First Line: Dearest Mama Bess-- I simply can't stand being so homesick for you any more.

When I was six, my mother handed me Little House in the Big Woods, and I never looked back. I still love Laura Ingalls Wilder's tales of her childhood and still get the giggles when I think of the mouse giving Pa a bald spot. When I ran across this book at Paperback Swap, I thought it was time for a Half Pint Fix.

Laura's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, became a journalist and moved to California. Rose became very homesick for her mother and finally saved up the money for Laura to board a train and come for a visit. Laura's visit coincided with San Francisco's World's Fair celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal. This book contains the letters Laura wrote home to her husband, Almanzo during her stay.

I loved this book for its glimpse into a San Francisco that had just rebuilt itself after the 1906 earthquake, and for its insights into Laura the adventurer, Laura the woman who was thinking about starting to write, Laura the mother, and Laura the wife who never stopped worrying about her husband alone on their farm in Missouri. This is a book for all those, like me, who have fond memories of Little Houses.

Delightful descriptions of SF and the great Panama-Pacific International Exposition as only Laura Ingalls Wilder could write it.

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A book of letters from Laura to Almanzo. Interesting for those trying to understand Laura's perspective of life.

She really wrote well. great discriptions with some wonderful vintage photos. I had no idea about the Exposition! not only a good read, its educational!

In 1915, Laura Ingalls Wilder traveled by train from her home in Missouri to San Fransisco. Laura's westward journey to visit her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, coincided with a spectacular event taking place in that city--the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It was a great world's fair celebrating of the Panama Canal, and Laura was amazed by the attractions that had been gathered there from all over the world. Her husband, Alamanzo, was unable to leave their farm, and it was Laura's daily letters that gave him the chance to see what she saw on her magnificent visit to California. These letters allow the reader to experience Laura's adventures and her intimate thoughts as she shared with her husband the events of her exciting sojourn. It's a fascinating insight into the heart and mind of the author who would later on go on to write the classic Little House books.
(Taken from back cover)

Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco 1915

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