laura was 64 years old and Almanzo was 74.

I read this book mainly for Laura's diary of her and Almanzo's trip back to DeSmet. I now live in South Dakota, and it was kind of a trip to read her referencing the same highways, routes and towns I've visited in the state. She visited South Dakota in 1931 and had the privilege of seeing Mount Rushmore as it was under construction (sort of like visiting the Crazy Horse Memorial now.)

If you are a die-hard Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, you will want this book.

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The first part is Laura's journal entries from when they moved from De Smet to Mansfield, Missouri. The part I LOVED though, was Laura's letters to Almanzo describing the 1915 World's Fair in San Franciso. I have always loved San Fran, but his made me love it more.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up while browsing the travel section of a favorite used bookstore. It wasn’t until after I bought it that I remembered I had another collection of Wilder’s letters. When I got home, I compared the two and found the other is just West from Home, her letters from when she travelled to San Francisco in 1915, and its contents is included in this volume. This book also includes On the Way Home about the family move from South Dakota to Missouri in 1894 with an introduction, notes and conclusion by her daughter Rose, and The Road Back which covers Laura’s trip back to DeSmet with her husband Almanzo in 1931.

There are historical black and white photos, personal and relevant historical photos, printed throughout, but on the same paper as the text, the kind used for mass market paperbacks. The result is most of the photos are hard to see clearly.

As at least the first two sections seem to have been previously published as individual books, and all three were written during very different periods, I’ll break my thoughts down accordingly.

On the Way Home (1894)
If you ever wondered about the cost of land and the status of corn crops in North Dakota, Kansas and Missouri in the summer of 1894, On the Way Home is the book for you. Wilder wrote daily as they travelled by covered wagon to move with their daughter Rose and the Cooley family from De Smet, SD to Mansfield, MO. The majority of the entries are about the state of the crops they pass, and where the immigrants they meet are headed to and from. She also notes the time they started and the temperature, until she loses the thermometer. They seemed to travel every day but Sunday, when they’d rest. Wilder does have a brief moment of sass early on when she writes, “Mrs. Cooley and I went to a house to buy milk. It was swarming with children and pigs; they looked a good deal alike.” But otherwise, it’s a bit tedious. Based on the quality of the writing, I’d never have though this was the author of enduring classic works of fiction. Sentences are short and to the point, and she uses the same few adjectives over and over. Though this was written over 30 years before she started writing novels.

It’s also a personal journal, or notes, never intended to be read by others. It’s understandable that as both the daughter and the wife of a farmer who is on a journey for what they hope will be a better life during a period of drought, she’d be paying attention to where it would be best to settle, though they have the Ozarks in Missouri already set. And I don’t imagine there was much to write about, as the bulk of the journey would have been through rural farm land. Once they get to Missouri, she sees it as the best place, and says that the people who are not thriving must be shiftless, the country strikes her as so rich. It’s hard to say how much of this is an accurate assessment, and how much aggressive hope.

The journal is followed by an account from Laura’s daughter Rose, written in narrative form to readers, and much more engaging. She tells of what happened after the journal ends, with a good moment of drama, and how they came to acquire their land and home.

West from Home (1915)
I did some quick research on Wilder’s life before reading this. It seems that these letters to her husband were written when Wilder was a few years into her job as a writer and editor for a local newspaper, which supplemented their income. Not only did she now have professional experience as a writer, unlike the previous journal, she was going to cover the San Francisco World’s Fair which offers greater scope for interest. She mentions that part of the purpose of her trip was to learn how to be a better writer from Rose, who was a successful journalist at this point.

Beyond her improved experience, this makes for much more enjoyable reading than On the Way Home because she is writing to someone. On the Way Home feels very much like what it is, a record of facts for her to refer to. But in these letters, she is trying to share what she experiences with her husband. It’s not quite a full travel narrative, because she often says there is too much to cover and she’ll tell him when she gets home, but it is still far more engaging. Still not a page-turner, but enjoyable enough.

She describes visits to the World’s Fair and Chinatown. She doesn’t care for Chinese food, but does like Italian. She sees a Charlie Chaplin film and describes him as “horrid.” She’s very focused on money—seems it was a worry for most of her life. Per a footnote, she and Almanzo may have also loaned Rose and her husband money to get started, though Rose covered both the cost of the trip and gave her mother money to compensate for what she didn’t earn while traveling.

Notable considering her future fame, in response to Rose’s career in a letter dated October 4, 1915, Laura wrote, “The more I see of how Rose works the better satisfied I am to raise chickens. I intend to try to do some writing that will count, but I would not be driven by the work as she is for anything and I do not see how she can stand it.”

In addition to Laura’s letters, there are a few from Rose to her father, including one, dated October 14, 1915 in which she begins with a dramatic paragraph about how there is something happening that Laura says nothing about in her letters, but which Rose feels is her duty to tell him. It seems Laura “is getting fat.” She attributes it to the Scottish scones they buy at the World’s Fair. I’d think it’s more likely a sedentary city lifestyle vs. working daily on a farm. But maybe a combination. In another of her letters Rose mentions interviewing Henry Ford, and her articles were later published as a book, Henry Ford’s Own Story by Rose Wilder Lane.

Laura wrote articles for the Ruralist about the Missouri exhibits at the Fair toward the end of her visit, as well as one about food at the fair with a few recipes. A condensed version of the latter is included.

The Road Back (1931)
First published in 2006 in this book, these are Laura’s notes from their first visit back to North Dakota, thirty years after they moved away. Her writing has improved and it is a bit more interesting than On the Way Home, but as they were personal notes, it’s not a terribly compelling narrative. This time she and her husband, whom she calls Manly, are traveling by car, a 1923 Buick. Once again, she starts every entry with what time they departed. But this time she concludes with a tally of what they spent on food, gasoline, car maintenance (there are several entries) and lodging every day. Typically, it was around $2-$3 for gas; $1 or so for breakfast, dinner (what I’d call lunch) and a snack; and $1 for lodging. They didn’t seem to eat supper. They stay at what she calls “cabins” but she doesn’t describe them much beyond mentioning gas stoves and electric lights. Interestingly, they also all have garages. At one point, she also mentions not being able to stop in a town because they can’t find a garage to park the car in. I guess at this point cars were new enough that there weren’t parking lots or on street parking, particularly in rural areas. For a good part of the journey, they’re on gravel roads, though they are paved in places as well.

This trip was in the midst of a drought and the Great Depression. Laura had finished writing her first novel, Little House in the Big Woods, and sold it to a publisher, but it had not yet been published. Her mother and older sister Mary had both died, And they visit the house and farm where the family lived, before going on to visit her younger sister Carrie. Together, they take a trip through North Dakota, notably visiting Mount Rushmore where George Washington was being carved.

It actually took me awhile to remember how different a car would be then. She talks of the unbearable heat (they have to make stops to let their dog cool off), smelling the hog farms, and hearing the meadowlarks on the side of the road. It made me recognize how sealed off we are from our environment in our cars now—people rarely even drive with the windows open.

Overall, I think this book is worth reading if you are a big Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, or are doing research on the history of this part of the US. It may also interest travel buffs who plan to visit these places. But for the average reader, West from Home is by far the strongest and you could probably skip the other two as they’re rather tedious.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Little House Traveler: Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Journeys Across America is really like three books in one so I’ll discuss each section separately.


Laura Ingalls Wilder Travels from South Dakota to Missouri

The first section is Laura’s journal of the family (Laura, Almanzo, and Rose) and their journey from South Dakota to Missouri in 1894.

Some things I noted as I read:

In the intro to the book, Laura’s daughter Rose mentions Coxey’s armies which were rampaging their way to Washington, protesting for jobs. It reminded me a lot of the unrest we see today, although I found it interesting that these men were fighting for work. Today, it seems people are just fighting for “stuff” without wanting to work for it.
The family traveled in a covered wagon. It kind of amazed me to think that people were traveling in covered wagons this late. A little research reveals that cars were not popular on a large scale in the US for another 20 years.
Laura notes so many mundane details (for instance, the temperature — until she notes one day that they lost the thermometer). There is a major emphasis on how the crops look and how the land must be. This makes sense, since Almanzo was a farmer and they’d had such poor luck farming in South Dakota.
I was kind of sad as I read, thinking of how rocky the relationship between Laura and Rose was (as she commented on Missouri’s rocky terrain, I couldn’t help but see parallels). Laura’s journal contains many footnotes where Rose corrects Laura’s writing: it’s Little Sac river, not Little Sock, etc.
I realize I must have read this in the past, because I remember the tale recounted here about how, when Laura and Almanzo are ready to buy their land in Missouri, the $100 bill they’ve hidden in a wooden lap desk turns up missing. Prior to this, Laura is preparing for the purchase by getting into her black wedding dress. Rose admires her mom as she gets ready, and this reminded me of a similar scene from “Little House in the Big Woods” where Laura admired Ma getting ready for the dance.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Visits Rose in San Francisco, 1915

The next section details Laura’s journey to visit Rose in San Francisco in 1915. She visited the world’s fair held there at the time (it was called the Panama–Pacific International Exposition). It was interesting to hear Laura’s account of the fair, and I was amazed at the detail and work put into these fairs (I was similarly amazed at accounts of the Columbian Exposition — the 1893 world’s fair — and the subject of the book “Devil in the White City”). The book contains many photos from the fair (though not taken by Laura), and I was struck by how similar the buildings and exhibits were to the 1893 fair.

I was also amused at some of Laura’s notes to Almanzo (“Manly”): Pitch my letters into the bathroom and when I come I’ll look them over and tell you more about these things. I’m sure she’d be glad to know that we’re reading those words 100 years later.

It was also another bit of sentimentality — the writing of letters, something which I did to communicate up through about the mid ’90s, but which has pretty much disappeared. On this trip, Laura wrote to Almanzo pretty much daily.

I also noted that Laura was exactly my age on this trip — 48. And yet, she frequently talks about needing to rest, her eyes going bad, etc. At one point she apparently “falls off” a streetcar and spends time in the hospital. Rose is afraid to leave her alone, fearing what might happen to her. This sounds more like Laura is elderly — maybe the way we perceive age has really changed in the past 100 years.

One humorous letter that Rose sneaks into an envelope to her dad states: Something is happening which I think you should know, though to me, especially, it is a painful subject to contemplate. I notice Mama Bess (Laura) says nothing about it in her letters, but I can quite understand why she does not. Still, I feel it is only right you should know, and think it my duty to tell you. Wow. I was gearing up for Rose’s fears that Laura had Alzheimer’s or something, but here goes: Mama Bess is growing fat.

I know this wasn’t meant to be funny, but it cracked me up. Rose would have been about 30, at her metabolic prime, and I suppose that even such an accomplished journalist as she wasn’t aware that it’s quite a bit more difficult to maintain a svelte figure at her mom’s age. It did seem during this visit that Rose and Laura got along well, though.


Laura Ingalls Wilder Travels Back to South Dakota

The final section of the book detailed Laura and Almanzo’s trip back to South Dakota in 1931. It was the first time they’d been back since they left 40 years ago, and Laura’s parents and Mary had died in the meantime. Imagine not seeing your siblings in 40 years! When they visited Carrie, Laura noted: “She had changed a great deal but I knew her.” Carrie lived near Mt. Rushmore, which was being carved at the time, so they went to visit. Laura mentions watching men carve Washington’s face.

Poor Grace, who would have been 54, must not have been doing so well: “Grace is on a diet for diabetes and hands are bad swollen with rheumatism.” I imagine there wasn’t much treatment for diabetics at that time? Grace lived in De Smet, where Laura had lived during “The Long Winter” she wrote about. “It is funny how everyone who never would have been so familiar in the old days calls me Laurie and loves me so much, but in some way I like it. It all makes me miss those who are gone, Pa and Ma and Mary and the Boasts and Cap Garland,” she writes.

It was the Depression, and Laura tells tales of a town they passed through so poor that 15 people in it shared the same car license — they passed it around so that whoever wanted to drive at the time could use it. Speaking of driving, when Laura and Almanzo traveled from SD to MO 40 years ago, it was in a covered wagon. This time, it was in a Buick. The frequent mentions of the car overheating made me glad for modern conveniences. Laura talks about the headaches she and Almanzo have “for days” from the heat (once she mentions it is 105), and their dog who traveled with them suffered too. Imagine riding all day across the plains in a car with no AC!

I enjoyed reading Little House Traveler as an additional look into the person of Laura Ingalls Wilder!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is three travelogues in one, spanning the time between 1894 and 1930. All three accounts are quite interesting, but especially interesting is the detailed description of the city of San Francisco in 1915. Lots of fascinating details, as seen through the eyes of a country woman visiting. I really enjoyed these accounts of traveling in the late 19th and early to mid 20th century.

[Deb Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading about the adult travels of Laura Ingalls Wilder as much as her childhood journeys. Her experiences and observations of San Francisco were interesting. I wish that the book included correspondence from Almanzo, to get a better understanding of his life as homesteader, pioneer, farmer, husband, and father.

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that those who suggest Rose wrote the Little House books are completely wrong. Laura is a beautiful writer!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wagons, Trains & Automobiles

I grew up reading my mum's copies of the Little House and Anne of Green Gables books, and I hope at some point to read these to my own children, and pass my love onto a new generation. For some reason, despite my frequent forays into the Little House spin offs (Caroline/Rose), this has been sitting forgotten on my shelf.

This is a collection of three periods of time throughout Laura's life - firstly the 1894 journey from South Dakota to Missouri. Then letters that Laura sent back home to Almanzo, while she was visiting Rose in San Francisco and then lastly, diary entries covering their journey back "home" after 40 years to South Dakota.

The first two books, I purchased recently, before realising my mistake, as these are both included in this volume, which I have had for sometime. So you can collect these individually, On The Way Home and West From Home. These are both pretty cheap to buy individually, but had I realised I already owned them, in this volume, i would not have purchased them. However, the last part, The Road Back, does not seem to have been published individually, so this volume is worth picking up for that. The individual copies do seem to have covers that tie in with the various LHOTP editions that are out there, which is perhaps why they were published separately - this edition seems to be more aimed at adult readers, but do not make the same mistake that I did.

As I said in my review of On The Way Home, most of the first part of this is covered in Little House On Rocky Ridge, from Rose's point of view, so if you have already read that, you will recognise a lot of what Laura mentions in her diary entries. this section is bookended with a lengthy intro/outro by Rose.

The second volume, West From Home, has a nearly 50-year-old Laura, taking the long train journey from Missouri to San Francisco, and having to change trains multiple times. This was in 1915, a distance of just over 2000 miles, to the West Coast, which made me feel exhausted just reading the multiple changes and waits she had. A lot has been made of whether Rose was Laura's "ghostwriter" of her famous Little House series, but from reading this, I would say that Laura had the details down perfectly, from some of her descriptions of the towns that she passed through and the things that she did. I haven't read any of Rose's own books for comparison, such as Let The Hurricane Roar and Free Land and it could be that she had a hand in helping/influencing her mother. As Laura does mention in Almanzo's letters that they are writing together. I disagree with a couple of the letters that Rose sends back to her father, describing "Mamma Bess" as being "fat" - from the sounds of things, she was probably eating really well for one of the few times in her life, and wasn't caring about counting pennies, since Rose seemed to be paying for stuff. Most of this book occurs after the last "fictionalised" account of Rose's life, which takes her up to meeting Gillette Lane.

The Road Back is quite a bittersweet section of the book, as a 64 year old Laura and a 74-year-old Almanzo travel by Buick from Missouri, to South Dakota, approximately about 750 miles. They go back to where they met and fell in love. Ma & Pa Ingalls (made famous by Michael Landon and Karen Grassle in the TV series) are long gone by this point (having died in 1902 and 1924 respectively). Mary had also died in 1928, but Laura drops in on Carrie and Grace, her two younger sisters - both married without kids from what I could gather, although one of them does have a stepson. It does come across as a bit that they didn't really stay in touch after their parents died, but this could have been due to the distance between them as well. (I half expected Nellie and Mrs Oleson to pop up - but as Laura has said, Nellie was a combination of girls.)

At the end of the book, there is a family tree, and some letters that were sent to Laura from children who had read and loved her books.

The last page, contains a poignant scan/photo of Laura's last letter to her daughter, a couple of days before she death in February 1957. This is something that I had been wanting to see throughout this volume, to see something of her hand writing.

There are other books out there that go deeper from what was written in the original series of books, but some of them can be quite expensive - I'm looking at you, Pioneer Girl. I will get around to getting them all at some point, but if you're looking for a cheaper alternative, to take you back in time, this is recommended. Just make sure you haven't bought it already. ​

[Barbara Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Little House Traveler contains Laura Ingalls Wilder's noted from three major journeys in her adult life. They weren’t written with an eye toward publication, at least not in the form she left them. They were just travel journals, notes she made for herself along the way. Perhaps she just wanted to remember certain things about her trips, perhaps she wanted to note details for letter-writing, or perhaps she did plan on incorporating some of the information into future articles or books. But since she did not start writing for publication until seventeen years after her first trip, it seems more likely that these were just notes she kept for herself.

The first book, On the Way Home, details Laura’s move with her husband and daughter from De Smet, South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri in 1894 via covered wagon. Laura’s daughter, Rose, who was seven at the time, provides an introduction and ending to set the context from her vantage point as a child.

West From Home contains Laura’s letters to Almanzo while visiting Rose in San Francisco for the World’s Fair.

The Road Back contains Laura’s notes made on a trip back to De Smet to visit Carrie and Grace, the only remaining family members. This time they traveled in an un-air-conditioned Buick instead of a covered wagon. Laura was 64 and Almanzo was 74. They had not been back in the forty years they had lived in Mansfield. Laura had written Little House in the Big Woods, but it had not been published yet. So she was not well known as a writer at that point except for her columns for the Missouri Ruralist.

Sprinkled throughout the book are pictures of the Ingalls and Wilder family, their homes, and some of the scenes the Wilders might have seen in their travels. At the end is a short (three-page) biography of Laura, a family tree, photographs of notes children had written to her, and a copy of her last letter to Rose.

I enjoyed visiting with Laura on her travels. Even though her notes were off the cuff and not polished, I enjoyed her powers of observation and descriptions as well as her characteristic humor.

[Ann Woodbury Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of three of Laura Ingalls Wilder's nonfiction writings. The first, "On the Way Home," and the last, "The Road Back," are diaries, one chronicling the family's journey from South Dakota to Missouri (1894) and the other, a trip "back home" Laura and her husband made years later, in 1931. The middle section, "West From Home," is a series of letters Laura wrote to Almanzo during a trip to San Francisco in 1915. The diaries are often abbreviated jottings; "On the Way Home" is more detailed and far more interesting than "The Road Back," which focuses on budgets, routes, and meals. I enjoyed "West From Home" the best. Laura clearly took time with her letters, attempting (successfully) to convey all that she was seeing, feeling, and hearing to Almanzo. Some critics have been scornful of Laura's writing (to the point of insisting that her daughter Rose actually created the Little House books), but the letters show that Laura was clearly a skilled writer and able to catch the essence of scenes and events--all new to her--in more than capable fashion. She is particularly good in her descriptions of the Panama Pacific International Exposition (a lavish World's Fair) and of boat rides on the Pacific Ocean, which, rather surprisingly given her prairie upbringing, she loved. Laura also evidences a sense of humor. I think I would enjoy spending time with her! The principal drawbacks to this collection (besides the fact that the first two sections are available separately) are the poorly reproduced illustrations and the lack of explanations or commentary. For instance, what would the money Laura carefully calculated in "The Road Back" be worth today? This is definitely not for children, but adults who want to complete their Wilder collections might appreciate it.

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder have sparked the interest of readers who are eager to learn about life on the prairie during the 1800s for a long time now. This newest addition offers readers new entries as well as her travels and adventures. The extras in the back of the book include Laura's Family Tree, Letters to Laura and Laura's Final Letter to Rose. If readers are introduced to Laura for the first time this collection is an excellent way to learn about this remarkable young girl and her life's journey. Pictures and photos of actual letters will keep readers turning pages to reveal history in the making. It will answer all questions about what it must have been like to group up in the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. This is not a book for young readers alone, adults will enjoy this page turner as well. This is a good time for families to sit down and discuss their own history and enlighten young readers.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

(note that I am reviewing this title only for the previously unpublished journal entries about Laura and Almanzo's 1931 trip to De Smet . . . my reviews for "On the Way Home", and "West from Home" can be found under each respective title)
I didn't end up liking this set of journal entries as much as the ones in "On the Way Home". Perhaps because they traveled by car back to South Dakota, rather than by horse and wagon, Laura didn't have as much time to document things as meticulously as she did in her journey from De Smet ca. 1894. Though, there was information there about what each day's costs were like, and that was fascinating! I also liked the tidbits of her visits with Grace and Carrie, and going to see the progress being made on Mount Rushmore.

[Kailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who grew up with people that watched Little House On The Prairie all the time, I thought this would be a very interesting look into other parts of Laura's life. And while I did learn more about her life and it was interesting, this book was just okay. It was a little boring at times and I found myself having to just push through to finish. Also, her descriptions of things could be very long-winded, which isn't bad, just sometimes the things she described were things I wasn't interested in, which made it boring and slow for me. Overall an okay read. (Also, BookTubeAThon book number 3!)

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is just a review of the last section of the book, since it doesn't appear anywhere else and the other two sections were already published as separate works.

It's not really meant to be great literature, just a collection of letters and journals, but it's interesting to see Laura re-trace her steps to the "Little Town on the Prairie" and some of her roots, and also seeing the early years of the Depression through her eyes on her travels. Not the most fascinating read, but nice if you want the more complete picture of her life and travels.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

About half done. It's taking too long for me, as it's not engaging enough to keep me in my seat. Nonetheless, it is actually interesting, full of tidbits of history, of the family's lives, of giggles at Laura's observations. Lots of photos.
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Pushed through. Never did get quite recommendable except to completists.

"If I had been the Indians I would have scalloped more white folks before I ever would have left [the James River]." - This is as 'racist' as the book gets.

There's mention of the cultural dress and skin color of people of various nationalities at the Exposition, but they all chose to be there. "... The smiling high-cheeked Russian peasant girl ... the swarthy, black-eyed Mexican, all of them eager to have me like their national foods." And Laura did like some of them - she saved the recipe for Mexican Tamale Loaf and some others (and you can read them here).

"The wind was driving the spray and fog in my face and the boat would rise and swoop and fall under my feet and it was glorious. Going on a ferry boat is not nearly so much fun, for the boat is so much larger that it rides steadier." I admit that I was surprised to learn how much she loved the ocean and to ride on it.

"The foghorns sound so mournful and distressed, like lost souls calling to each other through the void. (Of course, no one ever heard a lost soul calling, but that's the way it sounds.)"

Laura was 64 and Almanzo was 74 when they finally took a road trip back to DeSmet. It was challenging and mostly unsatisfying. But this couple is not afraid of hard work: "Overslept, left camp at 6:00 AM, but the first ones out."

I need to check on the history about the Gjoa and the Northwest Passage. And I'd like to find more or Rose's 'stories.'

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, fun read for any super fan of LIW. Her voice in the letters and journal entries is sharp, funny and detailed. You get a sense of her relationship with Rose and her yearning to see more of the world despite her sense of obligation to Almanzo and their farm. You also get a glimpse of the adult Carrie and Grace, in a bit of a sad kind of way in that they had all grown distant and Grace in particular had a pretty difficult life. None of the cozy comfort of the Little House books is here but you still have Laura’s resilient pioneering spirit and even her very final writing, a letter to Rose written three days before Laura’s death.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a three in one book. It has her book where her diary of their daily treck in the covered wagon to MO. She kept almost a daily entry during their trip. Then it has the letters she wrote back to Almanzo while she was visiting Rose and Gillette in San Fransisco. That was interesting to me since many of her entries were 'to the day' I a was reading but MANY years later. Having to been eyes for her sister Mary her letters home years later are filled with the same details and energy she would have described for Mary. I have personally never been to San Fransisco but would be neat to see if the things she described are still 'true' this day.

[Escape to Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. An interesting look at an amazing time in America. This is Laura Wilder's journal entries of her time leaving her home in Wisconsin to South Dakota with her family via wagon trail. Then another journey to visit her daughter Rose in California and her time there during the World's Fair. And last her entries to her daughter going back home to Wisconsin after a forty year gap but now in a Buick with the family dog. Very interesting to hear the troubles of the time and what places looked like and how much things cost.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the three compilations of Laura's writings (and some of Rose's) from her three trips. Each was charming and gave a good picture of the times and place. I'm partial to the middle one, about the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco. Only disappoint is that several times she mentioned planning to visit Mill Valley (where my son and his family live) but there was nothing about such a visit. I hope she did go!

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

These letters really humanized Laura in a way many of the other books either written for or about her failed to do. She was so straightforward about everything, serious, yet so descriptive and quietly loving to her family. I think you really can get a sense for who someone is when seeing how they communicate with the people they love. The diary entries were also interesting, very impersonal at times but had a strong sense of morality and self.

[Private Account · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, like stepping back in time. Also nice to say hi to old friends and hear how their lives turned out. My five year old enjoyed this book as well, though not nearly as much as he enjoyed the Little House books of course - those books he had me read to him eighty pages at a time; this book he had me read to him off and on over a period of about four months.

[Jessie Mattis · Rating 5 out of 5]

So neat to read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s journal in her actual words. For those of us who didn’t want the “Little House” series to end, this is an excellent read for diving into her adult life and tying up loose ends.

[Km · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars ... I enjoyed these quotidian travel entries, full of daily (travel) life and minutiae