50 Fun Facts About Little House in the Big Woods

In Little House in the Big Woods, which animal does Ma swat in the dark barnyard, mistaking it for the cow?

A bear was standing at the barnyard gate when Ma reached over to shoo what she took for Sukey. She told Laura to walk back to the house, then snatched her up and ran.

On butchering day in Little House in the Big Woods, which part of the pig does Pa blow up into a balloon?

The bladder, tied tight with string, made a ball Laura and Mary could bat about and kick along the ground. Pa had promised them the tail too, which they roasted over the coals.

What does Ma use to turn pale winter butter a deep golden color in Little House in the Big Woods?

A carrot, grated and warmed in milk, did the job once Ma squeezed the liquid through a cloth into the churn. Laura and Mary shared out the leftover shreds.

What name does Laura give the rag doll she receives at Christmas in Little House in the Big Woods?

Charlotte was the present Laura loved best that morning, ahead of her red mittens and her stick of candy. Her cousins were not jealous, because Laura was the littlest girl there.

In Little House in the Big Woods, Ma makes Christmas candy by pouring hot molasses syrup onto pans of what?

Fresh snow, carried indoors by Pa in two pans, set the dark syrup at once. Laura and Mary trickled it into circles and curlicues, and were allowed just one piece each before Christmas Day.

In Little House in the Big Woods, what does Pa haul home in the wash tub after finding a hollow tree?

Honey filled the tub and the pails besides. Pa had stumbled on the tree by chance while taking a shortcut, then hurried home for the wagon and every container Ma could spare.

Which insects sting spoiled cousin Charley from head to foot at harvest in Little House in the Big Woods?

Yellow jackets swarmed out when Charley jumped on their nest in the ground. He had screamed for nothing several times that day, so the men were slow to come, and he ended up plastered in mud.

In the Summertime chapter of Little House in the Big Woods, what does Laura do to Mary that earns a whipping?

Laura slaps her face after Mary says golden hair is much prettier. Pa whips Laura with a strap, then takes her on his knee and points out that his own hair is brown too.

Which tune does Pa play as Laura's birthday treat in the Sundays chapter of Little House in the Big Woods?

Pop Goes the Weasel came with a game: Pa told the girls to watch his fingers and catch the moment the string went pop. They never once saw it happen.

What breed is the brindle dog that keeps watch at night in Little House in the Big Woods?

A bulldog named Jack lies on guard just inside the house. With him there, bristling and growling at every sound, Laura feels safe from the howling out in the trees.

In which US state is Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods set?

Wisconsin is where Wilder herself was born in 1867, seven miles outside the nearest village. The dense hardwood forest she describes has since given way to open farmland.

Which instrument does Pa play on winter evenings and in the final scene of Little House in the Big Woods?

A fiddle is the last sound in the book, as Laura lies awake listening to it and to the wind. Pa also plays it for the dancers at Grandpa's sugaring-off party.

Which animals does Pa lift Laura to the window to see one night in Little House in the Big Woods?

Two wolves sat in front of the house, pointing their noses at the moon and howling. Jack paced the floor growling, his hair on end, but they could not get in.

In Little House in the Big Woods, which trees does Grandpa bore holes in each spring to collect running sap?

Maple sap runs for longer when a late cold spell holds back the leaves, so Grandpa is glad of one. He spends the winter making new wooden buckets and troughs to catch it.

In the Summertime chapter of Little House in the Big Woods, which country did kindly Mrs. Peterson come from?

Sweden was where her laces, embroideries and china came from, and she let the girls look at them all. She spoke her own language, they spoke English, and each visit ended with a cookie apiece.

In Little House in the Big Woods, which young animal must be killed so Ma has rennet for making cheese?

A calf has rennet in its stomach lining, and rennet is what curdles the milk. Pa would not kill his own two, which would grow into milkers, so Uncle Henry gave up one of his.

Why does Pa stop playing music in the evenings during summer in Little House in the Big Woods?

He is too tired after long days out in the fields, so his bedtime tales stop as well. Both come back once the harvest is in and autumn rain keeps him indoors.

Which Ingalls sister is still a baby all the way through Little House in the Big Woods?

Carrie stays in the background here and only becomes a real companion to Laura in the later books, after Mary loses her sight.

Where does Pa take the family by covered wagon in the next Laura book after Little House in the Big Woods?

Kansas is the setting of Little House on the Prairie, which opens with Pa selling up. In real life the order was reversed: the family had already been there and come back before the Big Woods years.

Which national crisis helped prompt Laura Ingalls Wilder, in her sixties, to write down her Big Woods childhood?

The Great Depression had cost the family its stock market savings, and Wilder hoped her memories might earn some income. Losing her mother and then her sister Mary also pushed her to set them down.

In Little House in the Big Woods, what does Ma tuck into her Christmas guests' pockets to warm their fingers?

Hot baked potatoes went into every pocket before the cousins climbed into the sled, with heated flatirons at their feet for the cold ride home through the woods.

Before Christmas in Little House in the Big Woods, what is Laura's only doll made from?

A corncob wrapped in a handkerchief was all Laura had, while Mary owned a proper rag doll. Laura still thought it a good doll and would not hurt its feelings.

In Little House in the Big Woods, what does Pa spend winter evenings whittling as a Christmas present for Ma?

A wall shelf, cut through with stars, crescent moons, leaves and flowers, was hung on the logs between the windows. Ma stood her little china woman on it.

What is the name of Aunt Eliza's dog, whose snarling saves her life in Little House in the Big Woods?

Prince tore her skirt and growled until she gave up going to the spring for water, then kept her shut indoors all day. Huge panther tracks found there later showed what he had sensed.

In Little House in the Big Woods, chips of which wood does Pa burn to smoke venison inside a hollow log?

Hickory had to be cut green, because Pa said nothing made better smoke. Laura fetched more chips whenever the smoke thinned, and Ma kept the little fire going for several days.

In Little House in the Big Woods, which chasing game does Pa play with Laura and Mary on winter nights?

Mad dog had Pa rumple his hair, drop on all fours and growl after the girls until they shrieked. Once he scared Laura into a leap that dragged Mary along with her.

In Little House in the Big Woods, what does Ma braid for the whole family from oat straw after harvest?

Hats took many yards of braid, so Ma soaked the bright straws in a tub to keep them soft and plaited in every spare moment for days.

In Little House in the Big Woods, which horse-powered invention does Pa send for one autumn to save weeks of toil?

A threshing machine driven by eight horses finished the wheat by mid-afternoon. Pa reckoned the same job with flails would have taken four men a couple of weeks each.

In Little House in the Big Woods, where are the pumpkins, squashes, onions and peppers kept for winter?

The attic doubled as a playroom when the wind howled, with big round pumpkins for chairs and tables and red peppers dangling overhead. Root vegetables went down to the cellar instead.

In the Sundays chapter of Little House in the Big Woods, which pastime are Laura and Mary still allowed?

Hold their rag dolls, look at pictures and listen to Bible stories: that was the whole list. Sewing, knitting and noisy play were all work or fun, and neither belonged to the day.

Which cornmeal flatbread of early America does Ma bake for the harvest crew in Little House in the Big Woods?

Johnnycake puzzled Laura, since it was not a cake at all. Ma's only guess was that Northern soldiers named it for the Johnny Rebs of the South, who ate so much of it.

Which artist illustrated the first edition of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods?

Helen Sewell worked from photographs of the Wilder family rather than live models. An early review said her pictures recalled woodcuts and daguerreotypes.

Which Stuart Little illustrator drew new pictures for the 1953 edition of Little House in the Big Woods?

Garth Williams had never been west of the Hudson River, so he first toured the places the Ingalls family had lived, sketching and photographing as he went.

How was Rose Wilder Lane, who edited Little House in the Big Woods, related to its author?

Her daughter was already a successful writer, and it was her publishing contacts that got the manuscript into print. The two went on working together, often stormily, on the later books.

What is the title of the rejected life story that Laura Ingalls Wilder reworked into her Big Woods book?

Pioneer Girl was turned down by publishers and stayed in manuscript until an annotated edition came out in 2014. It includes darker episodes that Wilder felt were unfit for children.

Which book about her husband Almanzo did Wilder publish straight after Little House in the Big Woods?

Farmer Boy follows Almanzo through one year on his family's farm near Malone, New York, up before five each day to milk. Laura's own story resumes only in the third book.

Which detail about young Laura did the publisher have Wilder change in Little House in the Big Woods?

Her age went up to five because, by her daughter's account, the publisher doubted readers would believe such exact memories from a three-year-old.

What stands today at the Little House Wayside, on the plot of land where Laura Ingalls Wilder was born?

A replica log cabin with a fireplace, two bedrooms and a loft marks the spot. It stands unfurnished in a small roadside rest area, among open fields where the Big Woods once grew.

The lake where the family picnics in Little House in the Big Woods is a natural widening of which river?

The Mississippi was partly dammed there by the delta of a tributary and spread out across its ancient valley. On its shore Laura gathers so many pebbles that her pocket tears away.

In which state was Laura Ingalls Wilder living, on Rocky Ridge Farm, when she wrote Little House in the Big Woods?

Missouri had been her home since 1894, when the Wilders put their savings into rough land just outside Mansfield. The apple trees they planted gave no fruit for seven years.

In Little House in the Big Woods, which lakeside village seven miles away is the town in Going to Town?

Pepin was the first town Laura had ever seen, with more houses than she could count. The storekeeper gave each girl a heart-shaped candy with a motto printed on it.

Which New York publishing house first brought out Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods?

Harper & Brothers sent Wilder a first royalty check of $500, the smallest she would ever receive from the firm. The Little House books have stayed in print ever since.

What was the original title of Laura Ingalls Wilder's first book?

When Grandma Was a Little Girl began as a short version of her life story written for children. On a publisher's advice she greatly expanded it before it went to press.

In the Summertime chapter of Little House in the Big Woods, which visitor must choose brown curls or golden?

Aunt Lotty tactfully said she liked both kinds best and led the girls indoors hand in hand. The quarrel over whose hair was prettier broke out only after she had gone home.

Which dress, sewn by a dressmaker back East, does Ma wear to Grandpa's dance in Little House in the Big Woods?

Her delaine was dark green, sprigged with a pattern like ripe strawberries. It dated from her fashionable days, before she married Pa and moved west to the frontier.

Which Stephen Foster song does Pa sing to close the Sundays chapter of Little House in the Big Woods?

Old Uncle Ned was a minstrel-show standard about the death of an enslaved man. One literary scholar calls it a jarring choice of lullaby for Laura and her sisters.

In Little House in the Big Woods, where does Pa always keep his loaded rifle when he is at home?

Above the door, on two wooden hooks Pa had whittled himself, the rifle was out of the girls' reach but always ready. He reloaded it the moment he had cleaned it.

In Little House in the Big Woods, what pet name does Pa give small but sturdy Laura?

Half-pint is Pa's joke that Laura is a small measure of sweet cider, and already half drunk up at that. He still tells her she is as strong as a little horse.

What is the given name of Pa, the father in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods?

Charles is what Ma calls him, though to Laura he is always Pa. His own parents are in the book too, as the grandparents who host the sugaring-off party.

What is the given name of Ma, the mother in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods?

Caroline is how Pa addresses her whenever he has news to share. She had been quite fashionable back East before she married him and went to live in a log house.