Going to Town: My First Little House Books

My First Little House Books

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

A little pioneer girl and her family, living in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, make their first trip into town to visit the general store.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Historical, Classics, Literature, Read For School

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Laura Ingalls Wilder was an American author, journalist, and educator whose "Little House" series transformed the arduous reality of the American frontier into a foundational pillar of children's literature. Born in the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin to Charles and Caroline Ingalls, Laura’s childhood was a nomadic journey through the heart of a shifting nation. Her family moved across Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, and the Dakota Territory—often staying just ahead of legal evictions or chasing the promise of fertile soil. These years were marked by extreme hardship, including the "Hard Winter" of 1880–81 in De Smet, South Dakota, where the family survived near-starvation. Despite the struggle, these experiences provided the raw material for her eight-volume record of pioneer life, a series that has since been translated into over forty languages.
Before becoming a world-renowned novelist in her sixties, Wilder lived several distinct lives. At fifteen, she became a teacher in one-room prairie schools, a job she took primarily to support her family financially. In 1885, she married Almanzo Wilder, beginning a partnership that endured fire, paralysis from diphtheria, and the heartbreaking loss of an infant son. These trials eventually led them to Mansfield, Missouri, where they established Rocky Ridge Farm. It was here that Laura developed her voice as a professional writer, serving as a columnist and editor for the Missouri Ruralist for over a decade.
The Great Depression and the 1929 stock market crash wiped out the Wilders’ savings, providing the ultimate catalyst for Laura to pen her memoirs. Her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane—a successful author in her own right—encouraged her mother to adapt her autobiography, Pioneer Girl, into a format more suitable for children. This resulted in a complex and often rocky literary collaboration; while Lane provided the professional "style," Wilder provided the "substance" and narrative heart. The first book, Little House in the Big Woods, was published in 1932 when Laura was sixty-five.
Wilder’s legacy is a blend of immense literary success and modern historical scrutiny. While her books remain staples in classrooms for their vivid descriptions of 19th-century domestic life, her portrayals of Native Americans and African Americans have led to recent reevaluations. In 2018, the American Library Association renamed the "Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal" to the "Children's Literature Legacy Award" to reflect these evolving cultural sensitivities. Nonetheless, Wilder remains a monumental figure in American letters, a woman who successfully "saved the American soul" by documenting the grit, faith, and unyielding persistence of the pioneer spirit.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suddenly Pa stopped the horses and pointed ahead with his whip. "There you are Laura and Mary!" he said. "There's the town of Pepin."

Ma, Pa, Laura, Mary, and baby Carrie all live in the great big woods of Wisconsin in a cozy little cabin and today (today!) they are going to town!

The children have never been to a town and cannot believe all the things they could see - houses upon houses, people everywhere, and then there was the store!

"The store was full of things to look at. There were sacks of salt and sugar. There were pink and blue and red and brown and purple fabrics for dresses. There were boots and hammers and nails and big wooden pails of candy."

I just adore this book.

Laura Ingalls Wilder does such an amazing job of capturing the wonder and amazement of her younger self at the "bustling" town.

One thing I love about the picture books is all the cool things we learn about in her time - like what sorts of candy the girls would get and what it was like to visit a town in her time.

The illustrations are simply gorgeous - so many details and beautifully done figures. I particularly enjoyed seeing the inside of the shops!

All in all, this one was fabulous!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 4 year old son picked out this book from the library because it was about 'going to town.' I don't know what caught him about the title but when we read it before bed, he was riveted to the pages.

The story flows nicely and the illustrations are quite pretty with soft colors. We will be checking more from this series out from our library.

[Carly Bontrager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction
K-2nd grade
This book was a simple and easy read. Great for younger kids, but not one I particularly enjoyed. I didn’t love the illustrations. They were ok, but nothing too special. I did like how they wore there bonnets and dress and that they traveled by there wagon.

[Chelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one I love! I can’t imagine growing up with only ever really being around my immediate family and practically never leaving home. The older girls had to have been 5-8 years old when they went to town for the first time. Crazy how time has changed!

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is great! It's tiding me over until I can start reading the Little House books with my 6 yr old.
12/15/17 Read with Naomi & Julia.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the sweetest picture books.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

She likes the scene in the yard where the girls are having a tea party?

[Amy Swafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 3 year old loved me reading this book. We talked about having to go to town in a wagon and all the preparations to get ready to go to town. I hope she loves the Little House books as much as me.

[J.]

AR 3.7

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book as a prequel to reading the Little House series

[Olive]

Olive doesn't like their curled hair in this book.

[Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet book that we picked up at our neighborhood library (with a beautiful library log still in tact) that Wallace is obsessed with and gives me a feeling of deep nostalgia.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to introduce young readers to the Little House books.

[Sarah Roberts Lundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Checked out for a family read. Adorable so will be purchasing for our home library.

[Rayjan Koehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't know why the dog in the picture looks like a puppy of a bigger breed, but this is a cute story for younger readers who probably couldn't sit through the original books quite yet.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

♥️

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A weekend in the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder as a child. Great illustrations and story of the girls first trip to town. A lovely CM living book option for anyone learning the pioneer days and how little things were a big deal in those days.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our family loves these illustrated versions of The Little House books!

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 'My First Little House' books are so beautifully illustrated that it gives so much to each story. It's few and far between that either of us - and especially both of us will linger on a page and take everything in. That's the norm with these books and we both get excited when we go to read a new one. (As Julia's Mom I can't put into words how thrilled I am each time she gets so excited over a book.)
Going to Town follows the Ingalls' trip into Pepin which is Laura, Mary and Carrie's first time. None have ever seen a store, none knew what to expect.
Julia got a huge kick out of the illustration of Mrs. Ingalls doing Mary and Laura's hair. Laura was speechless at the number of people and buildings in town, at the amount of items for sale in the trade store, etc.
I think it says something that kids can still get so excited about stories that were published over 60 years ago. In this day and time I'm more pleased than I can say that books like these are what Julia loves to read and gets excited about.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

These "first" books are absolutely wonderful! The illustrations are very nice and so eye catching for non readers. I LOVED them, am so glad I found them now I won't have to wait until my 2 year old granddaughter is older to share with her the wonderfully sweet stories of Laura and History back in pioneer days! LOVED THIS BOOK...

This one the girls are old enough to go to town with Ma and Pa and see a store for the first time. They had never seen a store before, and getting dressed up and riding in the wagon to town was fun for them especially when they stopped for a picnic lunch Ma had packed.

[Theresa Landgren]

This is another story about Laura Ingalls Wilder. This one is about her family going to town and getting shopping done at the stores. It shows the family having a picnic with each other and Laura picking the fabric for a new dress. In the end of the story it shows the family going back home into the woods and having all their new things.

I would use this in my classroom again to teach about the pioneer days and to teach about who Laura Ingalls Wilder was. I want my students to see that they had to travel to town in a covered wagon and they had to make their own clothes. They can contrast our lives now to the lives back then.

[Shelly♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little picture book that takes one component of the Little House books and discusses it. Through the illustrations and activities can point out what life in the 1800s was like in the midwest and the west. Both of my boys enjoyed it.

Recommend for young elementary students as a prelude to the real books.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dd loves the My First Little House series and I have to read at least two of them every night (or naptime). I actually prefer these simplified and extra-illustrated versions of LHitBW to the original novel.

April 2011 - still reading this almost every night.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:
All the books in this series are beautiful.
Great intro to pioneer life, but may not connect to preschoolers with no frame of reference.
Son read them after he first learned to read.
Excerpted from Wilder's actual books.

[Andrea Flory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a good book for grades k-2, 3-4. This book gives a little glimpse about life back in the day of Laura and I think is a great book to read. It's good to have in a classroom. The genre is biography.

[Rose]

E Wil

[Mandy J. Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good one in the series.

[Cws]

JEAR3-Wil

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girls get all dolled up to go to the town of Pepin. They are shocked by all of the choices and items. Even so, home is the best place for the family.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these stories. They are beautifully illustrated and written. I adore the memories that they have captured of the settling of this country. I had to have these stories in my collection.