CHILDHOOD, NATURE, AND THE EVOLVING FRONTIER IN LAURA INGALLS WILDER’S LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE BOOK SERIES

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between children and nature in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie Book Series within the context of changing American frontier and the pioneer life. The article draws on ecocriticism, ecofeminism and posthumanism to trace the changing lives of young female characters in the series particularly focusing on the development of environmental awareness and renewed understanding of nature as they mature, become resilient and independent. The article argues that through its portrayal of childhood encounters with an unpredictable natural environment and an evolving American frontier, the series reveals how ecological adversity simultaneously cultivates children’s resilience, practical maturity, environmental consciousness, and ethical sensitivity towards non-human life, while exposing the complex interplay between human dependence on nature, the transformative pressures of settlement and technological advancement.