The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion Guide: Review {and Giveaway!}

What comes to your mind when you read the name of Laura Ingalls Wilder? Does it carry you back to when you were captivated by the freckle-faced little girl with braided pigtails from the popular television show Little House on the Prairie? Or does it warm your heart as you remember reading the historical fiction books she wrote based on her experiences and events during her childhood as a pioneer?  

If you fell in love with the Ingalls family, or if you’re getting to know them through the Little House books, then allow me to introduce you to The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide.

The Author

Annette Whipple is the author of twelve informational children’s books focusing on history and science. Her most recent publication is Quirky Critter Devotions: 52 Wild Wonders for Kids (Tyndale, 2024), which combines her passion for science with her personal faith. She’s also written articles and activities for several magazines, including Cobbletone and Highlights for Children.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Annette earned a BS in elementary education and taught elementary and middle school students. While teaching, she learned to love science and history.

She loved reading books by Laura Ingalls Wilder as a child and read them to her children. Incorporating activities and answering her children’s questions along the way prepared her for writing The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide (Chicago Review Press, 2020).

Annette lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and three children. Learn more about Annette’s books and presentations at www.AnnetteWhipple.com.

Also, be sure to visit WilderCompanion.com where Annette provides additional history and excellent activities to accompany the book in this review.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion Guide: Overview

Part I of this book is to be read alongside each of Wilder’s Little House books. Chapters open with a summary of the Little House book being covered. Children will learn more in the “Dig Deeper” sections. The “Live Like Laura” portions contain recipes and activities. Of course, there are “Live Like Almanzo” activities in the chapter about The Farmer Boy.  “House Talk” contains questions about each of the Little House books.

The author points out that the books are historical fiction, so not every word is factual, but they are based on real people and events. Engaging sidebars titled “Fact or Fiction?” are throughout the book, providing further information about events mentioned in a Little House book.

Each chapter contains black-and-white photos of places and objects mentioned in the Little House books. Also included are many photos of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family—many of which I’ve never seen before.

Jim Spence did an excellent job sketching illustrations for the activities.  

The back of the book includes a wonderful glossary of terms used in the Little House books. This list would be an excellent resource for spelling, handwriting, and other lessons in language art. Also included is a list of more resources to explore.

A Sample from the Chapter About The Long Winter

The chapter opens with an engaging introduction of the book. Then, there is a “Fact or Fiction?” sidebar stating how research shows that Wilder did not exaggerate the severity of the winter in 1880-1881.

The “Dig Deeper” section mentions one to three key points from fifteen of the thirty-three chapters in The Long Winter.

There are more sidebars. One discusses the difference between being hungry and starving. Another sidebar points out cold weather risks. And, there’s another “Fact or Fiction?” about a family who lived with the Ingalls family during the hard winter.

Recipes for Ginger Water, Cucumber Tea, Buckwheat Pancakes, and Cranberry Jelly are included in the “Live Like Laura” section. Activity directions for creating a clothesline path and braiding a rug trivet are provided.

The chapter in The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion Guide ends with discussion questions (“House Talk”) about The Long Winter. I like how there are a variety of comprehension questions including those requiring reflection, inference, and evaluation.

This chapter used three black-and-white photos: one of Carrie, Mary, and Laura Ingalls as children, another of a train from the 1800s buried in the snow, and the third of two men cranking a handcar on railroad tracks. Also, black-and-white illustrations for the braided trivet activity were included.

A Comparison to The Prairie Primer

If only this book had been printed when my children were younger! They would have loved it. We did work through a curriculum called The Prairie Primer and they greatly enjoyed it. It was so long ago, it’s hard to remember what all was in The Prairie Primer. But one big difference between these two books is The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion Guide is a shorter book—which many teachers and homeschool moms will find more efficient and a better fit for their students’ needs. I remember each of the unit studies based on the Little House books in The Prairie Primer lasting almost a month.

Also, I don’t remember the Primer sharing what was fact and what was fiction in each of Wilder’s books. I found that very interesting in the Companion Guide. Also, it seems like there are more photos in the Companion Guide book, which I also like.

Recommendation and Giveaway

I think the parents of children in the first through fourth grades will thoroughly enjoy using The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion Guide. They’ll find the summaries and comprehension questions helpful. They’ll also appreciate the selection of photos and the variety of activities to solidify understanding. The Guide creates fun opportunities for learning. This would make a great addition to all K-4 teachers’ resource books.

Giveaway Details: A name will randomly be selected from this blog’s email subscriber list on July 30, 2024. The winner must live within the contiguous United States. I will pay all shipping costs. The winner pays nothing. I will announce the winner’s name here and on my Facebook page: : Sally Matheny – Encourager, Writer, Speaker.

While we wait, tell us your favorite book by Laura Ingalls Wilder!

WINNER! The email address randomly selected from this blog’s email subscription list belongs to the Kramer Family. I’ll send you an email requesting where you’d like me to mail your book. Congratulations!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Motivated by the power of story, history, and His Story, Sally Matheny’s passion is telling the next generation wondrous things.

Her nonfiction writing appears in worldwide, national, and regional publications including Appleseeds, Clubhouse Jr., Homeschooling Today, and The Old Schoolhouse.

She and her husband live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and are blessed with three children, two sons-in-law, and armfuls of grandbabies. Connect with Sally on several social media sites, but her favorite hangouts are at SallyMatheny.com and Pinterest.