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Laura Ingalls Wilder Quotes

Powerful Laura Ingalls Wilder for Daily Growth

About Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American autobiographer and novelist, is best known for her Little House series of children's books depicting her pioneer childhood. Born on February 7, 1867, in Pepin, Wisconsin, Laura was the second daughter of Charles and Caroline Ingalls. The family's nomadic life across the American frontier, from Wisconsin to Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota again, South Dakota, and finally North Dakota and Florida, served as the backdrop for her later writings. Influenced by her mother's tales and the experiences she shared with her sister Mary, Laura developed a rich imagination. The family's struggle to survive on the frontier, their resourcefulness, and their resilience in the face of adversity became defining themes in her works. After her marriage to Almanzo Wilder in 1885, they settled in Mansfield, Missouri, where Laura spent the rest of her life. It was here that she began writing her first book, 'Little House in the Big Woods,' published in 1932 when she was sixty-five years old. The series, which included eight books, chronicles her childhood experiences from ages three to sixteen. The Little House series has been celebrated for its historical value and its depiction of American frontier life during the late 19th century. These books have inspired generations of readers, offering insight into a bygone era and the spirit of perseverance that characterized the lives of early pioneers. Laura Ingalls Wilder died on February 10, 1957, at the age of eighty-eight, leaving behind a literary legacy that continues to captivate readers today.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."

This quote by Laura Ingalls Wilder emphasizes the bravery required in self-discovery and personal growth. It suggests that transforming oneself into one's authentic identity is a challenging, yet essential journey. The courage mentioned here is not only physical but also emotional, as one must confront their fears, insecurities, and societal expectations to truly become who they are meant to be.

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending."

This quote emphasizes that we cannot undo or alter our past actions, but we have the power to influence the outcome of our present situation and shape our future. It encourages resilience and optimism by suggesting that even if we've faced difficulties in the past, we can still work towards a better future through our current choices and actions.

"Goodness is about choosing to love someone and to forgive someone even when it hurts."

This quote emphasizes that goodness, at its core, involves making intentional, compassionate choices towards others, including extending love and forgiveness, especially during challenging times. It implies that true goodness requires effort and sometimes discomfort, as it necessitates putting aside personal feelings to act with kindness and understanding towards others.

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside the things of my childhood."

This quote by Laura Ingalls Wilder signifies the transition from innocence to maturity. In childhood, one has limited understanding and perspective, often characterized by naivety and simplicity. As one grows into adulthood, they develop a more complex worldview, reason based on logic rather than whimsy, and start taking responsibility for their actions and thoughts. This transition from the childlike state to maturity is what Wilder refers to in her quote.

"Behind every exhaustion there is wonder, behind every hurt there is a hope, and behind every tear there is a smile."

This quote suggests that amidst hardships (exhaustion, hurt, tears), there exists an underlying sense of wonder, hope, and joy. It implies that the challenges we face are temporary and serve as a backdrop for our deeper, more profound experiences. Despite the trials we endure, there remains a spark of curiosity, resilience, and optimism that fuels our continued growth and development.

So they all went away from the little log house. The shutters were over the windows, so the little house could not see them go. It stayed there inside the log fence, behind the two big oak trees that in the summertime had made green roofs for Mary and Laura to play under.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Play, Behind, Big, Log

So Pa sold the little house. He sold the cow and calf. He made hickory bows and fastened them upright to the wagon box. Ma helped him stretch white canvas over them.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Canvas, Over, Sold, Bows

A long time ago, when all the grandfathers and grandmothers of today were little boys and little girls or very small babies, or perhaps not even born, Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie left their little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Small, Big, Very, Grandmothers

The enormous lake stretched flat and smooth and white all the way to the edge of the gray sky. Wagon tracks went away across it, so far that you could not see where they went; they ended in nothing at all.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sky, Away, Wagon, Tracks

In the long winter evenings he talked to Ma about the Western country. In the West the land was level, and there were no trees. The grass grew thick and high.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Country, Level, Evenings, Thick

Suffering passes, while love is eternal. That's a gift that you have received from God. Don't waste it.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Love, Gift, Waste, Love Is

Once you begin being naughty, it is easier to go and on and on, and sooner or later something dreadful happens.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Go, Sooner, Being, Dreadful

Her blue eyes were still beautiful, but they did not know what was before them, and Mary herself could never look through them again to tell Laura what she was thinking without saying a word.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Through, Tell, Before, Laura

They drove a long way through the snowy woods, till they came to the town of Pepin. Mary and Laura had seen it once before, but it looked different now.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Through, Town, Till, Laura

Mary and Carrie and baby Grace and Ma had all had scarlet fever. The Nelsons across the creek had had it too, so there had been no one to help Pa and Laura.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Been, Mary, Carrie, Laura

The path that went by the little house had become a road. Almost every day Laura and Mary stopped their playing and stared in surprise at a wagon slowly creaking by on that road.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Surprise, Stopped, Almost, Laura

But in the east the sky was pale and through the gray woods came lanterns with wagons and horses, bringing Grandpa and Grandma and aunts and uncles and cousins.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sky, Woods, Through, Aunts

Everything from the little house was in the wagon, except the beds and tables and chairs. They did not need to take these, because Pa could always make new ones.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

New, Need, Always, Chairs

I always have been a busy person, doing my own housework, helping the Man of the Place when help could not be obtained; but I love to work. And it is a pleasure to write. And, oh, I do just love to play!

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Love, Play, Been, Busy Person

Wild animals would not stay in a country where there were so many people. Pa did not like to stay, either. He liked a country where the wild animals lived without being afraid.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Country, Like, Being, Being Afraid

There the wild animals wandered and fed as though they were in a pasture that stretched much farther than a man could see, and there were no settlers. Only Indians lived there.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Wandered, Fed, Though, Settlers

If enough people think of a thing and work hard enough at it, I guess it's pretty nearly bound to happen, wind and weather permitting.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Think, Happen, Pretty, Wind

Pa did not like a country so old and worn out that the hunting was poor. He wanted to go west. For two years he had wanted to go west and take a homestead, but Ma did not want to leave the settled country.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Country, Like, Worn, Pa

Every job is good if you do your best and work hard. A man who works hard stinks only to the ones that have nothing to do but smell.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Work, Work Hard, Works, Do Your Best

The trouble with organizing a thing is that pretty soon folks get to paying more attention to the organization than to what they're organized for.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

More, Pretty, Soon, Organized

Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I will remember you all. If you can only remember me with tears, then don't remember me at all.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sympathy, Tears, Smiles, Remember Me

Home is the nicest word there is.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Home, Word, Nicest

Mr. Wilder says he would rather have me help than any man he ever sawed with. And, believe me, I learned how to take care of hens and to make them lay.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Rather, Learned, Lay, Mr

Far worst of all, the fever had settled in Mary's eyes, and Mary was blind.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Blind, Far, Settled, Worst

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Simple, Things, Which, Simple Things

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