Even before The Little House in the Big Woods was published in 1932, Wilder was an experienced journalist; many of her articles, often written for a publication called Farmer's Week, described her life on the Missouri farm where she and Almanzo had finally settled. Hines collects these earlier works for the first time, organizing articles, columns, and poetry into categories such as "Her Husband's Partner" and "A New Day for Women," with each selection leading naturally to the next and the overall point of view that of a proudly rural woman. While there are interesting biographical nuggets here, Wilder's intent was mostly inspirational. An uplifting book that will be of interest only to children's collections that are assembling in-depth material on this important author. (Nonfiction. 12+)
