Laura Ingalls and her pioneer family encounter a variety of animals traveling through and living on the American frontier at the turn of the century.

Laura has her first experiences as a teacher, and is courted by Almanzo Wilder.

Ma and the girls follow Pa west by train where they make their home at a rough railroad camp and plan for their own homestead.

Laura and her family move to Minnesota where they live in a dugout until a new house is built and face misfortunes caused by flood, blizzard, and grasshoppers.

Articles and fictional works by Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, some of which were published in magazines of an earlier era, create a chronological account of their lives.

"Follows the Ingalls family's journey through Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, back to Minnesota, and on to Dakota Territory, [examining] sixteen years of travels, unforgettable experiences, and the everyday people who became immortal through Wilder's fiction. Using additional manuscripts, letters, photographs, newspapers, and other sources, ... Wilder biographer Pamela Smith Hill adds ... context and leads readers through Wilder's growth...