Originally published from 1932 to 1943, Laura Ingalls Wilders Little House books are classics of childrens literature, beloved by millions. But readers who last enjoyed them as children may be astonished at the quiet poetry of Wilders prose and the force and poignancy of her portrait of the lives of American pioneers. Now The Library of America and editor Caroline Fraser present a new two-volume edition that affirms Wilders place in the American canon, reintroducing these enduring works to readers young and old. Here, for the first time in two collectible hardcover volumes, are all eight Little House novelsbrilliant narratives of the early life of Laura Ingalls and her family as they grow up with the country in the woods, on the plains, and finally in the small towns of the advancing American frontierplus the posthumous novella The First Four Years, which recounts the early years of the authors marriage to Almanzo Wilder. This first volume includes Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy, Little House on the Prairie,and On the Banks of Plum Creek, plus two rare autobiographical pieces that address the need for historical accuracy in childrens literature and reveal real life events not included in the novels.

A companion volume gathers By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years

Each volume features a newly-researched chronology of Laura Ingalls Wilders life and career, and helpful notes. The volumes are also available in a deluxe collectors boxed set, The Little House Books: The Library of America Collection.

LIBRARY OF AMERICAis an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nations literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, Americas best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.