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

This book is a must for all fans that have not yet experienced On the Way Home and West from Home. My only problem is why publish The Road Back with the other books and not separate so fans that have the other two stories can just read The Road Back. I know that it is hand to have all three together in hardcover; the book will last much longer than the paperback version of On the Way Home and West From Home. West from Home is the best part. The letters are descriptive and full of color. This part holds your interest. The historical introduction of West From Home is missing, but it is not needed. It basically states that the city had rebuilt within six years of the earthquake and was ready to hold the fair. On the Way Home is good. Rose Wilder Lane's introduction and conclusion are written from a sophisticated yet childish viewpoint. She talks like herself at the age of 7, when that trip took place. Laura's diary is simple, but full of interesting stories. The Road Back is a long read, with only a couple of highlights. It describes beautifully the Black Hills, and Laura's comments about Manly's driving are interested to read. However, the book to me mentions only slight changes that have occurred since they last saw South Dakota. The part about where they stayed on the way to and back is long. You do get a picture at Grace's delicate health and Carrie is mentioned briefly. In the introduction to the Road Back, there is one historical inaccuracy. Laura has seen South Dakota when she returned in 1902 to visited her dying father and then attended his funeral. It had thus been thirty years for her since she had gone home.

This book includes three separate writings "On the Way Home" when Almanzo, Laura, and Rose move to Mansfield, Missouri in 1894, "West From Home" Laura's letter to Almanzo from San Francisco in 1915, and "The Road Back" which is a record of the only time Almanzo and Laura travel back to De Smet, South Dakota in 1931 to visit Laura's remaining family. I especially enjoyed this section because I always wondered what happened to Pa, Ma, Mary, Carrie, and Grace after Almanzo, Laura, and Rose move to Missouri. There are pictures of her family and a daily journal of the journey there and back. Laura keeps meticulous records of all costs as well as writes about her experiences. If you are a true Laura Ingalls Wilder fan, I think you will really enjoy this book.

I was/am a huge Laura Ingalls Wilder fan. I have read the Little House series multiples times and had read "On the Way Home" but never any of the other letters that Laura wrote. Her letters to Almanzo have wonderful descriptions, like in the Little House series. It is neat to read her journeys in San Francisco in 1915, and realizing that her trip was 100 years ago, especially since I recently have visited San Francisco. It is amazing to think how much has changed in 100 years, but also amazing to think how much things had changed during Laura's life.The book itself is a typical paperback. There are several photographs throughout the book as well

Got this for my wife for Christmas. She has loved the Little House On The Prairie television show as well as Laura Ingalls Wilder books (the books the series was based off of). So I figured she would like this. She loved it! Would recommend to any fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder or Little House On The Prairie television show.

I've been a LIW fan most of my life, and I get so excited for anything new that comes out about her. I've been to Rocky Ridge Farm, so I could imagine the house as it was described in the book. It was great to read the letters, which were so descriptive and sweet. Can't wait to read the Annotated Autobiography that just came out!

I bought this as a gift for my wife and kids. My wife started reading immediately. she liked that I had bought the additional copies of the first two books contained in this complete works edition: On the Way Home and West from Home, so she could have her own copy of the complete collection and still read out loud to the kids or let them read by themselves, without loosing her spot. By the time the kids had finished reading their copies she was also finished and happily let them read the final book from her copy.

Love it

Excellent! I was so delighted with their views of South Dakota after living in the Ozarks for so many years. I was so glad to find out that they were able to make that trip. She was a sweet lady. I'm glad to have this in my collection.

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 - presumably more of these cab be found in this  book . It also looks like more of her letters can be found in  this  but I'm not sure how much of a repeat that will be.The last page, contains a poignant scan/photo of Laura's last letter to her daughter, a couple of days before her 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. On The Way HomeWest From HomeLittle House On Rocky RidgeLet The Hurricane RoarFree LandaccountbookthisPioneer Girl

This book contains two previously-published works of Laura Ingalls Wilder, namely "West from Home" and "On the Way Home", along with some letters that she wrote and some introductory material. There are lots of photographs too. In my opinion, the book is a must for adult fans of the "Little House" books, or academics studying Wilder's life, as long as they don't already own "West from Home" or "On the Way Home". I don't think it would be so suitable for children, due to the writing style.I bought the paperback version. It is robust enough and the print quality is pretty good.

Loved it ..manylon thanks

loved this book

Must read for those who love the Little House series. I read this to my kids and it was an eye opener for what it was really like back then. Includes pictures from Laura. Great history lesson.