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Publication Date: September 15, 2026
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In this volume of the Pioneer Girl Project, Nancy Tystad Koupal compiles more than a decade’s worth of blog posts, covering a vast range of topics related to Laura Ingalls Wilder: LauraPalooza conferences, behind-the-scenes accounts of publishing the Pioneer Girl Project and Little House books, fascinating vignettes about Wilder’s life and their influence on her writing, and more. The final chapter includes a full-length essay that investigates the puzzle of Wilder’s posthumously published Little House novel, The First Four Years.
Koupal muses on her own life’s work as an editor, which has given her extraordinary perspective into the working relationship between Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter and editor, Rose Wilder Lane. Koupal argues that Lane’s editing, often brilliant, allowed Wilder’s deep understanding of her stories and characters to sing. “Even as her skills increased, Wilder listened to her editor,” Koupal writes. “She continued to rely on Lane for the polish and restraint that editors impose, for the sure advice about which episodes to omit, what episodes to combine, and how to craft effective openings and transitions that complemented the music of the whole. But Wilder was always the author, Lane the editor, and together, they created classics of American literature.” Following the Footsteps weaves Koupal’s insight into the intricacies of editing with her lifelong fascination with Laura Ingalls Wilder. The result is a captivating and highly readable series of blog entries that Wilder fans of all backgrounds are sure to learn from and enjoy.