Laura Ingalls Wilder Summer Reading Program Little House in the Big Woods “Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.” ith those words, Laura Ingalls Wilder began her first book about her childhood. Little House in the WBig Woods was published in 1932. It is set in the “Big Woods” near Pepin, Wisconsin when Laura was four years old. She describes her first home as a simple, cozy log cabin surrounded by woods that stretched, “as far as a man could go to the north in a day, or a week, or a whole month.” The Ingalls family had several relatives living on other farms in the Big Woods. We meet several of them in this book, and some of them are mentioned in books later in the series. Here’s a quick who’s who of Little House in the Big Woods: • Laura Ingalls, born 1867 • “Pa,” Charles Ingalls, born 1836 • “Ma,” Caroline Ingalls, born 1839 • Mary Ingalls (Laura’s elder sister), born 1865 • Carrie Ingalls (Laura’s baby sister), born 1870 • Uncle Peter, brother of Charles Ingalls • Aunt Eliza, wife of Peter and sister of Caroline Ingalls • Peter, Alice, and Ella, children of Peter and Eliza, Laura’s double first cousins • Grandpa and Grandma, parents of Charles Ingalls • Uncle George, younger brother of Charles Ingalls • Aunts Ruby and Docia, younger sisters of Charles Ingalls • Uncle Henry, older brother of Caroline Ingalls • Aunt Polly, wife of Henry and younger sister of Charles Ingalls • Charley, son of Henry and Polly, Laura’s double first cousin.