Long ago, when America was a land of dense forests and wide, open prairies, a girl was born named Laura Ingalls.  She lived with her Pa and Ma and older sister Mary in a little log house among the big trees of Wisconsin.

So begins this remarkable story of the real Laura Ingalls, the pioneer girl who would one day immortalize her adventures in the Little House novels. In these books Laura wrote about the many covered- wagon journeys she and her family made, and captured forever a way of life that had disappeared by the time Laura herself was an adult.

Now, noted historian and Little House scholar William Anderson has lovingly threaded together the events of Laura's childhood and adulthood. His simple, glowing text is accompanied by Dan Andreasen's panoramic paintings, which bring Laura and her prairies wonderfully to life. Together, the author and artist have captured the very essence of the little girl called "Half-pint," whose pioneer experiences and classic books have made her one of the most popular and enduring literary figures in America today.

From the dust jacket