Little House on the Prairie Caroline Years Meet Caroline Caroline Quiner, a young girl growing up in the bustling frontier town of Brookfield, Wisconsin. After her father is lost at sea, Caroline and her mother, and five brothers and sisters struggle to cope without him. The hardships that Caroline faces are great, but she is strong and will grow up to be Ma Ingalls in the Little House books. Questions to explore: Although each Little House girl faces hard times during her childhood, Caroline has the especially difficult hardship of losing her father. How does Caroline cope with the loss of her father? How does she depend on the rest of her family for support and how do they depend on her? Adults often talk to children about what is different now from when they were young. What differences about her childhood could Caroline discuss with her daughter, Laura? What are the differences in your childhood from theirs? Caroline's family has little money to spare for toys and gifts. What does she play with? What is her most precious gift? What things can we do for entertainment today that don't cost money? The Laura Years Share the adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, who with her family journeys by covered wagon through Missouri, Kansas, and Minnesota before settling in South Dakota. Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in the log cabin described in Little House in the Big Woods, and when she was an adult she wrote about her adventures in the classic Little House books. Questions to explore: In each book, Laura must work hard, but she rarely complains. How does this define her personality? Discuss this and some of Laura's other personality traits. How is she different from some of the other Little House characters, like Nellie Oleson? Do you think children today behave in the same ways that Laura does? Ma and Pa are strict with the children, but they also laugh and have a good time. How do they use humor to teach their children values? Do you think having a sense of humor was necessary for survival on the prairie? Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the Little House series based on memories of her childhood growing up on the frontier. Why do you think it was important for her to tell her stories of pioneer life? What stories would you write about your own childhood? In what other ways could you record the events in your life? The Rose Years Travel with Rose Wilder and her parents to their new home at Rocky Ridge Farm in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. Rose helps work the family farm, discovers the wonders of small town life, and prepares to see the turn of the century. Questions to explore: Rose was an only child, but her mother, Laura, grew up with siblings. In what other ways were Rose and Laura different from each other as children? What is their mother-daughter relationship like? Rose saw the turn of the century, nearly a hundred years ago. Do you think she was prepared for inventions of the twentieth century, such as the automobile, the television, and the telephone? How do you think those inventions affected her? How do you think your life will change as another turn of the century approaches? Caroline, Laura, and Rose each have loving families to depend on while they grow up. Does the dependence upon family for support and survival change from Caroline's frontier life to Rose's town life? How do you depend on your family today? Now in stores and Libraries: The Charlotte Years Meet Charlotte Tucker, Laura's grandmother, as she grows up in Boston, Massachusetts, in the early nineteenth century, and eventually journeys westward. The Martha Years The Little House saga begins with Martha Morse, Laura's great-grandmother, who left her home in the Scottish countryside to start a new life in America.