Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House Books.

Laura & Almanzo

Click for more pictures

Many people have never seen the early editions of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. I'd like to share some of my books with you. These books were illustrated by Helen Sewell, some were also co-illustrated by Mildred Boyle. They were published in this form until 1953, when the illustrations were replaced with drawings by Garth Williams. Please click on a title below to see the book.

Little House in the Big Woods - 1932

Farmer Boy - 1933

Little House on the Prairie - 1935

On the Banks of Plum Creek - 1937

By the Shores of Silver Lake - 1939

The Long Winter - 1940

Little Town on the Prairie - 1941

These Happy Golden Years - 1943

Here is a letter Laura wrote to a fan. It was taken from the book Dear Laura.

This letter was written to author Jennie Lindquist, at the Hornbook. Click for enlargement and Laura's recipe.

How do you know when your book was printed?
Look on the copyright page, which is the opposite side of the title page, and find a 2 letter code. Below are two charts to give you the month and year of printing. For example, "A-W" would a January 1947 printing. First Editions are always stated.

First Letter = Month

A - January
B - February
C - March
D - April
E - May
F - June

G - July
H - August
I - September
K - October
L - November
M - December

Second Letter = Year

G - 1932
H - 1933
I - 1934
K - 1935
L - 1936
M - 1937
N - 1938

O - 1939
P - 1940
Q - 1941
R - 1942
S - 1943
T - 1944
U - 1945

V - 1946
W - 1947
X - 1948
Y - 1949
Z - 1950
A - 1951
B - 1952

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LIW fans have been here since 12-16-97
Last modified on 1-24-05