This is my symphony

Today is day 23 of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  The challenge began with A on April 1 and continues the alphabet throughout the month, except on Sundays. My theme for the month will be this blog’s tagline: life, books, and all things bookish, so you can expect a little bit of this ‘n that. I’m still reading, though, and I’ll add reviews whenever possible. Thirty days of blogging is a huge commitment for me, but I’m looking forward to meeting and greeting new blog friends.

Today’s word: Wilder, Laura Ingalls

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Last summer I wrote about my trip to Little House in the Big Woods (Part 1 & Part 2) in Pepin, Wisconsin. This summer I’ve got my heart set on Little House on the Prairie in De Smet, South Dakota. It will be a long haul and the hubs doesn’t seem to think he can take time off from work to go with, so I’ll be solo again. But I’ve got a new car, Google maps, and a whole lotta time, so I say why not?

A few weeks ago, I added to my Laura Ingalls Wilder collection with The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder by William Anderson; the author gave a book talk about his latest work at our local independent bookstore, Schuler Books. Anderson has had a lifelong love for all things Wilder. In college he worked at the Ingalls home in De Smet as an intern: a tour guide, researcher, and fixer-upper. That connection with the Wilder name continued even after he began his teaching career in Michigan. Anderson has written four children’s books about the famous author and a travel book (which I used, incidentally, on my trip to Pepin).

Selected Letters is a more scholarly work, and will make a great companion to Pioneer Girl, Wilder’s annotated bibliography. When I was in Pepin, I read the Big Woods chapter before I visited the museum and home site. I’ll do the same with that book for De Smet, but add Anderson’s Selected Letters to my TBR pile.

William Anderson’s talk was personal and informative. He is sincere and genuine with a great commitment to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s legacy, and he spoke warmly about Wilder almost as if she were a favorite elderly aunt. He chatted with attendees afterwards, signed books with a smile–and could have been a Famous Author character written right into one of the Little House books had the time and place been different.