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''Little House in the Big Woods'' is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published by Harper in 1932 (reviewed in June).〔 It was Ingalls Wilder's first book published and it inaugurated her Little House series. The story is based on memories of her early childhood in the Big Woods near Pepin, Wisconsin, in the early 1870s. Based on a 2007 online poll, the U.S. National Education Association named ''Little House in the Big Woods'' one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". In 2012 it was ranked number 19 among all-time children's novels in a survey published by ''School Library Journal'' – the first of three Little House books in the Top 100. ==Historical background== Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was born to Caroline Ingalls and Charles Ingalls on February 7, 1867, near Pepin, Wisconsin.〔Gormley, ''Laura Ingalls Wilder: Young Pioneer'', p.36〕 At that time, she had one sister, Mary Amelia Ingalls. Wilder’s actual birthplace is about seven miles (11 km) north of Pepin, and is marked by a replica cabin along the Pepin County highway CC (formerly Wisconsin 183) at the Little House Wayside (near Lund).〔Anderson, ''The Little House Guidebook'', p. 11〕 Pepin celebrates her life every September with traditional music, craft demonstrations, a "Laura look-alike" contest, a spelling bee, and other events. Other places the Ingalls’ lived in the Little House books have also been restored and preserved for visitors. The family actually lived in the Big Woods twice. When Laura was still a baby, the family moved to Independence, Kansas. Laura’s sister, Carrie Ingalls, was born while they lived in the Kansas Territory, and Laura saw her first Indians (Osage) at this time and how they lived. The family returned to Pepin a couple of years later.〔Anderson, ''Prairie Girl'', pp.2–7〕 Laura and Mary went to school for the first time in Pepin rather than Walnut Grove, which is not included in ''Little House in the Big Woods''. In 1874, the family started their journey to Walnut Grove, Minnesota, stopping for a while in Lake City, Minnesota. In the book, Laura turns five years old; however, in reality, she was only three. According to a letter from her daughter, Rose, to biographer William Anderson, the publisher had Laura change her age in the book because it seemed unrealistic for a three-year-old to have specific memories such as she wrote about.〔Anderson, ''Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Iowa Story'' pp.1–2〕 This is also why Laura portrayed herself as 6–7 years old in ''Little House on the Prairie'', to be consistent with her already established chronology. Since she skipped writing about 1876–1877 when the family lived near Burr Oak, Iowa, her age progression in later books is seamless. At 18, Laura married the 28-year-old Almanzo Wilder.〔Anderson, ''Laura's Album'', p. 29〕 A year of Almanzo’s childhood in rural New York is memorialized in her second book, ''Farmer Boy''. They had one daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, and lost a son in infancy. Laura wrote essays and articles for newspapers and magazines over the years, mostly articles related to homesteading.〔Anderson, ''Laura's Album'', pp.41–45〕 Laura's daughter Rose was, by this time, a newspaper writer herself, and encouraged her mother to write down the stories of Laura's childhood to preserve for herself. Laura eventually put these into a book, initially called "Pioneer Girl", which was then submitted to a publisher but rejected. With Rose's advice, another draft, now entitled Little House in the Big Woods, was accepted by Harper's when Laura was 65 years old.〔(Biographical SketchLaura Ingalls Wilder )〕 For ''Little House in the Big Woods'', and each of her books, Laura wrote out the manuscript by hand.〔Anderson, ''Laura's Album'', pp.53–54〕 The well-known illustrations by Garth Williams appeared in the revised edition, first published in 1953.〔Anderson, ''Laura's Album'', p. 72〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Little House in the Big Woods」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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