Little House on the Prairie Books in Order
The Little House on the Prairie series is 9 books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, published 1932 to 1971. Start with Little House in the Big Woods (1932). We track 21 editions of them.
- Books
- 9
- Editions tracked
- 21
- Numbers
- 1 to 9
- Published
- 1932 to 1971
Log in to tick off the ones you own, see what is missing and want the gaps in one click. Sign up free to print the checklist and hear about new books.
Reading order
The Little House on the Prairie books in the order they were published, with the year each first appeared.
- 1Little House in the Big WoodsYoung Laura and her family live off the land in a cabin in the Wisconsin woods near Pepin, through maple sugaring time and Christmas.Buy a copy: eBay1932
- 2Farmer BoyAlmanzo Wilder, Laura's future husband, grows up on his family's prosperous farm in New York state.Buy a copy: eBay1933
- 3Little House on the PrairieThe Ingalls family travel by covered wagon to Indian Territory near Independence, Kansas, and build a home on Osage land.Buy a copy: eBay1935
- 4On the Banks of Plum CreekSettled in a dugout on Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, the family face a plague of locusts and a fierce blizzard.Buy a copy: eBay1937
- 5By the Shores of Silver LakeAfter scarlet fever leaves Mary blind, the family move west to a railroad camp in Dakota Territory, with Laura acting as Mary's eyes.Buy a copy: eBay1939
- 6The Long WinterMonths of blizzards in 1880 and 1881 cut off the young Dakota town, until Almanzo and a friend set out to fetch wheat.Buy a copy: eBay1940
- 7Little Town on the PrairieIn De Smet, Laura takes her first sewing job, works towards becoming a teacher as Mary leaves for college, and is courted by Almanzo.Buy a copy: eBay1941
- 8These Happy Golden YearsLaura takes her first teaching post at the remote Brewster settlement while Almanzo continues to court her.Buy a copy: eBay1943
- 9The First Four YearsNewly married, Laura and Almanzo struggle against farm failures in the early years on their own Dakota farm.Buy a copy: eBay1971
Editions we track
| No. | Cover | Book | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little House in First | 1932 | |
| 2 | Farmer Boy First | 1933 | |
| 3 | Little House on the Prairie First | 1935 | |
| 4 | On the Banks of Plum Creek First | 1937 | |
| 5 | By the Shores of Silver Lake First | 1939 | |
| 6 | The Long Winter First | 1940 | |
| 7 | Little Town on the Prairie First | 1941 | |
| 8 | These Happy Golden Years First | 1943 | |
| 9 | The First Four Years First | 1971 |
About Little House on the Prairie
The Little House books are Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiographical children's novels about her pioneer family in the American Midwest in the late 1800s. There are 9 books, published from 1932 to 1971: Harper & Brothers issued the first eight, from Little House in the Big Woods (1932) to These Happy Golden Years (1943), illustrated by Helen Sewell and later by Sewell with Mildred Boyle, and The First Four Years was found among her papers after her death and published unedited in 1971. Farmer Boy follows Almanzo Wilder, Laura's future husband, rather than the Ingalls family. Harper reissued the set in 1953 with new pictures by Garth Williams; her diary On the Way Home (1962), her letters West from Home (1974) and the later spin-off series by other writers are not counted.
Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Little House on the Prairie books in?
Start with Little House in the Big Woods (1932), then Farmer Boy and Little House on the Prairie. The full list on this page gives every book in order with its first edition year.
How many Little House on the Prairie books are there?
There are 9 books in the Little House on the Prairie series, from 1932 to 1971.
What is the first Little House on the Prairie book?
Little House in the Big Woods, first published in 1932, is the first book in the Little House on the Prairie series.
Where these facts come from
- Little House on the Prairie, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Laura Ingalls Wilder, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Little House Books, Little House on the Prairie official site (littlehouseontheprairie.com)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 2 November 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
Know what you are collecting
How to Identify a First Edition
To identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook Condition Grading: Fine to Poor Explained
Book condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
Read the guide →7 min readDust Jackets Explained: Why the Jacket Drives a Book's Value
For most books published since the 1920s, the original dust jacket carries a large share of the value, often most …
Read the guide →